Staff motivation ideas New York City and beyond

2016 is here, and once again we have a busy January lined up with company kickoff events for employees in NYC and elsewhere. Following the festivities of the holiday season – especially on brutally cold days like today (this morning taking my kids to school it was 12 degrees out) – your people can sometimes slip into what I call the “New Year Blues.” If you’re reading this, then you’re probably a manager or owner who cares enough about your people to try to turn this around before it starts, not to mention ensure everybody is in tip-top performance shape to start the year on the right foot.

Planning a staff motivation event designed to boost morale at the start of the year can be daunting, but it can also be fun – a blast, even! I’ve been a Manhattan corporate event entertainment producer for nearly 10 years, and absolutely love creating celebrations designed solely to lift the spirits of hard-working personnel.

Here are my top 7 secrets for planning and producing an effective, highly successful event:

• 1.     Book it early in the year – There’s no point dilly-dallying. Time is money, and when it comes to motivating employees, the longer you wait, the longer they will be slumped in The Blues. There is a practical reasons for this as well, namely most outside venues are slow in January/February following the busy Christmas party season. If you call up a local bar, restaurant or event space and ask about bringing a group of 10, 20, 100 people on a freezing-cold Monday or Tuesday night, I guarantee they will bend over backwards to give you a good deal. Try it!

• 2.     Make it inclusive – Especially when it comes to sales team motivation ideas, there is a natural urge to “keep it manageable” and only invite the folks who are in the field. I get this, because very often salespeople work alone at home or in their cars, and only get to come together a few times a year during strategy/informational meetings. But if the goal here is to boot spirits and the bottom line, then it is crucial that you give EVERYBODY the opportunity to attend and participate – not just front-line, client-facing staff, but admin, support and other departments as well. All who work under your roof somehow impact the overall culture and vibe of your business – it pays dividends to help make them feel a part of what’s happening, too.

• 3.     Show up yourself – Are you “the boss?” Then you should really be there. I know how busy your schedule is, and how valuable your time is – however, no one holds more sway and influence over the overall happiness of the workplace than you. If you skip the quarterly or yearly kickoff meeting, what kind of message does that send to the troops? The point is to forge bonds and feel connected with the group, and your presence alone speaks volumes here.

• 4.     Choose a high-energy activity – You likely saw that the band Coldplay has been announced to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. You may love Coldplay, you may not – however, one thing we can probably all agree on is that they aren’t the most raucous, hard-rocking band out there. Will they fill the football stadium with driving energy and enthusiasm? Possibly – but I am having a hard time imagining it. The same goes for your activity at the start-of-year office event: you want something that will match the level of excitement and zeal you wish to impart on the attendees, to make them happy about working with you and your clients.

• 5.     But make the activity appropriate – I’m not saying you have to take the office skydiving. You have to ensure that whatever “thing” you will be doing is suitable for your group, your company and your culture. I own a professional trivia company, so obviously I have my own biases here – however, even I know that this isn’t the most fitting form of group bonding entertainment for EVERY audience or occasion. Choose thoughtfully.

• 6.     Surprise them – You’d be surprised yourself to learn how few planners like to do this, however if you REALLY want to create an experience which is memorable and impactful, then I strongly encourage you to incorporate an element of shock, astonishment or the unexpected (positive, of course – don’t gather everybody together and tell them you’re eliminating ‘Casual Fridays’ or something).

• 7.     Send them off with something – The event can be an absolute blast, but if folks go directly from there back to the grind, they are susceptible to slipping back into The Blues. Don’t let them go back to their offices or territories empty handed; give everybody a tangible reminder of the great experience they had. I’m personally a fan of funny/silly branded things folks can have on their desk, to remind them of the event (by contrast, at one of my service industry jobs I worked years ago, the company issued every employee a New Year’s “gift” of a branded clock which said, “It’s Your Client’s Time: Record Your Hours Daily.” Yikes.)

Every group is different, as is every company and industry. But again, if you’re considering putting together a function designed to raise the spirits of your workforce, you’re already halfway there; put in the extra effort to ensure that the experience is one which is truly meaningful for them – and valuable for you.

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