Through being in a variety of leadership positions and working closely with other businesses, I’ve seen firsthand the difference in success between companies that prioritize company culture and those that don’t. Many focus their budget on marketing and sales, overlooking the necessity of a happy and loyal team. Investing in employees is key, as low morale often leads to challenges and high turnover rates, which wastes time and resources. By prioritizing employee satisfaction and engagement, retention rates improve, driving motivation, productivity and ultimately, business growth.

Improving employee morale requires more than just offering some gifts at the end of the quarter. As any business leader knows, it’s a multi-faceted issue that requires several approaches. One area that is sometimes overlooked, however, is the use of events to improve company culture.

Since the boom of remote work, we’ve noticed events becoming an even larger part of companies’ business strategies, and rightfully so. These businesses are seeing firsthand how events help re-engage employees who are feeling disconnected at work. I understand that the idea of events is daunting because they often consist of a lot of time and money, but these events don’t always need to be as extravagant as you think. Creating a fun environment that is going to make your employees feel accepted and appreciated can be done on a range of budgets.

What are strategies you can employ at your events to improve employee morale? Here are my top five picks:

1. Get employees involved in the process early. Get your employees to help with the planning process by having them share their preferred destinations and what kind of content they’d like to see at the event. This will help create an event that they’re actually excited about and interested in attending.
2. Have leadership involved throughout. When employees see leadership involved, it makes them see that the leaders are invested in not only the company, but also in their employees. Having leadership be a part of the event is also a great way for them to bond with employees of all levels within the company that they may not otherwise interact with.
3. Set specific goals and communicate the goals of the event to everyone. Goals are essential for a successful event. Not only do they help keep everything on track, but they create a way to measure the overall success of the event.
4. Create an agenda that balances fun, networking, learning, feedback opportunities and connection with the executive teams. No one wants to attend an event that just involves being talked at for hours on end. Make sure that you mix in a variety of activities that both inform employees with valuable information and have them leave the event feeling more connected to the company and their coworkers.
5. Integrate your events with other company-wide initiatives so they aren’t stand-alone, but support the other initiatives, and vice versa. This strategy will help continue your work towards company and employee morale growth even after the event ends!

Overall, it really comes down to putting your employees first if you want to see a happy and healthy company that shows from the inside out. There are plenty of strategies when it comes to creating a great company culture, but from my vast experience in different industries and leadership positions, I can confidently say that events are the best ROI when it comes to investing in your employees.

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