About four times a year, we busy ourselves creating catalogs that feature our new and bestselling products. We do this because we know that, in your hands, our products can bring value to you and help you create a positive and rewarding environment for your team.

But, one day we asked ourselves, “What more can we do? Above and beyond our products, how can we engage with our customers in an informative and thoughtful way?”

Don’t have the budget to host a summer picnic for your employees? You don’t have to! You can boost employee morale and engagement with low cost activities right in your office.

At Baudville, our favorite employee celebrations include an activity every day of the week, like during Customer Service Week. You can put on a week-long celebration for your team – just because! – with a summer camp theme. We’ve come up with all the activities for you, so the hard work is already done!

Day One – Welcome employees to “camp” with a Sweet Treat on their desk and materials to decorate their camp name badges using paper ID badge stock. Display the new name tags in badge holders and lanyards. Encourage campers to wear their new IDs by giving on-the-spot prizes to campers sporting their badges.


Day Two – What camp is complete without arts and crafts!? Plan a craft like building photo frames out of popsicle sticks or making friendship bracelets. Set up an arts and crafts station in a central location, and encourage campers to visit it all week to work on their creations. Then, display your crafts in the office!

Day Three – Test your campers’ aim with your own archery field. Draw a target on a white board in a meeting room and mark the shooting line with a piece of masking tape. You can arm your campers with either a toy bow and arrow or rubber bands. Present certificates to the campers with the highest score.

Day Four – Host a camp potluck lunch. Ask your team to bring their favorite picnic dish to share and a copy of the recipe. Create a cookbook out of the recipes and give it to every camper at the end of the week.

Day Five – Divide your campers into two teams, and begin a game of capture the flag in your office! The objective of capture the flag is to discover the opposing team’s flag and return it safely to your home territory. For a work-friendly version, hide several flags around the office. The team to find the most flags by the end of the day wins!



Day Six – End the week with a campfire. Gather your team in a meeting room or outside gathering area to share a treat together. If you’ve taken pictures of the different activities throughout the week, show them in a slide show set to camp songs. Present each camper a certificate of completion to celebrate their successful week at “camp!” 

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook. 

I just returned from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 2012 Annual Conference and Expo, where we’ve been chatting with HR Professionals from all over the US. Part of our fun is sending the Baudville team to this show outfitted in fun (and sometimes funny) T-shirts that are guaranteed to spark some conversations. 

Back in 2009, Baudville decided it was time to re-invent itself. We hired a consulting firm who redesigned our logo, our color scheme, the look and feel of our marketing materials, and the tone of our messaging. As I write this, I feel like I’m revealing the man behind the curtain; but, hey, we’re all business people here and we know that this is what happens in the corporate world. Meijer did it. JCPenney did it. We did it.

As the Human Resources Manager at Baudville, I have the privilege of leading our Spirit Team which is a group of employees from different departments who plan our company events. And we have a lot of events! Our annual picnic is what employees really look forward to in the summer. We hold it in the evening at a local venue, like the zoo or baseball park, and employees can bring their families. We provide dinner, entertainment, games, and prizes – of course we have to have prizes! But an event like this doesn’t come together over night! Our Spirit Team puts in lots of hours planning and preparing to make the event success. We want your event to be great, too, so I’m going to share six my tips for planning a summer event that you can use in your organization. 

#1 Work with a Team
When it comes to planning events, the most important tip is to work with a team! An event requires a lot of work - it can be overwhelming for one person! Recruit a team of employees who are enthusiastic about events. You can share the workload, generate more ideas, and have more fun in the planning process, too! Remember to recognize your team throughout the event planning process. Express your appreciation by writing a thank you note and leaving it at their desk, or posting a Shout Out in their honor.

#2 Encourage Early Registration
In order to have a good turnout at your event, be sure to share the date, time, and place far in advance.  Mention the date of the event at a meeting and follow up with an email to everyone so they have a record of the information. Then, it’s never too early to start taking RSVPs. We send out an email to the entire company more than a month in advance that clearly states the details of the event and extends an invitation to their family. Be sure to give a deadline for your RSVP. Having a clear idea of how many people are attending will make it easier for you to plan for food, seating, and prizes.