Plan a Summer Trip for Your Employees! (Or Even a Weekend Adventure)
The summer has officially arrived, and if you’re running a business or managing a team of employees, you’re familiar with the unique challenges that arrive at this time of year. Lunch breaks get a little longer, attitudes get a little more relaxed, and daydreaming moves into high gear. So what can you do to keep morale in place and keep distracted employees engaged?
Ironically, sometimes it helps to cut your team a little slack. When you set aside time for fun and leniency, you earn the right to call attention back to the task at hand when you need to. If you allow a little play, you keep the play under control and on your own terms. With that in mind, try scheduling periodic outings, like ice cream runs and Friday afternoon mini-golf. If you’re feeling ambitious, plan an all-day summer trip. If you’re feeling really ambitious, try a team building weekend getaway. Keep these considerations in mind.
Planning a Summer Trip for Your Team
- Details can make or break the success of a summer trip, even a trip that lasts only a few hours. Will lunch be provided? How will you get to the museum/waterpark/city hall? Will you be able to carpool or will you need to hire a bus? Don’t wait till the last minute to figure these things out. Know the entire plan long before you propose the trip to your employees.
- Yes, they’re adults. But take care of them as if they were children. This means head counts, keeping everybody hydrated, staying cheerful in the face of delays or heat, and keeping a close eye on who’s having a good time and who isn’t. Patronize without being patronizing.
- Weekend trips with large groups of people come with surprises. Have some idea of how you’ll react in the event of accidents, odd behavior, personal conflict, or more adventure that you bargained for. Preparation on your part will mean more fun for everyone. Except maybe you. But stay focused on the larger goal: Refreshing, entertaining, and inspiring your employees by offering a little change of venue.