A valuable people engagement tool and a chance to live and show company values
A red stripped truck serving burgers, a white one offering fish and chips, a gorgeously smelling stand of grilled Balkan specialties, seafood from the North, ice cream, whipped cream, 20+ different ice cream toppings and ad-ons of different colors … beer, wine, juices, cocktails… No cashier, everything for free … The life band playing and people dancing to hit music of 80′, 90′ and 2023′ … The hot air balloon attached to a crane lifting happy smiling chatting people up into the air and down again – all to get the look to the world from another perspective… Tobogganing from the office building!?
Is this a dream? No, it is what one could see and experience in the Summer Day Festival of one Future oriented AI and IT solutions providing company. The yearly Gathering of all employees and their relatives became part of the company tradition and ongoing employe satisfaction measure. Now it is for people flying in from 11 different countries into the middle of Germany, but every cent spent by the company is – according to founders believes and values – worth it. The people see, feel, and realize the difference in the company culture. In such a culture – the event is just a crown visible sign of what really matters in this company – people without fortunes spent on communication and leadership trainings openly communicate about their business and private ideas as well as wishes. In such a company it is much easier for the leaders organized in flat and agile teams to navigate and keep people happy and engaged. It helps keeping people curious and wanting more!
This is a story of how important it is nowadays to keep or even rediscover the live contact and live employee gathering events, especially if people are working in remote environments. Let’s use AI to help us create events but let’s do them live with real people not virtual.
Article written by Petra Treven Bernat, CFR Global Executive Search Slovenia
Photo author Petra Treven