Barbecues. Bowling. Pot-luck dinner. Driving range at the local Topgolf. Ax throwing. Panic room. Paintball. If you’re looking to get involved in activities that will foster even more camaraderie within your dealership, there’s certainly no lack of options. As with anything, there are bonus points for creative ideas that are outside the ordinary.
Bonding activities are always appreciated by team members, particularly when you close the shop following lunch for a fun afternoon. The flavor of activity is solely an individual company vibe. Are most team members active golfers, or just the salespeople? Do you have a few employees who take competition-based events a little too seriously? Would a country music concert resonate with your folks, or would a wine tasting (with dealer-furnished transportation) be a better fit?
This week’s State of the Industry report on corporate culture takes a peek at what some of your fellow dealers are doing to raise the spirits (and attitudes) of team members. There are no bad answers, although a road cleanup might not be as well received. Maybe they’ll give you a few ideas to bring up at your next culture/activity committee meeting.
At Datamax, with locations in Arkansas and Texas, individual departments host their own get-togethers, most of which involve a food component to go with the activity. Ax throwing and escape rooms have been team pleasers. However, Datamax’s signature quest to Create Raving Fans goes beyond clients to include members of the community, notes Jeff Walker, marketing communications manager. Among the community-based outings: Jonathan’s Place foster care facility and the Shiloh Field Community Garden.
Attention to Detail
Walker notes the dealership puts a lot of thought and effort into its semi-annual Datamax Recognition of Excellence Dinner. This multi-location event touts employees who notch specific benchmarks within their job duties. The high-end meal includes a white tablecloth treatment to underscore the magnitude of performance.
Walker feels that one of the best catalysts for sparking engagement among team members is reminding them that their voices are heard. “Whether it’s positive or constructive, our leadership values all internal feedback as a means to improve how we operate,” he said. “Management actively seeks feedback from team members through various methods, such as third-party surveys and one-on-one feedback sessions, and more formally in our Mutual Commitment Agreement between manager and employee. Our managers and executives genuinely want to hear honest and unfiltered thoughts and opinions. They make it a priority to not only respond to the feedback but also take actionable steps to enhance the organization as a whole.”
For a number of years, Loffler Companies hosted a large technology event at its headquarters in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. But as the organization’s ranks continue to grow, President James Loffler saw the value in breaking the tech festival into two events, to be hosted at the dealer’s remote locations. It’s had the effect of drawing attention to its lesser known satellites while engaging more different team members.
Expanding upon the idea, Loffler brings a group of executives and staffers from headquarters into the community a day before the tech fest will take place in order to perform a half-day of volunteering for a local charitable organization. After that, those team members gather for a nice dinner, then get up early the next day to host the tech fest.
“It’s a really efficient way to do great for your customers and enjoy quality team building,” Loffler said. “I’m a big fan of volunteering, and doing it as a team can really powerful.”
Double Dipping
Once a month, employees gather at the headquarters of Fisher’s Technology in Boise, Idaho, for the company-wide meeting. While it’s an expensive proposition, CEO Chris Taylor believes it vital to perpetuating the dealer’s corporate culture. Following the meeting, most of the offices will enjoy breakfast and an activity, which paves the way to more engagement.
Each quarter, Fisher’s Technology hosts competitions at each of its branches that range from ax throwing to bowling and horseshoes. Some team members love to get together for trap shooting or bumper cars.
“For us, the ROI is that people build personal relationships outside of the office,” Taylor said. “We host a lot of educational seminars, and afterward all team members are invited to Happy Hour. We do chili cook-offs, office Olympics, pretty typical stuff.”
One outside-the-box activity that has a unifying effect is a Friday sing-along. Someone will pick a song, and at 10:15 local time, team members at the Boise and satellite offices will sing it.
“They absolutely love it,” Taylor added. “It’s fantastic.”
At imageOne, the company holds the typical team member activities—holiday parties, company barbecues, trivia nights and volunteer projects. However, President Josh Britton believes the most effective outlets for creating “true and lasting team-building connection lives inside the day to day of work.”
While some companies may tout their degree of inclusion, it can often be a façade, according to Britton. He believes the true measure of a culture can be found in circumstances when, for example, a team member’s input is dismissed at a meeting. imageOne’s focus is on living its values in the day to day and trusting that those experiences will prove most effective. Britton notes his company’s 3% annual resignation rate and team member feedback reflect the positive cultural attitude.
“While we are blessed with high team member stability, when we do have resignations the overwhelming theme we hear from exiting team members is: what they liked most about our culture was how much they felt colleagues genuinely cared about them and were willing to help each other, especially in times of challenge,” Britton said. “That doesn’t happen through barbecues and team parties, but rather in the trenches of where the real and lasting experiences occur.”
