This week marks International Week of Happiness at Work, a topic that Resolve holds particularly close to its heart.
We spend most of our lives at work, so it makes sense to make work a happy place to be. Here are some of the ways we make our workplace a happy place…
We Come Together as One
In many companies, people get too wrapped up in what they (or their team are up to) and lose sight of other teams and indeed people within the business. That’s why once a month the whole Resolve team comes together for the monthly team meeting to gain insight into what’s happening within the company, within different teams, what’s coming up, celebrate achievements and so on. It’s a great way to stay connected as a workforce, keeping in-the-know with things work wise and informally catching with colleagues we don't sit next to.
Recognise Achievements
Ahead of the monthly team meetings, all staff are asked to nominate a colleague who has gone the extra mile that month; someone who deserves a reward for their exceptional work. All entries are then shared with Resolve’s workforce and people vote on who should win. For our regular followers and customers, this concept may sound familiar (when you hear us talking about the Resolve Horse). The winner is then announced at the team meeting and is awarded the Resolve Horse (a small toy horse) along with a prize (usually a £20 Amazon voucher) as a thanks for their hard work that month. This is a really nice way to recognise colleagues’ achievements, which the Resolve team really enjoys. During the team meeting, all the customer comments that we have received that month (specific to certain colleagues) are also shared with the wider team.
Little Treats
Also coinciding with the Resolve team meeting is a monthly feast. Ahead of every team meeting staff get to vote for what food / cuisine they would like to indulge in at the meeting (within limits of course - unfortunately the budget won’t stretch as far as lobster or caviar!). We do like to mix things up a bit, so one month it might be pizza, the next pie, the world's our oyster with the range of excellent eateries within Sheffield.😀
Celebrate Excellence
Aside from the monthly Resolve team meeting, we also partake in celebrating excellence throughout the month via our Microsoft Teams Chat. In Teams we have a specific ‘Celebrating Excellence’ thread where staff are encouraged to give colleagues a special shout out for anything excellent they have done. Comments can also be accompanied by cute little badges such as Praise, Awesome, Team Player and so on…
Again this is a nice way for colleagues to share gratitude / give kudos to fellow colleagues for something nice whilst also putting a smile on their face.
Get Social
The phrase "teamwork makes the dream work" was coined for a reason, it really does work because teams are more likely to be successful together than as individuals. That’s why every quarter each team within Resolve has allocated budget to get out and about with their team and do something social. Each team member gets to put ideas forward as to what they do for the social, which is then voted on. Past team socials have included Crazy Golf, food and drinks and Shuffleboard. It’s clear to see the many benefits that team building activities have, such as improved communication and problem solving skills, which also transfer back into the workplace making procedures run more smoothly. The quarterly social events are also a great way to get to know your team better, what they like, don’t like, and how good at crazy golf they are (really important intel to have on your colleagues 😁).
Company Wide Socials
As well as the quarterly team socials, Resolve also organises a yearly Resolve Day Social. This entails a day out of the office for the whole team as a thank you for all our hard work throughout the year.
Past Resolve Day activities have included bowling, escape rooms, and this year we went Go Karting by day and dining by night. During the evening, individual key achievements are celebrated with awards, certificates and good old-fashioned fun.
Resolve Day has been a tradition for many years now and is highly regarded by all the team. Again, it is a great way to mingle with colleagues which you don’t normally get to interact with, and receive thanks for your contribution towards the company.
Work Environment
It might seem a no brainer, but work environment is a key area for creating happiness at work. Staff are much happier at work when they have a nice, clean, inviting workspace where they can comfortably get on with their tasks. Resolve has recently moved to a brand-new workspace after outgrowing our old residence, which certainly meets this spec.
This involved revamping the new office from scratch, and in doing so Resolve gathered feedback from all staff to ask what they would like to see in the new office / what is important to them for a nice collaborative workspace. This input was greatly appreciated by staff as it showed how much their opinions and wishes were valued in the progression of the business.
Having only moved into the new office last week, the whole team is absolutely thrilled with the look and feel of the new place. Working areas are funky and modern, but clean and tidy. We have collaboration areas for creative thinking, a huge open plan kitchen /canteen area where staff can mingle during breaks, and quite possibly the best bit… a Resolve ORANGE pool table.
Overall, the new office is simply a nice place to be, where staff can work at ease and socialise in a nice setting during downtime.
Staff Feedback
Perhaps the most important part of ensuring staff are happy at work (and probably the most obvious) is by getting their feedback on what makes them happy at work, and what things could be improved. Having this in-depth knowledge on people’s thoughts can help shape how you create a happier workforce. Resolve regularly sends out employee surveys to do exactly that, and ensures any negative comments are followed up on (although responses are of course anonymised).
We hope this blog has give you an idea or two on how on create happiness at work. As a company we are always keen to explore other ways of creating a happy, healthy workforce, so if your company does something nice which we don’t be sure to share this with us!
Happy International Week of Happiness at Work all!
