We’re throwin’ it back in today’s blog post, bringing you old school, yet totally in style, activities from high school that will bring some life, teamwork, and downright fun into your workplace.
1. Spirit Week. Who didn’t love pajama day, school spirit day, and the other fun dress-up days we had during Homecoming or Spirit Week in high school? No one? Exactly. So why not bring it back? Have an 80s day, sweatpants day, and high school day—a day your employees can show off their letter jackets, senior portraits, and yearbooks.
2. King and Queen. Just like high schools crown a Homecoming king and queen, you can crown a king and queen of the quarter. Performance-based instead of popularity-based (thank the stars above), this activity plays off Employee of the Month programs, but jazzes it up a bit. Honor the employee who went above and beyond, crushed their goals, and exceeded your expectations. You can decide whether you have nominees dress up in their Homecoming best.
3. Field Day. While this may seem like more of a summer activity, now that the heat is gone, fall is the perfect time for enjoying the great outdoors. Take an afternoon to have a cookout and plan relay races, four square competitions, obstacle courses, a pickup game of basketball, cornhole tournaments, tug-of-war, and more. It’s a great way to bring a little healthy competition into the workplace and bond your team together.
4. Talent Show. Do you know what secret talents your co-workers are hiding? Bring them out! Talents could include lip sync, mime impressions, comedy, dance, playing an instrument, and so much more. Schedule it for the workday, or make it a big evening event and invite families to join you. Either way, it’s sure to be an enjoyable time for all.
5. Holiday Parties. With Halloween right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to take a break from the daily grind and have some fun. Have employees decorate their desks using our ideas from last week’s post: Halloween Office Decorations to Die For! Plus, have everyone dress up in their best (and scariest) costume. Pop Sugar has a few great easy-to-execute punny costume ideas. Some of our favorites: Facebook, identity theft, and ceiling fan.
6. Newsletter & Yearbook. Yearbooks are a great way to remember company history—the big and small milestones that made your company who they are today. Here at Baudville, we have a quarterly newsletter that goes out to all employees with fun stories, introductions to new employees, shout outs to people with anniversaries and birthdays, company facts, and more! If you don’t have a photographer on staff, designate a few people to take photos at your company meetings and events.
7. Fundraisers. In school, fundraisers were typically for school trips, music, or sports. But what about organizing a fundraiser for a local charity? To make it authentically old school, you could sell pizzas, cookie dough, or subs. Or, you can run a drive to collect food, toiletries, and clothing to donate.
8. Orientation Day. Get everyone involved in onboarding and make it more like school orientation day. Make sure to give new hires their first week’s schedule ahead of time, decorate their desk with fun goodies and personalized gifts, and encourage your team (and employees company-wide) to come say hi. Also, make sure you have the top three onboarding challenges covered.
9. Offsite Retreat. Remember the student retreat? This idea also applies to your workplace! While you may not be able to take a full weekend away from families (or maybe it’s not realistic with your budget), plan an offsite day so your employees can have fun together. Out-of-office activities are one of the best ways to have more fun and get to know your employees better.
10. Birthday (and Anniversary) Treats. Birthdays and Anniversaries are pretty important here at the ‘ville. While we’ll take pretty much any excuse to bring in a sweet treat, these two events take the cake—literally. We love celebrating the individuals who come to work each day, give their all, and help us thrive and grow.
Enjoy!