Let’s be honest! Did last year’s annual conference drum up the engagement you wanted? Maybe it’s time to stuff that outdated idea into a dusty cupboard along with your old conference room decorations.
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I’ve been in this industry for more than a decade, and I’ve seen enough money wasted on ineffective conferences to buy the Dallas Cowboys. The days of taking your staff to a big convention center to watch stale presentations are finally coming to an end.
To retain top talent, companies must captivate team members with meaningful experiences that engage their senses while developing a feeling of purpose and belonging—and they must do it more than once a year.
‘One and Done’ Is Not Enough
The smartest companies aren’t just doing one big event; they’re hosting dozens of smaller events throughout the year, often in a way that builds toward that marquee annual conference.
The workforce is changing, and employee expectations are evolving. Mercer’s 2018 Global Talent Trends study found that one out of every two workers wants to see an increased focus on employee well-being. A talented 25-year-old won’t grind out 60 hours of unfulfilling work every week when other companies provide incredible experiences that make it exciting to come in every day.
Engaging employees is about more than opening your wallet. A recent PGI poll shows that 70% of Millennial employees seek a second family from their coworkers. Millennial and Gen Z employees would rather work somewhere they find fulfilling than make 10% to 20% more money at a dry, generic company. Research also shows that a single face-to-face interaction is equivalent to 34 e-mails, so you shouldn’t wait a year to start prioritizing those in-person conversations.
The traditional companywide meeting no longer cuts it with Millennial workers. Instead, engaging experiences will lead to better bonding and enhanced workplace culture.
Here are three alternatives to the standard annual meeting that will help you get better engagement and results.
1. Cross-Departmental Education
Create events that pull people out of their everyday comfort zone and expose them to the great minds and experiences that exist elsewhere in the company. Through a series of educational seminars, you can let employees interview each other on stage, discussing their jobs, their perspectives on the industry, and the evolving trends that affect what they do.
This doesn’t just help employees make new connections and friendships—it also helps to broaden their perspectives and understand why things happen the way they do at the company. Employees who feel stuck and burnt out can discover new opportunities in another department rather than with another company.
2. Regular Employee Appreciation
Many employee appreciation events go wrong by adopting a nearsighted, top-down approach. It’s always appreciated when the head boss stands up and says something nice about various team members, but employees deserve more.
Instead, I recommend a quarterly activity that encourages more authentic appreciation. A 2013 CareerBuilder study found that about half of respondents would stay in their current positions if they felt tangibly recognized. Give your employees more opportunities to get on stage in front of the whole company and celebrate their colleagues.
There undoubtedly are seeming small actions that go unnoticed. It could be an employee who worked late so a teammate could attend his or her child’s dance recital, or perhaps someone pitched in to complete a project without being asked. These moments matter, and recognizing them is more inspiring than anything money can buy.
3. A Leadership Road Show
Despite modern technology, a lot of retail employees don’t even have a corporate e-mail address. Leadership teams struggle to roll out new initiatives, build a common culture, and communicate effectively when their employees are scattered across hundreds of locations.
I’ve seen this firsthand in our dealings with our client Mattress Firm. Concerned by lagging sales, its CEO called us for advice on how to inspire his salespeople to work their absolute hardest. Our solution? Hit the road.
The executive team chartered a bus and traveled together for 3 weeks while visiting dozens of Mattress Firm locations across the country. At every stop, employees felt their voices being heard. Better yet, the leadership team got the connections—and the answers—it needed to save the company.
Take a tour with your leadership team to get in front of your employees. By stepping out of your comfort zone and spending time together, you might discover those seemingly impossible problems become manageable when everyone is working toward a common goal.
If you want to retain top talent, you need to be on the cutting edge and create amazing experiences that make them want to stay. Don’t wait 365 days for your next opportunity to connect—show your employees that they matter all year long.
Walter Kinzie is the CEO of Encore Live, an experiential marketing and organizational culture company that challenges clients to think differently and to create experiences that shape the course of employee and customer journeys.