One other thing to point out- cake.
Many people are battling things in their lives, and cake is the last thing they want or need. So that can be as much a negative as a positive to others. If it's a team thing, make sure it benefits everyone the same. I never ate the cake that was there to recognize me- which was amusing.
alfadriver said:It's kind of interesting to see so many people talk about not being with co-workers outside of work hours. I used to think I was a rare person at work who hated the though of that, but it seems more common than not. Makes me wonder how many people went because they felt forced to.
I assumed that most people hated it but maybe that is just cause I am an engineer and most of my friends are engineers.
I might be the odd man out, here, but I don't really need a bonus for what I do.
What I would dearly love is to be valued and appreciated all the time. I'll work harder for you when I'm appreciated and valued.
I worked for a Japanese company for a time, Japanese style of management - they listened to me, they took my suggestions, and they valued my contribution to the company. It made me want to work so much harder for them.
Duke said:ABSOLUTELY do whatever it is during regular company business hours.
Yep. I agree a nice lunch is one way to go. Money and time off is great, but that may depend on OP's management.
I'm really surprised at the number of people that really don't want to hang out with their coworkers outside of work at all, period. I really enjoy it, because I consider them my friends, and if I didn't I would look for another job. That said, I never require my team to do something after work hours and I don't think that's an appropriate reward.
93EXCivic said:
I assumed that most people hated it but maybe that is just cause I am an engineer and most of my friends are engineers.
Weird. I am an engineer, my direct reports are engineers and my work friends are engineers.
In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :
That's why options are important.
One problem I see with "value and recognition" is that unless it's really thought out and balanced- other team members see that they are being slighted. I took it quite personally when common events and recognitions (especially when they were corporate level things) were ignored for me.
Duke said:I get the point about money and/or time off, and for the individual rewards I think that's perfect. But the OP said he's already got individual recognition awards put together.
- - -
Of course, that can vary by the group. If you think everybody might like to try something, there are low-impact options: maybe axe throwing is the thing. Cooking classes or painting classes or guided wine tastings could be fun if appropriate.
Thank you, Duke, for actually reading my post!
You've never said when these events are taking place. Work related events should always try to happen during paid working hours.
However, I would also caution for public rewards to consider efforts rather than just outcomes, and in a manner that's likely to at least be reasonably evenly distributed. Otherwise, you'll inevitably find it having the opposite of its intended effect on many good employees that are also still doing good work.
Time and money are ultimately the two most appreciated things, and can easily be distributed by groups too, but are also the most difficult to use as public rewards without coming across as exclusionary. I'm good with having a few work parties and/or lunches, but not so much that I would feel it's cutting into what could be used to more discretely distribute through improved COLA's, bonuses, and raises.
If you really want to get into occasional social activities and events outside of work, I think that can be great for the morale of people who are interested and able to attend. However, I don't think it's good as part of a a reward or recognition system given to only a select group within the company, not all of which will even be interested and able to attend either. I'd rather see it be open to everybody, no pressure to attend, spanning a variety of interests, and perhaps alternating between focused on employees only, employees + significant others, and employees + families. This one is a fine line to walk between company subsidizing to remove a participation barrier, and which may be valued by those who are both interested and able to attend, and being overly rewarding and/or incentivizing to only those that are both interested and able to attend.
Outside of work stuff seems like a nice gesture on the face of it, but for my household, anything one of us does outside of work puts an extra personal burden on my the other to take the kids solo during that time. This means we each only do it sparingly for things truly valuable to each of us personally. And any time that the two of us can get away costs us significantly out of pocket for a sitter, meaning even 'free' events are far from, so is reserved only for things truly valuable to us as a couple.
alfadriver said:One other thing to point out- cake.
Many people are battling things in their lives, and cake is the last thing they want or need. So that can be as much a negative as a positive to others. If it's a team thing, make sure it benefits everyone the same. I never ate the cake that was there to recognize me- which was amusing.
Same with alcohol. Giving out bottles on wine or whiskey can be a really good thing but not to an alcoholic.
I have to be honest: I'm really disappointed in this forum right now. I clearly wrote that I was asking for help with TEAM/GROUP awards and that I was asking for "the extroverts" to chime in, since I'm the opposite of one myself. If you hate team dinners, after work, and team building, then why bother to write "Time and money" in this thread? Come on, guys....
Let me clarify:
- It's not like I didn't do any research at all on this. Several studies has shown that a cash reward (we are not talking about a yearly bonus) that get mixed into the next salary (or even the one after that) has very little effect. The money is typically absorbed into the family economy and forgotten. We get paid monthly, so a cash reward of 5000sek would typically mean that my salary one month later would be at best 4% higher after tax - not much of an impact. Instead, 5000kr distributed on gift cards would take you and your family of 4 to a dinner, a concert and a hotel night - a much better chance to create a positive memory linked to making that deadline.
- The individual employee rewards starts with a list of gift cards for movie theaters, the local gym chain, the local SPAs, tickets.se (they sell tickets to pretty much all sporting events and concerts in the country), an online gourmet website and some others. Each tier means a set amount of money and you are free to distribute the cash on any gift cards you like. You can also chose to use the cash towards a restaurant visit and some other things. I can safely say that there is something for everyone. But that is to reward individuals!
- What I was asking for was help with the TEAM/GROUP awards. I don't think I need to explain that giving people extra time off or some extra cash is going to accomplish very little when trying to make people feel rewarded together as a team or improve team spirit.
Just as with the individual rewards, the rewarded team will get a list of activities they can chose from and OF COURSE if won't be mandatory to participate. I'm trying to make that list as long as possible and as relevant as possible.
alfadriver said:One other thing to point out- cake.
Cake? Jim Gaffighin does a bit on office personnel and cake - it's funny.
Guy 1: it's Steve's birthday. We're meeting in the lunchroom.
JG: Steve? I hate that guy.
Guy 1: we're having cake
JG: well, maybe I stop stop by and say hello
Luckily, we only hire adults, which means that each employee can make an adult decision: eat a big piece of cake, eat a small piece of cake or grab an apple.
Yes, we provide the apples too.
In reply to Torkel :
So you describe how much you hate after-hours team building "rewards" and are unhappy when people tell you they suck and to give out money?
While my employees appreciate paid for food and the occasional box of donuts, they don't appreciate being pulled away from their families without being paid overtime for it.
Seems like management may need to listen to the employees for a change. Why don't you ask your people what they would like?
In reply to Toyman! :
He didn't mention a preference for after-hours activities. Just for actual group activities.
It sounds like you came here seeking validation of a predetermined course of action rather than seeking ideas. Are you trying to build an extroverts only culture, because making group rewards most appealing to single, extroverted people is going to push away anyone not in the group or inconvenience them by feeling that they have to attend for "culture" so they're not a culture fire. I have a kid now. It's a lot. If my team is deserving of a reward I want money/time to reduce the stresses on me and help me continue to be productive at work. If my employer makes it a choice between work and my own life, there are other employers.
Your argument against giving money is basically that you are in a better place to determine where your employees spend their money than they are.
Also, I hope this does not come across as argumentative. I've been preparing for my annual "performance review" at work so I'm more tuned in to compensation discussion than usual and this may have rubbed me the wrong way. Best of luck in retaining your high performers.
I think the idea of having a nice lunch brought in is a good one. Schedule it such that it's longer than a typical lunch break would be to make it a little more special. There are caterers that specialize in office lunches or you can do a local restaurant but don't just have pizza or sandwiches unless that would be something the folks on the team wouldn't necessarily do on their own.
For a bigger goal attainment, get a private room at a restaurant or hotel and have a team happy hour. Start it a good hour before "closing time" at the office so the team can leave a little early and still get home on time if they have obligations or can stay and hang out. Have plenty of appetizers and if the venue will work with you offer a special drink that maybe reflects your office culture or company or the specific achievement. If it's something that can be served virgin, cool, if not have a non-alcoholic special as well. If you're celebrating closing the Blackstone deal then maybe your special is a glass of Blackstone wine even if your customer isn't the winery! Throw a bunch of apps on the buffet table and everyone should be able to have something they want.
There's something powerful about the idea of eating together. Something psychological happens that creates some bonds and warms the fuzzies in a way that other stuff just doesn't do.
If you have a whole team that's all in to something together, then you can work with that, too. Get a box for a hockey game or go axe throwing. Stuff like that can be awesome if everyone is in to it, but if you've got people that really don't like that sort of stuff it can feel like a punishment.
Slippery said:1/2 day off.
this. Paid Time off is more appreciated by overworked staff than any other bribe you can imagine.
Being from a company that tried to do active team building exercises they don't work. Everyone plays nice while together but it's a facade and makes people more stressed. Food and money come across as the bribes that they are. Holding after work activities makes it harder for those with families.
In reply to Torkel :
since you said "5000SEK" and "5000kr", i think it's a safe bet that you're in Sweden, yes (your profile doesn't say)?
So you ask a bunch of (mostly) USAmericans what we would want, then express your disappointment with our suggestions for not matching your (non-USAmerican) ideas.
In the USA, we want money and we want time off. And if our management puts together a team event, we want it to be during work hours vs outside of work hours.
In my career, my favorite group rewards have been:
Duke said:In reply to Toyman! :
He didn't mention a preference for after-hours activities. Just for actual group activities.
Tier 3: Team dinner at fancy restaurant, cooking class, wine/beer tasting event, tickets to a game/sporting event.
This appears to be after hours to me, but possibly their schedule is 3 to 11 pm.
At my last job we complained the Christmas party and summer picnic went away. When we were family owned it was fun but the private equity guys won't even pop for a basic fried chicken and pasta lunch at Christmas so we used money we made from selling scrap stainless steel. Probably a non-ethical move from my manager.
Years ago my wife's company owner threw a big Saturday picnic cause that's what companies did. Food, band, keg, awesome raffle gifts, pony rides, all kinds of nice stuff - this was the early 1990's.
Half the group said F.U. as it's my weekend and I'm not coming to some stupid picnic. I remember the owner not happy with the low turnout and looked at me and said "screw it, I'll just keep the $10 grand in my pocket next year".
And that was the last party ever. Funny thing is I see both sides of the coin.
Toyman! said:Duke said:In reply to Toyman! :
He didn't mention a preference for after-hours activities. Just for actual group activities.
Tier 3: Team dinner at fancy restaurant, cooking class, wine/beer tasting event, tickets to a game/sporting event.
This appears to be after hours to me, but possibly their schedule is 3 to 11 pm.
Change "dinner" to "lunch" as I suggested, and any of that could easily happen during a normal work day.
One time my bosses sent a couple of us to a baseball game and gave us lunch money. It was in the middle of a weekday. I was home by normal time.
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
all of this ties into Toyman's comment that maybe management needs to ask their employees what they would like. Management loves to assume they know what is best for their employees without having any idea.
Having gone to these things for 20+ years now, Here is what you will see 25% will be into it, 25% will be kinda into it, 25% will act like they are into it, and 25% are going to be like ehhh and watching the clock. This will depend a bit on the closeness of the team but just going from the office to an event isn't going to change that. What ever the office dynamic is will be what the out of office dynamic only with a few more forced smiles.
So my recommendation, set a budget and let the team decide and give them limits on what they can not do. Like we were no longer able to go trap shooting or anything with guns because someone got hurt at an event and no car related events because a customer stuffed it into the wall.
Let them decide what the reward will be.
A group of 50 y/o are going to want something different than a group of 20 somethings.
One of my teams loved getting a suite at one of the local Sportsball games.
One of my teams loved a private lunch at a 5 star restaurant.
One of my teams liked bar games and pub food.
The key is to set the budget, voted on it as a team and if they hit the target we did the activity during business hours unless the team all agreed to do it after hours.
One thing to remember is if there are anyone on the team that are not in the same location to give them something as a reward too otherwise they will get the opinion that they are being left out of everything and it will be a negative.
Obviously money and/or time off are the most desired. Outside of that, some ideas...
I'm all for team building activities as long as they don't get in the way of my work. I'm all for group activities and everything. But I don't want it to be after hours, unless there are a bunch of people who have traveled from out of state to be there (like my group does 1-2x a year, we'll all just get dinner or something)
In reply to Duke :
Agreed. That's basically what we do. We will take a shop day every month or two and take care of housekeeping duties in the morning. Then break out the grill for burgers or steaks and then head home early. We will also head out to lunch as a company several times a year. I only have 5 employees though so it's going to be a different atmosphere than it would be with a large corporation.
In reply to bmw88rider :
the age thing is important as well. Our team ranged in age from 21 to 58. there's not a lot of overlap in that range.
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