Making your team fall in love with after-work activities is challenging. Most see them as impositions instead of something that they actually want to do.
Fortunately, though, there are strategies that you can try. These allow you to bring your team closer together without them feeling as if they have to spend even more time in the office with you.
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Get Them To Tell You What They Want
The first step is to get them to tell you what they want from extracurricular activities. Asking them what they want to do is essential. You want to ensure you get your people excited by prospects instead of turning them into chores they feel they have to take part in.
When you give them this freedom to decide, you’ll discover that they come up with some of their best ideas. For example, they might suggest an escape room or a cooking class. These sorts of events massively outcompete the conventional coffee dates and drinks after work.
Make It Optional
Next, you want to ensure that socializing is necessarily optional. If you try to force it, you’ll build up resentment, particularly among workers who place a high premium on their personal time. These individuals are often the least likely to want to take part in group activities, even if they are the most productive.
Collect Data On Which Activities People Like The Most
You can also go down a data-driven route and ask which activities people like the most, and when they enjoy doing them. Tools like the Neroia app can collect a lot of this information for you, allowing you to cut back on the amount of admin you have to do, trying to figure out who likes what. Over time, these systems tell you what people want to do, and when they want to do it, so there’s less ambiguity on your behalf.
Make Sure There’s Food And Drink
If you do decide to put on an event, it’s also a good idea to use food and drink. These are always real crowd-pleasers and will usually bump up the numbers by 50% or more. Many people will justify it to themselves that they should attend for the food but then find that they enjoy the social interactions or other elements of the experience.
Make It Family-Friendly
If you have some colleagues with families, then it also helps to make the event family-friendly as a whole. Being able to bring children or even pets along can make their lives much easier. It can also bring a personal feel to the event and prevent people from feeling as if they are having to choose between family and business time. They can do both.
Keep the Costs Low
Finally, you want to keep the costs as low as possible or get the company to cover them. If people feel like they have to spend a lot of money just to spend time with their colleagues, they are going to be less likely to want to do that.
