Playing Hard at Work

I remember someone saying once, “if you don’t hear people laughing at work, be worried” . . . and I agree. When business is good; when people are excited and enthusiastic about their jobs; when they feel valuable – they laugh a lot. Have you ever noticed when things are bad that it gets very, very quiet around the water cooler?

We are putting more importance on team interaction than ever before. When things get busy, it is easy to put our heads down and focus only on the job – of course, there are times of the year when there really is no alternative. But when the schedule eases, we like to get everyone together and have fun. Sometimes, that comes in the form of a Fam that has been arranged to educate everyone about a new venue or idea or wine country tours, which are particularly popular in our office and always well attended.

This year, we started a new tradition at our staff meetings – FMOTM (the First Meeting of the Month) which celebrates anniversaries with the company; special commendations; birthdays; and a fun interactive teambuilding exercise. From TMM Idol (our karaoke contest) to guessing baby pictures, these are some of the ways we keep play in the forefront of our work environment.

Much of what we do is on a regional basis – traveling to the different offices and surprising people with ice cream socials, lunch brought in, piñatas filled with prizes and anything else we can do to keep the energy up and the satisfaction high.

A few weeks ago, all of our offices traveled to San Diego and on a glorious July afternoon to sail on America. What a privilege and thrill it was to sail the bay on this legendary ship, which is a replica of the 140-foot sailing vessel that started the most elite sailboat race in the world, America’s Cup. We took advantage of this great escape to present the company’s Bi-Annual Core Value Awards and to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of our very special Account Executive, Cami Irwin Reid.

At the end of the day, people enjoy working with people they like. Making it a priority to play should be part of everyone’s strategic plan. Work can be fun – in fact it should be. We are the people who put smiles on the faces of our guests – shame on us if we forget to put smiles on the faces of our own.