Today at your worksite, at home, at lunch or at your children’s school, the majority of the nation will stop what they’re doing for a couple of minutes and watch the Melbourne Cup.
You might be a fan of horse racing. You might oppose it. You might be more comfortable in casual work attire than donning a fascinator. You might even be happier with your daily sandwich than a long lunch.
However, the Melbourne Cup is bigger than that. And if you’re an employer running a small, medium or large business, you can’t escape the excitement today brings and the potential staff engagement opportunities which arise.
Have you or your staff organised a lunch? Do you have a television handy to tune in? Do you have an office sweep? Engagement and team communication on days like this can’t be underestimated.
Many offices go out to lunch and don’t come back. While the days of long lunches are long gone, it’s a nice thing to do — allowing your staff to have a little bit of a break in the lead up to Christmas and watching a horse race that is so far removed from most of us that it’s not funny.
Your staff members might like to put on their finery and dress up for a lunch in the office, whether it’s in your shared kitchen, the boardroom or carpark. Providing a lunch or nibbles won’t cost you much and your staff will feel appreciated.
Sweeps are always fun. Offices can run sweeps on the Melbourne Cup, competitions on baby names when colleagues are pregnant, who the Bachelor might pick or footy tipping. The more staff have in common, the more they chat when they’re on the way to the bathroom or in the kitchen at lunch. The more they talk, the more they engage, and the more positive your working environment will become.
Today’s a great opportunity to let your staff feel appreciated and trusted. If you don’t, they’re likely to turn on a TV anyway, head down to the TAB, or they could place a bet online. You’re still going to be battling productivity for an hour or two so why not accept it and make the most of the opportunity to mingle with your team?
Staff engagement is a broad term. When was the last time you had a team meeting where you provided the coffee and biscuits? Do you have regular catchups to let everyone know what’s going on around the worksite? Have you asked what they’d like to do for the
Christmas party, or do you organise a few platters on the last day of work and leave it at that?
Encourage the buzz today. Be part of the atmosphere. Thank your staff for the work they’ve done this year. It won’t cost the earth, but it could save you on staff turn-over and increase your productivity in the long run.
This article was originally published in The Advertiser South Australian Business Journal on Tuesday, 5 November 2019.
Martin Haese is Chief Executive of South Australian Business Chamber.
