There are several reasons to continue company traditions monthly or annually. It encourages your employees to build bonds outside the workplace and gives them a chance to showcase parts of their personality that may not come out in a business setting.
As a bonus, the fact that you have company traditions can help attract potential customers and future employees to want to work with you.
A company wide day of volunteering is an easy company tradition to establish and keep going, and it helps establish your values in the public eye. Many charity programs will already have a day set up for businesses in the community to come in and help, making it easy for your admin team to set up.
Allowing your team a day off to work on a charity initiative or volunteer to help the less fortunate helps promote your reputation in the local community as a company that cares and gives back, which can encourage other business owners with similar values to want to work with you.
We've talked about how important it is to recognize employees for all that they do in the past. Having a regular employee appreciation day to celebrate how hard your team works does not take much effort or expense, but it can make a big impact on their morale.
This doesn't have to be an extravagant affair. A simple barbecue or ice cream day held at your office can help perk employees up and give them a chance to socialize and get to know each other more. At Boyd Metals, our employees enjoy gathering together for our regular chili cook-off, a social event our employees can actually enjoy and get involved in!
Playing a sport is a great way for employee teams to build non-verbal communication skills and grow trust. Sign up for a local recreational sports league and let employees who have athletic talent sign up to play. Encourage the rest of the office to come to games and cheer them on, and soon this can be an annual tradition everyone anticipates. Most cities have intramural sports leagues that you can join, not only giving your employees a chance to build relationships together but also build relationships with employees of other companies.
Establishing strong company traditions might take some work at the outset, but over time they will become normal parts of the routine everyone on the team enjoys. By establishing these traditions, you'll build stronger camaraderie among your people and create a work environment they can be proud of.
At the end of the day, company traditions aren't about the company at all but the people who make the company what it is. If you establish good traditions and get your team behind them, it won't be long before your team has relationships that are stronger than steel.
If you are looking to work with a team that is stronger than steel, we hope you will consider us at Boyd Metals. We pride ourselves on the strength of our team. Contact us today and see how our team can help you!