Energizing the Office with Company Spirit

Remember Homecoming week in high school? Decorating hallways with your classmates and wearing everything from pajamas to crazy hats to fit in with each day’s theme added elements of excitement to the school day. It was a time of high spirits and long-lasting memories.

While businesses may not have Homecoming, plenty of them employ similar strategies to pep up workers. Take a look at some of these interesting ideas, and add your own in the comments section.

• “I own 15 real estate offices, and we are constantly doing things to keep our people motivated and energized. We want them to feel special that they are a member of our ‘tribe,’” says Stacey Alcorn of RE/MAX Prestige. “Every September for the past three years, we’ve done a company-wide scavenger hunt with each office as a team. The winning team gets its name engraved on our ‘Stanley Cup’-style trophy, and they get to keep the huge trophy in their office for the rest of the year.”

• “At Creative Memories, a direct sales company in the scrapbooking category, we have a boot camp workout a few times a week,” says Liza Etienne. “20-30 of us head out to our warehouse and work with a trainer. Even our CEO and executive team have joined us! It's a big team builder, and it keeps everyone accountable to working out.”

• At the weekly staff lunch meetings at Moonlight Creative Group, one employee is responsible for lunch and kitchen duty -- cooking the meal and then cleaning out the refrigerator and running the dishwasher. Out of the five team members, each person takes one week every five weeks. Owner and co-founder Dawn Newsome notes, "It's a great bonding experience and way to share the responsibility of keeping the kitchen clean while enabling each staff member to shine through their culinary creations.”

• “We are big on keeping spirits up here at my company,” says Kellie Morgan of Trinity Logistics. “Just yesterday, the four leaders in our support department (VPs and directors) offered up their appreciation for all 50 department members by running a surprise car wash outside the office. They spent the entire day washing everyone's car for free -- in huge sunglasses and custom t-shirts, too!”

Image courtesy of Thinkstock/Mike Powell