Many of our clients are looking for more than just another repetitive happy hour. They want their company events to truly improve company culture, to drive connections, and improve working relationships in the office. 

One key area for those improvements is with regard to employee recognition. If you're looking for help infusing recognition into your company events, you'll want to start with these simple questions.

Think about a time when you really nailed it. That feeling when you reached a milestone. That moment when you hit your goal. It feels good, right? It feels even better when someone else notices. So, how do you amplify the positive feeling so your employees feel recognized?

Your company event strategy can have a huge impact on the culture of your organization. So, rather than planning events last minute, it's important to consider what you really want to gain from the events, and how you want your company to grow.

We have some key tips on how to use events to create greater recognition, connection, balance, inclusivity, and fun.  

Remember how winter felt when you were a kid? The exciting feeling of the first "snow day" of the year. The warm, sweet, creamy first sip of hot cocoa after a snowball fight. The carefree delight of ice skating with your friends. 

Those were the good old days. Why did things seem so good, so simple back then? 

It’s that time of year again. There’s a chill in the air. Puffy jackets, hats and scarves are on. Your morning coffee is dressed up in a holiday cup. And your company holiday party is just around the corner.

Welcome to Leaders In Play! We interview people who take having FUN at work very seriously. We know, it seems like a crazy concept, but incorporating Play At Work has been proven to improve employee engagement, creativity, recruitment, retention, and provide countless other benefits that help create healthy company culture. Read on to learn more about our featured leader and their definition of Play, both in and out of the workplace.

Sports, at the end of the day, should be fun--even in the professional ranks. After all, they do play “games” every night, don’t they? The difference is their games often come within a high pressure environment where winning is the primary goal. There’s not one blueprint for how to win.

It's basically November, which means one thing:

It is OFFICIALLY company holiday party crunch time.

If you're still looking for the right venue, location, or partner for this year's company Christmas party, it's all good. The clock is ticking, but there are still tons of great places out there. We're here to help.

Whether it be bowling, a murder mystery, or musical bingo, ZogCulture has you covered for your company's seasonal parties and in-person events!  

Okay, so it’s late October, and you’re getting down to brass tacks on your company holiday party. You want it to feel special. You want your employees to be excited about it. You want to celebrate a great year with a night that is memorable and fun to keep them feeling engaged and valued.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Because as we roll into October, it's time to start hardcore planning.

Congratulations to Barbara Rentler, CEO of Ross Stores on making the recently released Forbes list of America’s Most Innovative Leaders. Barbara joins 99 men to round out the 100-person list. Wait a minute. Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me that of all the most innovative leaders in the country, Forbes could only find one woman to meet their criteria?

A venue sets the stage for what kind of party you’re going to have and the variables when choosing one can make anyone’s head spin. Before you decide on the place, it’s helpful to know roughly how many people will be attending, what activities will be planned, and, of course, what budget you have to work with. Even with this information, though, wading through the options and finding a venue that checks every box on your criteria can be quite the challenge.

Feeling excluded really stinks. That’s why it’s so often part of the story arc for high school cult-classic movies, and—on the positive side—one of the first lessons you learn as a kid. Exclude nobody and include everybody, always.

Welcome to Leaders In Play! We interview people who take having FUN at work very seriously. We know, it seems like a crazy concept, but incorporating Play At Work has been proven to improve employee engagement, creativity, recruitment, retention, and provide countless other benefits that help create healthy company culture. Read on to learn more about our featured leader and their definition of Play, both in and out of the workplace.

If you want to improve your company culture, grow your business, and inspire your team to improve, you’ve got to be ready to learn. We did some homework and wanted to share our findings with our Culture Community. Check out what we learned today.