Did you know at most companies HR is responsible for the implementation and coordination of company wide events?

Human Resources is often looked at as the people who hire and the people who fire but that is not how we see ourselves! We love to keep our employees happy and a lot of times this means planning events. Events are not only great for boosting company morale but they are a terrific tool for keeping employees up-to-date. Let’s take a look at the types of events HR hosts.
Townhalls: Whether you call them townhalls, all-hands meeting or company-wide meetings, it’s all the same purpose – to get everyone from your company together. Many times this is used as an informative meeting to update employees on company news, achievements & accomplishments and goals. This is also a great opportunity to recognize employees for all of their hard work and allow individual teams to give updates on their successes. While you have everyone together it is within your advantage to keep it fun! Play some ice breakers, team games, encourage employees to really get to know each other.
Wellness: A huge focus today for organizations is employee wellness, and for good reason. Now, more than ever organizations are realizing that the health – both mental and physical – of their employees is key. Ensuring employees are well aware of the different benefits they are offered is also extremely important. These types of events can be done around open-enrollment or throughout the year with different initiatives. Some examples include coffee chats, a run club, book club, farmers markets on-site – there are many possibilities. A great way to manage this is to get your employees involved! HR often runs a team of volunteers from different areas of the company, allowing employees to have a voice in what they want to see!
Team Building: Another great event HR can help with is team building. We talked about how this can be incorporated into company-wide events but this is also something that should be used within smaller teams. It is important that your team works well together. Often times when we are wrapped up in work, it is not easy to spend time getting to know your coworkers. This is why a strong focus of ours is ensuring you help build your teams’ trust and cooperation. These can be a series of smaller events such as lunches, team potlucks, team walks, etc. It can also be a bigger event such as an escape room, cooking class, trivia, or obstacle course. The key is to be inclusive and aware of your teams needs and requirements.

This list is not extensive. There are many other events that HR helps with. For many of us, it’s the best part of being in HR! So don’t hesitate to reach out to your Human Resources team to see how they can help you with your next event.