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Culture Hacks: What They Are and How to Do Them

Shawn Ryan — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:57:05 +0000

Have you ever dropped the ball when it came to improving an element of your company’s culture? If you have, it could be because you believed one of these three myths.

Myth #1: You can’t influence your culture.

Myth #2: Your culture is too big to put into words.

Myth #3: You’ll need to make a huge change to fix your culture.

I’m going to tell you all three of these myths are untrue. You’re part of your company’s culture and are capable of defining a problem and working to improve it. Even the smallest and most inexpensive changes can benefit your company for years.

In the past year, CLEARLINK has rapidly grown and during this dramatic personnel growth, we’ve realized we need to make it easier for every employee to make subsequent changes to our culture.

To help make our culture more open-source, we brought in organizational psychologist, Daniel Crosby, Ph.D. While in Salt Lake City, he shared a new process, which he first heard about from Jason Lauritsen of Talent Anarchy, of turning every employee into a culture hacker.

What is a Hacker?

Now when I say “hacker,” don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not saying he encouraged employees to break into computer systems or steal files. Daniel’s definition of a hacker is one who understands the details of a programmable system and makes changes to that system to expand its capabilities. Basically, hacking = competence + curiosity.

1. Daniel says that hacking is effective for three reasons: It’s survivable. Small changes won’t kill your office culture.

2. It’s simple. It isn’t rocket science and all the best hacks are free.

3. It’s scalable. Company culture hacks are repeatable and available to everyone.

Four Steps for a Successful Culture Hack

Now it’s time for you to do your own culture hack. Here are the four steps to take to help make it happen successfully for you.

1. Get curious and think before you hack.

Start off by answering: what’s a culture problem that captivates you?

But, wait! Before you start hacking a culture problem that fascinates you, Daniel wants you to ask yourself if the part of the culture you’re about to change is awesome. Just because you’re passionate about it doesn’t mean it’s broken, so you need to ensure you aren’t wasting your time with something is working effectively.

Once you’ve found an issue that sparks your interest and causes instability in your culture, it’s time to take a deeper look at the problem.

2. Analyze the problem.

Now that you know your target, it’s time to delve in. Daniel explained how much time you should dedicate to understanding the problem with a quote from Albert Einstein, “If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.” It’s important to outline everything you can about the problem you hope to fix, so you have the best game plan possible.

The first step is to establish the elements of the problem you can control. For example, in a meeting, you can control elements like the time of day it’s held, where, the agenda, and how long it lasts. Once you pick one of these elements, you should ask yourself how you could improve it.

Part of that is establishing if it’s in line with your company’s culture. Daniel divides a company’s culture into four dimensions:

Mission: goals, strategy, vision

Adaptability: change, lifetime learning, customer focus

Involvement: empowerment, team focus

Consistency: core values, agreement, integration

Decide if the element you’re focused on is in line with all four of these dimensions. If it is lacking one of these areas, do your research to figure out how to improve it. For example, if your meeting agenda doesn’t keep people engaged, figure out how to effectively conduct a meeting.

3. Make it stick.

Now that you’ve established the problem and figured out how you’re going to solve it, you need to make sure it’s going to be something everyone in the company can implement. This might sound overwhelming, but it isn’t. Daniel came up with three questions to help you.

1. How will you make the solution stick?

Check out the acronym “SUCCES” from the book “Made to Stick.” It will help you figure out how to make your ideas resonate with co-workers.

2. How will you make the solution fun?

Make participation with your resolution enjoyable for employees. If your fix isn’t fun, your co-workers will resort back to the old broken component.

3. What can you do to maximize autonomy?

Give everyone the freedom to use the hack. Make sure it only requires one person and they don’t need a specialized skill to carry out the hack.

4. Present findings.

Your solution will only be beneficial to your culture if its findings are clearly communicated to employees that are in a position to influence the direction of the hack. Make your finding as transparent as possible. When you provide a report to company leaders, Daniel recommends making sure you answer why this is a problem, what the solution is, and how you’ll measure success.

Now that you know how to conduct a culture hack, it’s time to try it out. Let us know in the comments how your hack turns out or via Twitter with the hashtag #culturehack.

Discover Why You Need More Cowbell in Your Life

Shawn Ryan — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:54:59 +0000

By: TARA PATTERSON, CLEARLINK Trainer

People sometimes ask me why my training classrooms often ignite in celebratory applause, cheers, and even screams of encouragement for a great conversion day, a DISH cross-sale, or even cheering for making their customers laugh at a silly joke. People can find themselves accidently walking into our training room and an explosion of cheers and laughter might smother them enough that he or she walks out of the classroom red faced and awed.

Why do I use this tool of recognition and celebration? Because I know it works. Achievement and success can be measured in small milestones of greatness. It would be a shame to not recognize and celebrate each moment that pulled us towards transformation.

Allow me to take you back to your sophomore year in high school where this universal principal was first taught. Newton’s first law states, “An object at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by a force. An object in motion remains in motion, unless acted upon by a force.” Why am I using Newton’s first law to illustrate recognizing and rewarding achievement? MOMENTUM.

The second part of Newton’s first law talks simply about momentum and the power of an “object” remaining in motion, unless acted upon by a force. What if the “object” in motion could be our employees and the “force” that stops acceleration could be simply NOT recognizing them for the small and subtle momentums we see on a day-to-day basis? Or maybe the “object” (our employees) are “at rest” and not feeling encouraged enough by their leaders, so these employees don’t see a need to kick-start any movement toward progress or don’t get that force that could jump start their momentum. Once momentum starts, it’s hard to stop.

Let’s illustrate this point with a story about a friend we’ll call Joe. Joe decided one day that he wanted to run a marathon, which is 26 miles, 26.2 miles, to be exact. Joe had never run a marathon in his life, not even a half marathon. When asked how he was going to do this without ever attempting this feat previously he simply said, “one step at a time.”

When Joe was training for this marathon, he quickly found out he was going to need something to inspire him and help him create momentum when he ran. Right around mile 13, Joe found he was getting discouraged and tired and he wanted to stop. He told a friend about this and the friend recommended celebrating the small victories instead of thinking about the finish line.

“What if you celebrate multiple times throughout your journey? Would that help you push through?”

Joe thought about this a lot and decided that he was going to celebrate 26 times instead of just waiting for that one final victory. He would celebrate at every mile marker to help create that momentum he needed to make it to the finish line. Not only would he raise his hands in the air and cheer, but he decided that he wanted to bring a cow bell to ring as he ran through each mile marker. He wanted everyone around him to hear this celebration to help motivate him and push him along. Little did he know, not only was this cow bell motivating him to push through to the end, but it was also pushing everyone around him as well. After he finished the race, a young lady came up with tears in her eyes and told him, “Thank you. Thank you for celebrating and cheering every single mile. When I wanted to give up, I thought of your celebration and it somehow carried me. Sometimes I wasn’t close to you but I always looked forward to hearing your celebration and for 26 miles, I was refilled and renewed 26 different times until the finish.”

If we translated this movement of celebration to our personal and professional lives, what would it look like? Don’t just celebrate the large victories, but the small ones that are providing momentum toward greatness. Recognizing and rewarding achievement can be effective on larger scales, which in our case includes increased conversion and profitability or even more simply, getting a customer to laugh 10 times on the call. Celebrating and recognizing each individual momentum from our employees will accelerate the transformation from mediocrity.

So, here’s to ringing the cowbell for the small momentums in our lives. One step at a time, one day at a time, until we reach the finish line.

[Image by Flickr user: stevendepolo]

CLEARLINK shaved heads in the fight against breast cancer as a sponsor of the 17th annual Susan G. Komen Utah Race for the Cure®

Marki — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:49:22 +0000

Salt Lake City, UT, May 13, 2013 – On May 11, CLEARLINK participated in the 2013 Susan G. Komen Utah Race for the Cure. Forty-two participants joined the CLEARLINK race team and many more donated to the cause. The company proudly exceeded its goal of $5,000 with a total of $5,721.40 in donations

The day of the race, CLEARLINK reached out to non-employees to raise money in a creative way. At the CLEARLINK booth, race participants and members of the public stepped forward to shave their heads, demonstrating support for all those that have involuntarily lost their hair due to cancer treatment. For every person who shed his or her locks, CLEARLINK made a monetary donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. At the end of the day, CLEARLINK shaved 42 heads and donated $1,000, in addition to funds that the company had already raised…

“The Race fits well with CLEARLINK’s philanthropic philosophy, which goes deeper than just cutting a check and focuses on getting our employees engaged in and involved with the cause at hand,” said Cammie Cable, CLEARLINK’s Vice President of HR. “We believe that by creating an emotional connection, it will provide an intensified impact and commitment from our people. We hope that this will lead to results that surpass what we can accomplish as an organization alone.”

About Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® is a 5K run/fitness walk that raises funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The event promotes awareness, education, and the early detection of the disease. Up to 75% of the funds raised at the Race remain in the Komen Utah Affiliate to fund local organizations which provide breast cancer screening, treatment, and outreach. The remaining 25% goes to fund national research to discover the causes of breast cancer and its cures. For more information about the organization, visit http://www.komenutah.org/.

About CLEARLINK
CLEARLINK, based in Salt Lake City and established in 2003, is the leading provider of content marketing and sales conversion services for the nation’s top consumer brands. CLEARLINK partners with brands such as DISH, AT&T and CenturyLink to develop integrated marketing campaigns that generate leads and capture consumer interest. CLEARLINK converts these inbound sales leads via highly proficient sales professionals. CLEARLINK specializes in inbound phone sales with industry-leading conversion and unmatched quality adherence.

Contact:
Marki Perkins
CLEARLINK
Marki.Perkins@clearlink.com
801.652.3482
www.clearlink.com

The Top 5 Unwritten Rules for Advancing in the Workplace

Brooke Niemeyer — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:00:03 +0000

BY BROOKE NIEMEYER

CLEARLINK values helping each employee advance their careers and we try to give them the tools they need to grow and learn. But in the end, there’s only so much a company can do; a lot of it depends on the employees.

A 2008 study by Catalyst found that there are unspoken advancement strategies in the workplace that successful employees follow. We’ve discovered this is true from people in all areas of our company. Check out what they each did and find out how you can apply these strategies to your own career.

Find ways to be visible in your team and organization.

When you blend into the crowd, you can get lost. But going beyond your assigned duties and standing out will help you get noticed. When Megan Campbell started at CLEARLINK in 2010, she was a sales representative. She didn’t see this as a job that would last, but rather something that would help pay the bills for the time being. But she says that as she gained more responsibilities, she started to see a clear career path before her. She moved into workforce management, followed by a marketing compliance role, and now she is in the operations department. Megan says that her advancement through the company over the past three years came from “taking on projects outside of my job description. Doing so, lead to increased exposure to other people in the organization, which led to more job responsibilities and, ultimately, job transitions.”

Lobby for yourself and your work.

Don’t be passive about the hard work you put into projects. In 2003, Ty Christensen joined CLEARLINK as one of the only six sales representatives here. He progressed within the sales department, first as a coach and then as a manager. He went to operations and then switched gears again and was a marketing intern. From there, he was an affiliate manager, was in business development, was the vice president, and now holds the role of Executive Vice President of CLEARLINK. Ty says that one of the ways he achieved all of this growth and success in his career is by taking initiative. “It took me a long time to realize that if I wasn’t going to do it or say it, no one else would … which left a lot of lost opportunity. You can’t be afraid to step up and take action and produce results.”

Communicate effectively and ask for feedback.

Often times, feedback in the workplace isn’t given until something goes wrong. But you should seek out positive feedback as well as constructive criticism so you know your strengths and what you can do to grow professionally. Alyse Ainsworth started here as a sales representative in 2010 and moved up through the company as a sales team lead, a sales coach, and is now an SEO technician in the marketing department. She says that her mentor, CLEARLINK operations director Aaron Hansen, helped her advance within the company. She says he taught her that “feedback is essential to growth. He never stopped checking in and reminding me how well I have done in the past and how much better that I can do in the future. He was never afraid to be constructive and honest and didn’t once hesitate to tell me when I was doing poorly.”

Network and build relationships both within and outside your organization.

There’s a phrase that says “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” While we don’t agree with this entirely, having a broad network can help you. Taylor Williams, who started at CLEARLINK in 2011, was also a sales representative when he began. He is currently a copywriter in the marketing department and says that talking with people about the position he wanted to have helped him get there. “If you are interested in a position other than the position you currently hold, most people here are happy to talk to you about their role in the company and try to provide you with the tools you need to reach your goals.”

Develop a good career plan; prepare for each step and learn the right skills.

Even if your plan changes as you go, at least you have a map to start with. Our own James Katsanevas has a long list of positions with CLEARLINK, starting in 2006 as a sales representative and then switching over to the marketing department, first as an intern, then affiliate manager, local search channel manager, paid search channel manager, and now an online media manager. As he’s grown, he’s learned that you “pursue areas that you’re genuinely interested in. If you don’t have the skills to pursue those yet, figure out what you can do to get there.”

When it comes to advancing your career within your company, James has one final tip of advice.

“Get your ideas out there. There are millions of ways to improve the company and add value. Focus on applying the skills you have to improve the processes in your everyday work life. Helping processes and those around you will get you recognized.”

And Taylor added, “Work hard, get your shit done, and do it well.”

What other tips do you have for people looking to advance their careers? What has worked best for you?

The Benefits of Workplace Wellness Programs

Marki — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:23:02 +0000

BY: MARKI PERKINS

The Society for Human Resource Management recently conducted a survey, which revealed the top three concerns employers have about implementing a corporate wellness program. These three are the cost of the programs, potential for low levels of employee participation, and lack of time to organize and implement the initiative. Although these are all legitimate concerns, there are plenty of benefits of a corporate wellness program and having one proves to be advantageous to the business.

How Workplace Wellness Programs Provide a Return on Investment

Implementing a wellness program can be costly in the beginning but Harvard Business Review reports that once a wellness program is established, there is a significant return on investment (ROI). Johnson & Johnson saved nearly $600 per employee in 2009 and had disability rates 20% below industry average.

There is also evidence that companies with an effective wellness program have lower voluntary attrition than companies without one. At the Biltmore tourism enterprise, the turnover rate decreased from 19% in 2005 to 9% in 2009 At Nelnet, an education loan center, the number one thing departing employees cite during exit interviews is that they’ll miss the wellness program.

Wellness programs can prevent the amount of absenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace, both of which are extremely costly for employers. A study by Dr. Ronald Loeppke showed that lost productivity costs are 2.3 times higher than medical and pharmacy costs.

Because of the CLEARLINK 360 FIT program, CLEARLINK is able to provide employees with the resources to improve their lives and their health, which then provides us with employees who are present and aware at work.

“This program has allowed me to move my family from a neighborhood that was ranked in the bottom 5% of schools in the state of Utah and was rated in the top 5% of crime and drug trafficking in the state, because I was able to take the money saved per month and put it toward a down payment on a new home in a much better place to raise my family,” CLEARLINK Director of Sales, Jake Goates, said. “Not only has it allowed a better living style for me and my family, it has also assisted in my wife losing 20 pounds because I share all of my tips and tricks from meeting with Heidi Strickland each month and challenge her to increase our health situation in our daily lives. I used to suffer from fainting spells, but with the ongoing support of this program I have pinpointed what makes me vulnerable to those fainting spells and have not actually passed-out in nearly a year now!”

Strengthened Culture: Recruiting Top Talent and Building Employee Commitment

A wellness program can be an incredible benefit for recruiting top talent for organizations. Studies show that culture and benefits are two of the most important aspects that are suggested to take into consideration when candidates are deliberating a job offer. At CLEARLINK, our 360 FIT Wellness program is one of our most valuable assets in retaining and attracting top talent.

Companies often forget to consider the potential to strengthen their company culture and to build employee trust, pride, and commitment by establishing a wellness program. A successful wellness program has the ability to change the lives of your employees and improve the health and wellness of their loved ones as well. This has been shown to generate incredible buy-in from your employees and their support systems.

“Not only has 360 Fit impacted my life, but made a huge impression on my family,” Brittany Goforth, CLEARLINK training coordinator, said. “Being a new mom, I have someone else’s health in my hands. The food and activity choices I make for my family can make habits that will be carried with them for their whole life. I’m so grateful for CLEARLINK’s 360 fit program for helping me make lifestyle decisions that will positively affect me and my family.”

Would you invest in a wellness program for your employees? What would you like to see in a wellness program in your company?

CLEARLINK Will be Turning off the Lights and Rewarding Employees for Participating in Earth Day Activities

Marki — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:19:24 +0000

This Earth Day, April 22, 2013, CLEARLINK is demonstrating their passion for the environment. This Monday, CLEARLINK ‘s Earth Day campaign, “Lights Off, Earth On” will see the company work for an entire day with no use of overhead lights in their offices. The company already utilizes fluorescent lights, which are four to six times more efficient than incandescent lights. However, the best bulb for the Earth is one that is turned off completely. The goal is to raise awareness and spread environmental education to their employees.

In addition to running all day without lights, CLEARLINK is encouraging employees (or CLEARLINKers, as they call them), to participate in environmentally-friendly practices. CLEARLINK will be running a social media campaign on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for employees to post photos showing their creative way to help the environment. CLEARLINKers are urged to showcase themselves biking, car-pooling, or using public transit, planting a garden, skipping the elevator by using the stairs, utilizing reusable bags and mugs, etc. with the hashtag #CLearthday. Everyone who participates will receive points for the CLEARLINK internal wellness program and will be entered to win $100 to The Farm, a restaurant that focuses on locally- sourced ingredients.

“As CLEARLINK’s sphere of influence expands, so, too, does its responsibility to the community,” said CLEARLINK’s CEO, Phil Hansen. “As we continue to grow we are focusing more attention on the company’s triple bottom line which includes our economic, social, and environmental impacts. Our wellness program is a great platform to reinforce this new focus on increasing the company’s environmentally sustainable practices.”

CLEARLINK CEO Phil Hansen named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 finalist in the Utah Region

Shawn Ryan — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:10:48 +0000

Salt Lake City, UT, 4/12/2013 – Today, Ernst & Young LLP announced that Phil Hansen, CEO of CLEARLINK, the leading provider of content marketing and sales conversion services for top consumer brands, was named a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2013 program in the Utah Region. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Winners will be presented at a special gala on June 20 at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

Now in its 27th year, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Program has honored the inspirational leadership of innovative entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com; Michael Dell of Dell, Inc.; Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines; Fred Smith of FedEx; Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google; Richard Schulze of Best Buy; Andrew Mason of Groupon; Mindy Grossman of HSN, Inc.; Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; and many more.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year^® Awards are nationally sponsored in the United States by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In the Utah Region, local sponsors include Corporate Staging Resources LLC; Digital Bytes Production & Design; Diversified Insurance Group; Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.; Scherzer International; Strong & Hanni Law Firm; and The Summit Group Communications.

About CLEARLINK

CLEARLINK, based in Salt Lake City and established in 2003, is the leading provider of content marketing and sales conversion services for the nation’s top consumer brands. CLEARLINK partners with brands such as Dish Network, AT&T and CenturyLink to develop integrated marketing campaigns that generate leads and capture consumer interest. CLEARLINK then converts these inbound sales leads via highly proficient sales professionals. CLEARLINK specializes in inbound phone sales with industry-leading conversion and unmatched quality adherence.

About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year^® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award recognizes the significant contributions of entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

About Ernst & Young LLP’s Strategic Growth Markets practice

Ernst & Young LLP’s Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Its multidisciplinary team of elite professionals provides perspective and advice to help clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. Ernst & Young is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter at EY_Growth.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, 167,000 people are united by shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. Ernst & Young makes a difference by helping its people, its clients and its wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit ey.com.
Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

CLEARLINK Employee Development Program Wins a Bronze Stevie Award

Brooke Niemeyer — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:50:51 +0000

At the annual Stevie Awards this month, CLEARLINK won a bronze Stevie Award in the Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year category for the hard work put into the employee development program.

“The combination of LEAD 360, Knowledge River, and Let’s be CLEAR programs, and many other training and career development opportunities, are just beginning to show the many dimensions of employee development at CLEARLINK,” CLEARLINK Vice President of Employee Development Chuck Melick said. “Our commitment to personal and professional growth is growing with much more on the horizon for our dedicated CLEARLINK employees.”

The Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service are the world’s top sales awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards. The Stevie Awards organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

More than 1,100 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition, an increase of 10% over 2012. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 120 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.

“It’s great to work for a company that embraces employee development,” Melick said. “The Stevie Award we received for our employee development efforts affirms the CLEARLINK core belief of investing in the development of our employees.”

CLEARLINK Receives the Gold’s Gym Corporate Wellness Diamond Award

Brooke Niemeyer — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:16:54 +0000

Gold’s Gym recognized CLEARLINK with the Corporate Wellness Diamond Award. This is the second year in a row CLEARLINK has received this recognition for the best wellness program.

“CLEARLINK is honored to be recognized as a two-time Gold’s Gym Diamond Award recipient,” CLEARLINK Office Manager Kandi Phillips said. “This award represents our commitment to our employees and the ability to give them 100% health care and is in large part due to our 360 Fit wellness program.”

CLEARLINK proudly offers 100% healthcare to full-time employees who are with the company for a year. Employees can participate in the corporate wellness program, 360 Fit, which encourages healthy lifestyles and promotes health and wellness education.

“The program was designed to enhance the lives of our employees through health and wellness initiatives,” Phillips said. “Knowing we’re making an impact on our employees’ lives makes this award even more meaningful.”

Top 3 Reasons to Plan Family-Friendly Events for Your Company

Marki — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:13:20 +0000

BY: MARKI PERKINS

Company incentives and events are a prime time to show that the company values family time and cares about employees as individuals. Holding family-friendly company events can benefit both your company and your employees. Research done by Harvard University business administration Professor Teresa M. Amabile and independent researcher Steven J. Kramer found that companies that work at maintaining employee happiness experience higher employee effectiveness and productivity.

CLEARLINK recently held an ice skating event, where we rented out a local ice rink for our staff and their families. We wanted to show our appreciation for all they do that they could share with their loved ones. The results that we see from our employees prove these events don’t go unnoticed

Why should you have an event that is geared toward family?

1. Shows Appreciation for Your Employees

Coordinating activities outside of the office for your employees to participate in can show that you appreciate their contribution to the company. It offers them a chance to do something they may not experience otherwise, and at no cost to them.

“It was my son’s first time ice skating and he said that it was AWESOME,” Matt Pulley, the CLEARLINK Vice President of Telecommunications, said. “He went from clinging to the rail to speeding around the rink by the end of the night.”

When you include their families in these activities, it demonstrates that you value their family time and recognize the support that your employee’s families provide. As a company, you may gain added support from spouses and family members to encourage employees to perform at work. Individuals who feel appreciated are motivated to perform and are engaged in their work. When family members are included in company events, it only enhances this level of motivation and engagement.

2. Builds New Relationships

Including families in these company events can strengthen existing relationships and lead to the establishment of new relationships between your employees. People have a natural tendency to build relationships with close coworkers, who are typically in the same department. This makes sense because of the increased amount of time that spent with them and the fact that everyone on the team is working toward a common goal. It is often more difficult to build new relationships with others in the company but in a different department but getting out of the office and into a social setting allows your employees to get to know one another on a different level. When children and spouses are involved, it can lead to a deeper bond and provide an unexpected ice breaker. At our event, we noticed interactions between individuals who probably would not have talked with each other if their children had not made a connection.

These new relationships can have a profound effect on the workplace. Employees can develop enhanced camaraderie and increased loyalty for one another, as well as the company.

3. Enhances the Work/Life Balance

The Corporate Executive Board reports that employees work 21% harder if they feel they have a better work-life balance. Many companies are taking the steps to reach this balance, which is challenging. There is no magical 50/50 combination, but there are things that companies can do to influence this greatly sought after balance between the two. Some of the more popular practices that companies are adopting to encourage this work-life balance are flexible work schedules, telecommuting options, and on-site facilities (gyms, cafes, etc.) for increased convenience. But it can go further than this with company-sponsored family events.

“It’s really nice to be part of a company that has family friendly events after work,” Tara Patterson, a trainer at CLEARLINK, said. “We work all day together so it’s nice to see each other in a different setting, like ice. I laughed so hard trying to pull professional ice skating stunts and falling down with some of my peers. I love my CLEARLINK family!”

Depending on the type of event that you choose to sponsor you can touch several areas of your employee’s lives simultaneously. Many of these events combine family, friends, community participation, recreation, and more. Company events for families help employees feel like their employer cares about them and are more likely to achieve the same goals in less time than employees who feel like their company doesn’t care.

Has your company done any family-oriented events? What ideas do you have for company-sponsored events for employees and their families?