Working in recruitment and a sales environment can be incredibly stressful – it’s completely targets driven, with sky high goals and endless to-do lists, so to succeed you most definitely need an abundance of ambition and piles of passion for the job. However, being able to introduce a bit of fun as part of your company culture is a fantastic way to revive lagging motivation, with one of my core values that I advocate at Total Assist Group being able to create fun and make others happy.
88% of people born between 1980 and the early 2000’s want a fun and social work environment, with 71% claiming their work colleagues are like a second family to them, which is certainly the atmosphere we have at Total Assist Group. Extra opportunities to socialise generate interpersonal connections, creating closer relationships and bonds, making us a more solid and succinct team. Having fun in the office also leads to higher job satisfaction, which in turn makes workers more productive, as well as improves employee retention.
Of course, workplace fun should make people feel comfortable and shouldn’t be forced on to colleagues who don’t want to take part, but at the end of the day, being able to laugh and smile at work will help boost productivity and keep the workforce happy and motivated. The trick is learning how to have fun at work without compromising performance.
How we have fun at Total Assist Group:
1) Office games: A great way to keep track of performance and have fun is by introducing office games that are sales dependent. Either myself or one of the directors will lead the game, usually hangman, yet you can only have a go if you have booked a doctor in a placement. The people who worked with you to get the doctor booked also get a go at choosing a letter and whoever guesses the chosen film, song, etc wins a free lunch. This is the ideal way to get the whole sales floor involved.
Another way we implemented this was by doing score and result predictions during the World Cup and Wimbledon, with correct guesses winning prizes.
2) Extra mile award: At the end of every week we give out an extra mile award which is a voucher prize for the person who has really gone above and beyond to help others out. Whether it was helping someone move desk with some heavy lifting, or running around doing a collection for someone’s birthday present, I believe it is important to show appreciation for these acts. We usually announce the winner during our Friday sum up meeting, meaning they get a huge round of applause from the rest of the staff too. Normally one of our many apprentices will nab the prize.
3) Traditional Friday drinks: Taking the fun from the office to the nearest pub is common in a lot of companies but I think it is a thing to be encouraged, whether you drink alcohol or not. It gives you the opportunity to speak to people in teams you may not otherwise come into contact with and you can also find out more about your colleagues in general, forging stronger relationships and working bonds. It also provides a communal space where you can bat around ideas without the pressure of the boardroom environment.
[testimonial name=”By Justin Rich” who=”Chairman at Total Assist Group ” imagelinks=”https://totalassist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Justin-5.jpg” vertical=”no”]”Total Assist was founded by myself in 1999 specialising in the supply of Locum Doctors and today more than 70 ambitious employees occupy our modern offices and headquarters in Essex.”[/testimonial]
