Nearly 8 million people watch the NCAA tournaments each year, which means there is a pretty good chance your employees are preoccupied with their brackets and trying to catch a glance at scores and games throughout the day. While many business articles and blogs are talking about the loss of productivity and employees slacking off due to the excitement of bracket busting wins, why not embrace the undeniable draw of the games?

Should You Worry About Employee Engagement During March Madness?

MarchMadnessandEmployeeEngagement

Employee engagement and productivity do not have to come to a grinding halt because there is college basketball on that day. An engaged employee is consistently engaged because the organization has created a culture of engagement and recognition. What should be assumed is that an engaged employee who’s ducking out a few hours early to watch his underdog alma mater crush their top-ranked rival worked extra hard, and without interruptions, before doing so. The employees that you should be worrying about are the actively disengaged employees in January, and July, and October.

In fact, this ROWE ™ article, asks the real question, “Who’s to say that the employee watching the games from Noon to 3 pm isn’t more productive than the employee hopping from meeting to meeting that bemoans the fact he’s ‘working’ 70 hours a week?” A disengaged and unhappy employee annually costs an organization hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages and productivity, not just in the month of March.   

How to Incorporate Employee Engagement into March Madness

So, why not use the madness of March to your organization’s benefit? Pull your basketball-crazed employees into the conference room to watch the big game and provide snacks and treats. Let casual Friday become "Fan Friday" and allow employees to wear their favorite team’s gear. Create your own company brackets to get folks excited and talking with other departments that they may not chat with on a regular basis. Maybe give out a few points to the bracket winner as part of your strategic total employee engagement platform?

Simply put, create an environment where your employees don’t have to duck out early to catch the big game. Embrace the madness and excitement of March internally and see employee engagement and productivity soar all year long. 

Since we’re on the topic of brackets, who do you have making it all the way?
Sound off in the comments below!

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   At C.A. Short Company, we are your partner for increased employee engagement resulting in increased performance outcomes to grow your bottom line. Our process and research-based platform helps you engage your team in order to increase your bottom line, motivate your staff to the benefit of the entire organization, and reward your people for the positive changes they make. To request a Complimentary Consultation, please click here. 

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