The Value of Giving Employees a Voice

Quarterly Employee Driven Engagement Events

Introduction

There is evidence that employee engagement lead to better organizational performance, yet many organizations struggle to create and sustain an engaged workforce. Quarterly employee-driven engagement events are one way to address this issue. Quarterly events can and should be tailored to the specific needs of the organization and the workforce. By planning quarterly employee engagement events, organizations can keep their workforce engaged and motivated throughout the year. This paper outlines a plan for promoting quarterly employee-driven engagement events in order to increase employee engagement and improve organizational performance.

Steps

First, the plan will promote communication between management and employees by letting employees choose the engagement activity for each quarter. They will have a choice of four events for now: a Chili Cookoff, a Winter Escape Room, a March Madness Basketball Free Throw Competition, and a Pyramid-style Gameshow. Obviously, some events will be more thematically aligned to certain parts of the year, but employees should still be made to feel that they have a choice in the matter. This will help ensure that employees feel invested in the event and that their voices are heard. By allowing employees to make decisions about these events, you are giving them a sense of ownership and responsibility. This can encourage them to take pride in their work and feel more invested in the company’s success. Additionally, letting employees make decisions about employee-driven events can help to create a more democratic and egalitarian workplace. This can foster a sense of cooperation and respect among employees, and may even lead to increased creativity and innovation.

Second, support should be provided for employees who want to organize and run the event. This includes giving them access to resources and providing financial assistance if necessary. By providing them with the necessary capital to organize and prepare the events, they will have no barriers but a budget, which will be determined by management; so long as they operate within the budget, employees will be responsible for the organization of the events. They should elect a committee that will oversee these processes, with quarterly elections for each quarterly event. This will spark further motivation and engagement, as all employees will be democratically involved in the process, simply by electing, even if they are not directly part of the committee. A rule should be implemented, however, which stipulates that everyone must serve on at least one committee per year. This will ensure that workers are more invested in the process and help them to feel that their contributions matter to the organization.

Finally, the plan will promote attendance by making the event mandatory for all employees using in-office hours. Incentives such as prizes or paid time off can also be used to encourage participation. Winners of events, for instance, could be given an option of what they want as a prize. Motivating employees to want to participate is important, and extrinsic motivation should be used to encourage them.

Employee-driven engagement events have the potential to improve employee engagement and, as a result, organizational performance. By following the steps outlined here, the organization can create a successful employee-driven engagement event program.

Goal

The goal of these events is to create opportunities for people to interact in non-work-related activities so as to build community and a sense of team. New employees will have opportunities to meet others, feel included, and create a positive workplace culture. Veteran employees will have an opportunity to get to know and bond with new employees.

Events

Events should be widely and regularly advertised with eye-catching graphics and management support. MS Form signup sheets will be used and will have measurable results of participation.

The following items are recommended for implementation:

1. Chili Cookoff- Teams will use the various break rooms in the office to set up. Employees will vote for their favorite and winners will potentially receive a gift card or other prizes.

2. Winter Escape Room- This version of an escape room is based on popular party events in which a team enters a series of highly themed rooms, works together to obtain clues, and ultimately finds a key to unlock a door to escape. In our version teams of no more than 10 will work together to solve a series of puzzles, and riddles, and find objects to win. No one will be locked, and the theme can either involve winter or helping veterans. Teams that solve the puzzles the fastest will win a gift card or other prizes.

3. March Madness Basketball Free Throw Competition- A basketball hoop will be placed in the secure parking lot. Teams of 5 will compete to sink the most free throws. The team with the most free throws will win a gift card or other prizes. Employee teams can be selected at random or through the election of captains who then choose their teams one turn at a time. Or a “draft” could be held to fill out teams. This should be decided by the committee, and it may change from one year to the next.

4. $100,000 Pyramid-style Gameshow- This is the most flexible of the events that allow for hybrid work environment participation. Competitors can be in person or off-station and the “shows” can be presented live via MS Teams Meetings or Webex Meetings. Teams will be division-based with competitors from the same divisions competing in a tournament. Winners of each division will compete against each other to have the winner of the station. Topics will be a mix of VA-focused, trivia, and general knowledge. Topics may be presented ahead for self-study. The final round will be a mixture of questions from all VA business lines. Potential prizes include gift cards or brown bag lunches with management.