Welcome to our regular HR advice column, Ask a Resourceful Human. Here to answer all of your burning questions is Massella Dukuly, the head of workplace strategy and innovation at Charter, a media services company that aims to transform the workplace. Dukuly has trained over 10,000 leaders at startups and global enterprises, including Squarespace and the New York Times. Sign up for Charter’s free salary transparency playbook here.
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What are some ideas for engagement events that support employees of all ages?
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we support employee engagement in moments like this, when we’re facing economic uncertainty, layoffs, extreme burnout, and fewer resources. On top of that, for the first time ever, there are five generations in the workplace.
It’s important that you think of engagement initiatives systematically. That means that ideas shouldn’t start and end with you. Bring in your team’s voice and feedback. People are more likely to be engaged when their ideas are heard. Next, engagement should be built into general ways of working and the entire employee experience. We can’t depend on one-offs.
Engagement opportunities are happening all the time in the ways we work and how policies are designed and enforced. To support a range of ages or diverse identities, here are a few steps to help you build out a robust engagement event strategy:
For us. By us. Conduct surveys, polls, or listening tours to better understand what appeals to your employee base. You’ll want to understand what formats, activities, and cadence will resonate with your team. This will allow you to cater to a wide range of interests.
Offer variety. Avoid assuming that one size fits all. When you have a diverse team, we can’t assume that one thing will appeal to the masses. Create a number of activities so that individuals can select what most appeals to them. This might be team-building activities, volunteer opportunities, workshops, skill sharing, wellness activities, happy hours, or cultural celebrations. People will find their interests and their communities, too.
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Schedule well. When scheduling these events, consider that your team is likely to have different work schedules and commitments. Be sure to provide options that accommodate employees with varying responsibilities in and outside of work. As an example, if you frequently hold team happy hours in the evening, you may be missing out on a group, like caregivers, who might not be able to give up that after-work time.
Prioritize accessibility. If hosting in-person events, choose venues that are accessible to all ages and abilities. Ensure wheelchair accessibility and consider the needs of team members with mobility limitations or disabilities. Provide accommodations like sign language interpreters or closed captioning for presentations or speeches.
And here are some of my favorite engagement events:
Lunch and learns. Host lunchtime sessions where employees can enjoy a meal together while learning about a particular topic of interest. I love this because you can even invite internal experts to share insights on a topic, which can be anything! Recently, at my team’s offsite, we did what we called a “lightning talk.” Everyone had two minutes to share about something they’re an expert in. We were able to hear from the whole team, and it was a powerful way to learn about something new, and one another. Volunteer opportunities. Give back together. Consider partnering with local charities or organizations to organize events like food drives, habitat restoration projects, or fundraising campaigns. Volunteering can foster a sense of purpose and teamwork.
Book clubs or discussion groups. Start a book club or discussion group where employees can come together to discuss literature, industry-related topics, or even a show people are watching (did you catch the Succession finale?!). This provides a space for employees to engage in both meaningful and fun conversations.
Cultural celebrations. Embrace and honor the diversity of your team by organizing multicultural food festivals, music and dance performances, or opportunities for employees to share aspects of their cultural heritage.
And don’t forget to have some fun, too!