It’s every smart organisation’s aim to keep hold of its productive and motivated staff for as long as possible. Corporations go about retaining quality employees in many different ways – offering monetary rewards, training, opportunities for growth and development, and more tangible perks such as a company car or pampering packages. What you’ll notice with many of these initiatives is that they are focused on rewarding the employee exclusively. Wouldn’t it be effective if a company not only said thank you to the employee, but also to the people that support them, such as their partners, children and wider family?
Rewarding both employees and their families is becoming an increasingly popular way to boost morale and aid staff retention within an organisation. And what better way for companies to show their appreciation of employees than to encourage them to take some time out with their loved ones. But rather than spending up big and sending each family on a short holiday, why not bring the team and their families together for a corporate social event?
A fun and inspiring corporate family day is an attractive means for companies to show appreciation to their staff.
“It’s paramount that companies recognise the importance of their employee’s families and assist them in achieving a work/life balance,” says John Spencer, group sales manager of Luna Park Sydney.
“Good balance keeps staff motivated and often results in higher attendance and performance in the workplace. We see this happening on a day-to-day basis with those corporations allocating resources to building environments that support this balance.”
Not only do successful family events promote the importance of work/life balance, they also give organisations a chance to build their brand and reaffirm their visions and values through rewarding their top performing staff.
“Reward and recognition is becoming a high priority for corporate companies to ensure staff remain motivated and loyal, and an end-of-year function is an ideal platform to thank staff for their hard work and dedication throughout the year,” says Rebecca Hughes, business development executive of Rosehill Gardens Event Centre.
“Employers are also realising the importance of staff spending quality time with their family and therefore see great benefit in inviting family to these events. Large corporations feel this is an effective way of acknowledging their staff on a personal level and not just simply as a number or another small link in the chain. And the positive impact on staff morale and team culture is enormous.”
Corporate family days can be organised for any group size, from modest to massive. And regardless of magnitude, an all-day event could encompass any number of different events and activities aimed at employees, partners and children.
While employee-only functions may take the form of cocktail dos, trivia nights, annual awards events and team-building activities, corporate family events will assimilate more family-orientated activities such as picnics with treasure hurts, bouncing castles and children’s entertainers.
But before an organiser sets out to create a winning event program, it’s essential they have a clear understanding of what the organisation who is throwing the party wants out of the initiative. In other words, organisers must define what the core objectives of the corporate family day are. These are likely to differ from organisation to organisation, and may even change within that same company year-on-year. A corporation may wish to celebrate a large business win or the completion of a project by putting on a huge party and inviting family and friends of employees along. A corporate family day could also be used as a platform to demonstrate and reiterate the company’s values, visions, products and brand, or to encourage social interaction between staff members. Commonly, larger organisations reward their workforce with an annual corporate family day to show their appreciation and gratitude for another year’s hard work.
Having organised a number of family days in the past, managing director and executive producer of G1 Productions, Ian Walsh says he finds a recurrent objective for corporate family events is to give back to the families of employees for the long hours they work which results in the loss of “family time”.
“Family days also help to give a face to the corporation, especially with the young ones who don’t fully understand what their parents do,” says Mr Walsh.
Working out what the core objectives are before brainstorming ideas for the event will ensure that not only the organisation gets what it wants from the time and money spent, but that the participants in the day enjoy themselves and gain value from the initiative as well.
When you know the objectives of your family day, it’s time to work out what sort of program would suit your group. So how do you come up with the formula for a memorable event that staff will talk about for weeks, months, even years afterwards?
You could start with the employees. Employee opinion and input could prove essential to getting the right mix for the event, so you might like to query staff members as to what they think would be an ideal venue or activity. Do they want an all-day event, or one that will go for just a few hours? Should it be outdoors or indoors? Would their children get excited about dressing up as per a theme?
As with any event, when deciding on the different elements of the program you need to consider the demographics of those attending. “When organising a family day, the age group of the children needs to be taken into account,” says Mr Walsh.
“Generally you’re dealing with young babies through to early teenagers. The majority would likely be toddlers and ‘tweens’. Therefore, you’ll need to offer a range of activities throughout the day, especially for the tweens as they don’t want to be perceived as doing things that are not ‘the new black’.”
Your event might need a balance of different children’s activities with ones more suited towards the parents. Alternatively you could combine all demographics and organise family fun challenges, such as orientation-style activities where families work in teams.
You also need to consider how to cater for the event. Depending on the venue and types of activities you run, your group might benefit best from a three-course sit-down lunch in a marquee, or an open-air barbecue with picnic tables. If you’re on a tight budget, you might decide to invite guests to bring their own picnics along.
The activities and elements you decide to include may be dictated by the location or venue at which you hold your corporate family day. For instance, if you’re looking to base your next event at a theme park, it’s likely you will need to adhere to food and beverage regulations, whereas setting up your event in a local park is likely to allow more freedom of catering. But the venue may also inspire you by providing ready-made theming such as a zoo or aquarium.
“In my experience, the most popular family days have been attached to a cinema or theme park,” says Mr Walsh.
“Venues like Luna Park have been very popular programs as the family can meet in a central area for refreshments and the kids can run freely and safely through the rides. Cinemas such as Hoyts at the Entertainment Quarter are very popular especially with big name kids movies. The site also offers a safe environment for the older children to be able to wander around as well as a variety of other activities which can be incorporated into the day, such as putt putt golf, ten pin bowling and markets.”
You also need to consider the accessibility of a venue, and whether there is adequate public transport or car parking spaces.
Getting the entertainment mix right for your corporate family day could be more complex than you think. For a start, you’re likely to be appealing to two very different audiences with different musical tastes – adults and children.
So how can you ensure that the entertainment you choose will be a hit with all event participants? Gavin George, managing director of Enhance Entertainment shares some pointers to help you pick out the right entertainment for your next event.
1. Treat your guests to a family-friendly celebrity. An on-stage performance by an Australian icon (such as Marcia Hines and James Morrison) creates real excitement, and it will show employees and families just how valued they are. If the budget won’t reach, consider a cameo from an impersonator like Dame Edna or Austin Powers.
2. Create a buzz on a budget with entertainers that impact large groups over long periods. Think stilt walkers, comedic clowns, roving musicians, magicians, and even controlled-fire shows.
3. Surprise your guests! A creative hoax act at the right time is always a crowd pleaser. For example, performers posing as guests or wait staff can break into an “impromptu” dance routine which becomes a fully-choreographed stage show. You can really think outside the square with this.
4. Make use of entertainment that gives mums and dads a break. Face painters and caricaturists are always a favourite. This entertainment keeps the kids amused for hours (they like to watch their friends as well).
Combining knowledge with fun can be a tough art to master when you’re trying to impress kids. But there are a number of venues that can incorporate learning into a corporate family day without draining the event and activity’s appeal.
The new Powerhouse Discovery Centre: Collection Stores at Castle Hill in Sydney’s greater west is a versatile site that offers fun and facts all in the one package. More than 50,000 objects from the Powerhouse Museum collection are stored on-site, from planes, cars and horse-drawn carriages to rare ceramics, fashion and toys.
Also combining discovery with laughs is the Art Gallery of South Australia. Centrally located on Adelaide’s leafy North Terrace, the gallery offers special guided tours tailor-made for children, and has a number of function spaces where corporate family events can be set up, including the Sculpture Courtyard which can cater for up to 500. You could also tie an event in with the venue’s school holiday workshops, family drop-in days and the Eye Spy Club – themed tours designed for children aged between five and 10 years old.
The Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney invites kids and parents to learn more about the history of ships and boats to our shores. Together with their education department, the museum can tailor a corporate family day to suit.
For an educational experience involving animals, look no further than the Australian Reptile Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. Located an hour north of Sydney, this zoo with a difference is home to many Australian mammals and reptiles.
When it comes to venues for corporate family days, there’s nothing better than an environment where parents can sit back and relax knowing that although their kids are running wild, they’re doing so in a safe place. That’s where entertainment playgrounds and theme parks come into play!
The Showring at the Entertainment Quarter is a great example of a space that provides a safe and secure environment for kids. Located in the heart of Moore Park in Sydney, this adaptable open-air space measuring 13,000 square metres is surrounded by on-site activities including bungee, jumping castles, carousel, ice rink (available June to October), movies and ten pin bowling. The Entertainment Quarter can provide on-site parking for 2000 cars and coach bay facilities. The Melbourne Showgrounds is another ideal venue for keeping the kids at bay at a corporate family day. An expansive site, the Melbourne Showgrounds has both indoor and outdoor function areas to cater for all seasons, including 15 pavilions and 8000 square metres of covered exhibition space. A variety of facilities and loads of adaptable spaces means bringing together the right rides and entertainment to deliver an unforgettable day is a cinch.
Family days at Luna Park are often a hit with staff and their families. The iconic Sydney landmark can cater for a variety of event programs for groups of up to 8000, from a casual outdoor barbeque to a formal banquet lunch in one of its nine venues. The park has more than 19 rides, including the famous Coney Island, and can compliment these with face painting, entertainers and various themepark characters. And while the kids are off enjoying themselves, the adults could indulge in a bit of pampering. Seatedmassage can offer mobile massage therapists who will tend to uptight parents on the spot at a corporate family day. One group offering corporate family day options where kids and parents play together is Strike Bowling Bar. You can find the ten pin bowling venues in six locations around Australia, including three sites in Victoria, two in Queensland and one in Moore Park, Sydney, with the seventh Strike Bowling Bar opening in Sydney’s CBD in September. Strike Bowling Bar venues combine private bowling lounges, karaoke rooms, lounge areas, and private rooms in a kid-friendly and funky environment.
To reward and recognise their employees’ dedication and performance throughout the year, Johnson & Johnson Medical threw a huge end-of-year company bash at the Sydney Turf Club in 2006. The medical heavyweight not only extended invitations to its staff, but also welcomed partners and family of employees to its corporate day of festivities held at Rosehill Gardens. Running between 11am and 3pm on the first Saturday of summer, the event catered for more than 1000 of Johnson & Johnson Medical employees and their families, who enjoyed a carnival-like atmosphere at the open grounds of Rosehill Gardens. For four fun hours, attendees enjoyed unlimited carnival rides, live entertainment and a much-anticipated gourmet barbeque, which was popular with kids and parents. Being December, the event also had a Christmas element to it, with Santa Clause arriving at one point in the day with show bags and presents for the kids.
To add to the carnival atmosphere, a fairy floss machine was made available to those who couldn’t control their sweet tooths. Guests were encouraged to bring picnic blankets to sit outside on the grass and enjoy the afternoon in front of the band while watching their kids take advantage of the unlimited rides. There were about 10 rides all up, including dodgem cars, freefall, jumping castle, and The Ranger (similar to the Pirate Ship). It was the second year that Johnson & Johnson Medical held their end-of-year corporate family day at Rosehill Gardens. Ann Keegan from Johnson & Johnson Medical said that a fantastic day was had by all in 2006.
“The Rosehill staff were all fantastic, nothing was too much trouble. Staff make or break a function, and without a doubt, all the staff helped make our family Christmas party a huge success,” she said.
The group has booked in again this year for their second corporate family day at the venue for the same time of year. For their event, Johnson & Johnson Medical utilises the Sydney Turf Club’s Carnival Package, which includes venue hire with free parking, four hours of unlimited rides, entertainment and the gourmet barbeque.
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