Summer is in full swing, and along with it warm-weather activities like outdoor festivals, swimming and visits to the park. Those of us based at Echo360 Technologies headquarters are always extra excited for this time of year as the perfect remedy to our long northeast Ohio winters.

Summer is also the perfect time for picnics.

The company picnic, an annual traditional at many workplaces, offers a wonderful opportunity to have a relaxing time with co-workers as a reward for everyone’s hard work throughout the year. However, it is important to plan carefully to make sure that it really is a reward, rather than just another work obligation to endure.

How can you make sure your company picnic is the best it can be? Check out our tips for some helpful ideas.

Survey employees ahead of time

A simple company-wide survey in advance of the big day is a great way to find out what your employees want out of the event. Ask about things like what food to serve, which games to play, how long the picnic should last – anything that is up for discussion. By letting employees have their say, you can find out ahead of time what they want to do and avoid unpopular ideas. They will also feel more invested and excited about an event that they had some say in planning, as opposed to something that was organized with input from only a small handful of employees.

Echo360Point’s scheduling feature allows you to create online surveys and send them out to all of your employees so that you can make informed decisions. A variety of question types – including multiple-choice, short answer and numeric response – give you the power to gather whatever information you need to know.

By letting employees have their say, you can find out ahead of time what they want to do and avoid unpopular ideas.

Play games during the picnic

Summer may be the perfect time for some outdoor fun, but not everybody wants or is able to participate in more physical activities like baseball games or races. Echo360Point’s gamification features – including participant and team leader boards, team MVP slides, wager slides and fastest responder slides – make it easy to set up trivia games and award prizes to the winners.

For something a little more elaborate, we have Echo360Point game templates that anyone can use. These are modeled after popular game shows like “Jeopardy!” and “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” and are available here.

Get everyone’s feedback

Once the picnic is over, it is the perfect time to ask employees about what they liked, what they didn’t like and what suggestions they have for next year. Using Echo360Point’s anonymous polling feature ensures that employees will feel comfortable expressing their honest thoughts and opinions. With this valuable feedback in hand, you will be prepared to plan an even better event next year.

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