Employee engagement is vital for the success of any workforce, but it is particularly important for small and medium-sized businesses. 

Successful engagement involves the facilitation of a healthy workplace culture that makes colleagues feel included, appreciated, and fulfilled. Some factors in a workplace that influence meaningful engagement include:

• Autonomy; do workers have freedom to think for themselves and become independent problem solvers?
• Interpersonal relationships; do employees feel encouraged to forge amicable and meaningful relationships with each other?
• Acknowledgement; are employees recognized for their work and contributions?
• Feedback; do employees know what they’re doing well and how they can improve to get to the next level?
• Meaning and purpose; do employees feel like their work has meaning and they fulfill a purpose?

Do you think your workplace might be lacking in one of these areas? The good news is that all of these factors are easily improved through fun and creative activities for employee engagement. All it takes is a little imagination and motivation.

Fun Employee Engagement Ideas

Create Team Moments with Fun Activities

One of the good things about being a small or medium-sized business is that it’s a lot easier for everyone to know each other. By taking advantage of that intimacy, you can improve a tight knit workplace culture through a series of fun team-building activities.

Some easy activities that encourage team moments include happy hours, barbecues, and team lunch and learns. You can also incorporate games, such as scavenger hunts or puzzles. Planning these sorts of collaborative activities improves spirits and facilitates a more collaborative environment. 

Be Well Together

Another group activity that could help boost morale is a monthly or seasonal wellness challenge. This doesn’t have to be a challenge specifically related to physical wellness; it can be a challenge related to things such as cooking, meditation, drawing, reading, etc. 

Break employees into teams and encourage them to track their progress, and tally up the points at the end of the time period you’ve selected. Small prizes for the winners could be anything from free lunch, to a gift certificate, and more. Nothing inspires camaraderie more than a little friendly competition.

Conduct Weekly 1 on 1 Check-Ins

Try conducting weekly 1-on-1 check-ins with your team members. These meetings can cover anything from employee engagement questions to innovation/brainstorm sessions to get the creative juices flowing. Your colleagues will feel valued and trusted when you give them the space to speak about what is concerning them, or to just catch up with you on a regular basis. It promotes honesty, innovation, initiative, and productive feedback. 

Normalize Recognition or Appreciation

An empathetic leader is one who offers gratitude towards their team members through recognition and appreciation efforts. If you’re in a leadership position in your job, try being intentional with your grace. 

For example, allot the last 15 minutes in your weekly company meetings to celebrate any team member “wins.” By creating a designated space for recognition within your organization, it encourages people to celebrate each other and strive for more celebration. You can also start celebrating your colleagues on social media channels, which can both boost morale internally, and show off the strengths of your business externally. It’s marketing for your company culture and it boosts employee morale at the same time!

Establish Clear Expectations

Of course, the most important thing to remember when you’re focusing on creative ways to engage employees is that no matter what activity you choose, you must establish clear expectations. Laying out the framework for what you and your teammates should expect from an experience ensures that they don’t feel disappointment in the future. And, if there are any engagement concerns that arise, you will always have those expectations previously laid out and ready to reference.

In the End

While engagement is certainly a valuable asset to any business, it doesn’t have to be hard or overly complicated. Small gestures that show you’ve put thought into the quality of your colleagues’ experiences can go a long way. So go forth and utilize one of these employee engagement ideas to breathe a little more life into your office culture and improve your business.

FAQs

How do you stimulate employee engagement?

You stimulate employee engagement by implementing fun and creative ways to make them feel seen, heard, and appreciated. This is done via intentional and conscious actions made by the manager.

How do you engage employees in a fun way?

There are lots of ways to engage employees in a fun way. Give them a shoutout, encourage social hours, provide sweets and treats for goals achieved. The possibilities are endless!