June FAQ — Summer Fun With My Team
One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts about them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
It has been a busy (and tough) year already for my team. I am looking for some ways to have fun and make this summer a positive experience for the employees. What would you recommend?
I love it. And looking for little ways to create fun or excitement can be a year round opportunity for any of us in retail, in any role. But summer is one of those times when it looks really nice outside and everyone would rather be doing something outside versus inside.
Fun is also something that you can create in attitude and energy as much as activities and events. Combining those can make it even better. So to begin, just keep an upbeat energy about yourself and encourage that in others as well. Talk about the fun things that you are hearing about from all your associates. And, of course, share what you are doing this summer as a fun activity. Just be mindful that your activities might be different or seem elaborate to others. So you may want to temper some details, but no need to hold back on the enthusiasm you feel when looking forward to time with your friends or family.
Now let’s look at some ideas you might bring to life to create fun and bring the team together while the summer months are in full swing.
Have a BBQ
It is an oldie but a goodie. Having a barbecue or store picnic can be as simple as bringing a charcoal grill in and cooking out the back door of your building. Everyone likes when the leader is cooking and serving up food for the team. Bring in an assortment of meats and foods for people to enjoy. Combine it with having other team members bring in their favorite picnic food, and make it as much about sharing stories and traditions as having a little time to relax during different shifts with your team. You may also do this multiple days, so you can vary the times and days of the week to ensure everyone gets a chance to participate.
Create a picture board
Create a space where team members can post pictures of where they are going for their vacation, even if it's a staycation in the backyard — have them share a picture of what they are looking forward to. If they are traveling somewhere specific, maybe they can share a picture of an iconic area, such as Mount Rushmore, if that is where they are going. Or the Washington Monument, or the Castle from the Magic Kingdom in Disney, anything that immediately will tell people where they are going. This can create some buzz and discussion among the team, so everyone can share in the excitement of going. They may even share tips or ideas from when they went to one of those same places.
Then have them share pictures from their time at those locations. Again, even if they are pictures from home or around town, small get-aways can be a big deal for everyone.
Share fun facts about popular vacation destinations
Spend a little time doing research on known popular vacation destinations, or even some exotic ‘dream’ vacation spots to share some fun facts. Pictures from Bora Bora or the Greek Isles look spectacular and for almost everyone, those are bucket list trips. Sharing some cool facts about them to let people talk about why they might want to visit (or not), or what they would do when they went, can be a great way to keep the team talking. It might create some dreaming about what a trip like that would be like. And count me in on either of those, I’d love to see them both one day.
Share stories from favorite vacations or funny stories from previous family vacations
We all have a favorite story about being on vacation at some point in our lives. They may be funny now, not so funny when they happened. It could be from when they were kids and enjoying the vacation, or maybe now as parents and roles reversed. Either way, it is fun to share those types of stories and also realize that we may have a lot in common. It's always good to laugh together as a team.
Ice Cream Fridays
Another oldie but goodie—and simple. It’s hot during the summer, anything that can be helpful in cooling people down is welcome. Buying ice cream for sundaes or even just ice cream bars is a nice treat for the team going into a weekend or over the weekend. (And it can be any day of the week). It is the gesture that matters most. You can even try different flavors and types of ice cream bars throughout the summer.
Volunteer events
This could be a great combination team building and inside or outside activity. There are numerous volunteer groups that welcome teams to come help to support. Habitat for Humanity could be an excellent outdoor event. Local clean-up groups that work in parks, or near lakes and rivers also love to have groups come to support their efforts. There will be no shortage of options if you search for potential activities in your area. Any time I have participated in one of these, I have loved it and rarely hear anyone who doesn’t. Watch the weather and make your choice. Fun for everyone and a perfect way to give back and connect to the community.
Summer just screams get outside and do stuff (in most areas…some places are just blazing hot and many of these activities could be better during spring or fall), but you get the idea here. Find ways to connect beyond just the work and have some fun with your team. These merely scratch the surface. Ask your team, I am certain they will have many ideas that you can choose from to create energy and enthusiasm for everyone.
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