Manisha Kothari
How to motivate your employees to show participation in the office fun activity so they can participate.
From India, Gurgaon
vmlakshminarayanan
951

Hi,

Announce gifts or cash rewards ( if not in place already) for winners so that many employees will show interest.

Develop competitive spirit among different teams ( like " lets see which department is going to win" )so that more employees might participate with more vigor.

Shyness among employees is the common barrier to participate in game activities. Make them feel comfortable.. cheer them up etc.

From India, Madras
Dinesh Divekar
7884

Dear Manisha Kothari,

It is believed that fun activities improve team spirit or improve the motivation of the employees. However, your challenge is how to motivate employees even to attend the activities that motivate them!

Earlier, on this forum, I raised questions on the efficacy of the fun activities in the office. There is no evidence available to show that fun activities improve the motivation of employees and if motivation is improved then it improves the productivity of the employees or the productivity of the organisation. Neither I have not seen any HR or training professional measuring ROI on the fun activities.

Your post brings out the perception gap between the employees and the person who conducts fun activities. The perception gap is there between parents and children, service providers and customers, politicians and citizens, and so on.

Many employees have a tight schedule. They are loaded with so many activities that they do not have time to take lunch also. Many times they are required to work well beyond office hours. Will such employees not consider fun activities a waste of time?

How many HR/Training professionals have conducted work study and then decided the number of persons required to perform the job? While deciding the manhours, did they consider the requirement of fun activities?

If the employees are reluctant to attend the fun activities, then so be it. If the patient does not believe in the drug or the medicine prescribed by the doctor, then even doctors also say that it makes no impact on the body. The mindset with which the drug is taken is as important as the drug itself.

The fun activities are not new to the employees. They see them since their college or school days. After entering the professional world, again they are required to attend these activities. Possibly, due to overexposure, they could be seeing fun activities as a cliche.

Let me provide you with two alternatives. If possible, then conduct an organisational survey on Maslow's hierarchy of needs and find out which needs are required to be fulfilled. Many professionals do not find the practical utility in Maslow's theory. However, it still holds water. A collective score at each level gives insight into the corrective measures required to be taken by top leadership.

The second alternative is costly. It is to conduct psychometric tests and find out what exactly motivates an employee. Conduct games only for those employees who have a psychological bearing towards the game.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

From India, Bangalore
sharmavk05
29

Dear Manisha Kothari,

Please the fun activity interesting to employees and value-added activity in employee engagement. Give some value-added gifts to the winners and all participants for common use.

Regards,

From India, Delhi
KK!HR
1534

At least, as HR professionals we should not equate employee engagement as some fun activities. Fun activities seen in isolation will not have the impact, it is like asking the employees to laugh. Such exercises are meaningless and often lack the involvement of the people though they may be present there.
From India, Mumbai
aussiejohn
663

Speaking from personal experience, any time an employer I worked for organised games, away days, team building exercises etc, I always "managed" to get sick on that particular day and have to miss the activity.

Never in my 50 years in the workforce did I ever see any results from these stupid and futile activities. It may be different in India, but in the western world, most employee hate this sort of rubbish.

It is easy to motivate your workforce:
1. Fix your recruitment and selection process to hire the "right" people straight off the bat
2. Provide a welcoming, inclusive and caring working environment
3. Provide training and development opportunities so that staff see value in joining your company
4. Ensure all management are properly trained to provide high quality, co-operative and people-oriented management, i.e. NO micro-managers, no dictators, and no laissez-faire management
5. Ensure there is a well-defined career path that will encourage employees to stay invested in the company and its success
6 Pay your employees a decent salary so they are not constantly seeking better opportunities elsewhere

From Australia, Melbourne
raghunath_bv
163

Dear Manisha Kothari,

The following points will help you in motivating the employees.
1. Introduce games at the end of the days after completion of days works that really relaxes the
employees and free their tension
2. Training programs to employees based in their cadre of appointment., for a shorter duration.
3. Introduce Employee Town hall though not monthly, at-least quarterly and reward the deserving
employees, there by other employees will be tempted to participate and will try contributing their
100% to achieve the suitable award.
4. Introduce an annual short trip for a day and that is the platform for understanding the
employees of other departments/segments.
5. Birthday wishes and small gifts with high tea
6. Organize cultural programs for the employees to showcase their talents
7. Recognizing the best employee on a monthly basis and display his/her photo with their names
and achievement in the notice board
8. Counseling employees and settle their grievances.

With Regards,

From India, Bangalore
kavya-rupera
1

Hello,

Motivating employees to participate in office fun activities can be a great way to boost morale and build a sense of community within the workplace. Here are some ways to encourage participation:

Communicate the benefits: Explain to your employees why participating in office fun activities is beneficial. For example, it can help reduce stress, build relationships, and promote teamwork.

Make it voluntary: While it's important to encourage participation, it's also important to make it voluntary. If employees feel pressured to participate, they may feel resentful or unenthusiastic.

Offer incentives: Consider offering incentives to employees who participate in office fun activities, such as extra time off, a small bonus, or other rewards.

Get input from employees: Ask your employees what types of activities they would be interested in participating in. This can help ensure that the activities are enjoyable and engaging for everyone.

Lead by example: As a manager or leader, it's important to participate in office fun activities yourself. This can help set the tone and encourage others to get involved.

Make it a regular event: Schedule regular office fun activities, such as a monthly happy hour or a quarterly team-building event. This can help build momentum and make participation more of a habit.

Create a positive atmosphere: Finally, create a positive and welcoming atmosphere in the workplace. When employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to participate in office fun activities.

From India, Hyderabad
Manmeet Dawar
I am working in an event company and taking care of HR and Ops; joined the team a month back. It has been observed that the team is not at all motivated to work, they are just dragging. There are a lot of reasons of not being motivated and feeling good at work like no policies in place, no system at work, leave system not being followed etc etc
Can anyone here help me with some tactics or any motivational aspects to cover where the team feels that there is someone to listen to them and also to join the missing link and get their motivation back on track so that they are happy to perform.
Being a new member in the team what I can do to gain the trust of the team and also to propose some new policies and engagement options at work.

Suggestions are welcome

From India, Ahmedabad
Dinesh Divekar
7884

Dear Manmeet Dawar,

A lot of discussions have already happened on employee engagement activities. Even if the company has sound administrative practices, the efficacy of engagement activities is questionable. In your case, you openly admit the shortcomings in the administration that lead to the employee being less motivated. Employee engagement activities cannot fill the void created by the fallacious leadership style.

If you have identified the root cause of the malaise, then it is important to fix it. Wrong corrective measures may give the results but they will be ephemeral. Why do you wish to do something that will not last long?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

From India, Bangalore
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