Social gatherings
As your company grows, it’s helpful to host monthly social events to facilitate meaningful connections within the company - especially between people who are on different teams and don’t interact regularly. Having human relationships is a great way to improve collaboration and boost the morale on your team.
Planning tips:
Plan far in advance
Schedule times within traditional work hours
Send recurring calendar invitations
One of our greatest pet-peeves is when companies host “all-employee” events outside of normal business hours. Sure, you can host after-hours events occasionally, but if you really want the whole company to be able to attend then you have to have social events within the work day. This is respectful to people who have outside obligations such as parents, dog owners, and caregivers of all types.
One of our favorite time slots to host a regular social gathering is on Thursdays at 4:00 PM. That way, people who need to leave at 5 PM can come for the first hour. However, if folks are having a great time and want to continue on past 5 PM, it’s super easy to do that. You can always do a morning coffee instead but we’ve found that most people are more anxious and stressed in the morning before they can crush their daily tasks and get settled.
Designing social events for inclusivity and belonging
You may want to have it be part of someone’s actual job to organize these events - like an administrator on the team. Or, you could also have a rotating schedule to have people add their own twist to the monthly gathering. If you do choose to have a rotating host, make sure you have a timeline, checklist, budget, and tips to help them pull it off effectively. Regardless of what model you choose, it should be clear who cleans up. Do you have a cleaning crew? Great. Perhaps you consider having it be part of the host’s responsibility. Without clarity on hosting and cleaning up, research suggests that this sort of work typically falls on the women in the company and reinforces gender biases.
In addition to thinking about who organized the social events, you may also want to plan fun and inclusive food and activities. Consider dietary restrictions and allergies, for sure. You may also want to have a policy around alcohol. While it can definitely lighten the mood and make for a more casual atmosphere, there are also some people who have had challenging relationships with substances and may choose not to attend if they know alcohol will be served.
Finally, if you choose to go somewhere that is not within your office suite, make sure it’s comfortable and accessible for all. That means that people who drive to work can get there without having to move their cars. It also means that it’s not at a strip bar (yes, I’ve heard of this happening!!) or at a steak house if you have lots of vegetarians or vegans on the team.
Whatever you end up choosing to do, it’s important that the CEO attends regularly to signal that this is, in fact, important. Think about having themes related to your company culture or things that are just plain fun for everyone. Perhaps you want to solicit ideas from the team so that they feel some ownership over these monthly gatherings.