The Importance of the Company Social
A look at why a good social can make or break a small company.
Yesterday we went for our monthly work social. We’re not hiring at the moment, so I have no real reason to tell you this- but they’re hands down the best work socials I’ve ever been on. They involve activities, multiple pubs, and restaurants worth going back to. And everything is paid for.
From my time at various other companies, it’s the fact that the socials are paid for the surprises me more than anything. It got me thinking about socials, what they’re for and how you can justify the cost. Especially when you work for a start-up that has eight employees.
The most obvious reason is staff retention. Replacing a member of staff is expensive in any size of company. You lose the knowledge and experience of a member of staff, have to pay out recruitment fees and, even if you immediately find the perfect candidate and have the best knowledge management, it’ll always take a month or so for their potential to be realized.
However I think there is more to it than that:
Good socials are socials so good that the whole company wants to come.
The culture, and by extension the output and ethos itself, of a small company is made by its people. The more time, in the more situations, each employee spends together; the more they learn about each other, about how to interact with each other, and the more naturally they can work together.
I’m weary of using such a loaded term- but creating an enjoyable experience out of the office where everyone can join in goes a long way to creating a safe space. One which bleeds over into the work and helps make everyone more productive.
The lesson: A healthy company social life makes a healthy company.
