There’s a lot out there about how March Madness decreases workplace productivity, but the reality is productivity at work is lost daily. Companies that attempt to squash the fun and energy of March Madness are approaching it the wrong way. If companies have good managers who hold people accountable, work still gets done — and employees get to bond. No one is saying throw goals out the window, but I am saying it’s OK to have fun.
Here’s how embracing March Madness can boost staff morale and client relationships:
Developing team camaraderie
Sports can bring the most eclectic groups of people together, from various ages, genders, workplace titles, passions and more. When people get together and have conversations tied to personal interests, they become more engaged — and happy employees drive profit.
When managers are a part of it, they become less critical. The worst thing managers can do is completely ban bracket competitions, because the reality is, people will do it anyway — they’ll just try to do it discreetly and their work may suffer. Why not use March Madness as an opportunity to bring people together? As long as managers set deadlines and hold their staff accountable, work will get done. Have fun with it — encourage bracket challenges and competition. That’s normally when friendly banter begins between employees who don’t normally interact, and strong relationships start to form. You can’t buy synergy.
Strengthening client relationships
In a day and age where so much interaction happens over the phone or email, there’s something to be said…