Last updated 3 December 2021 ·
The retail calendar is teeming with activity more than ever these days, from Summer Sizzlers through Black Friday Bonanzas and Christmas Deals, not to mention the increasing popularity of Halloween here in the UK. And Valentine’s Day, well, that’s just for teenagers, right?!
The sure thing is, it’s a never-ending cycle! But it works! Companies rely on seasonal campaigns to drive sales and grow their businesses year on year.
Such themed campaigns of similar nature can also work inwards amongst those working within an organisation to boost employee engagement, facilitate employee recognition and above all, keep things interesting! They can be very effective in restoring energy and ensuring employees are focused on hitting short-term milestones. They also make it easier to help your team perform consistently without the peaks and troughs you might be used to seeing.
Internal campaigns can last for a month, a quarter, or a time period that makes sense to you. We’ve seen Christmas campaigns last ten weeks, three-week Easter campaigns, and plenty of calendar-quarter campaigns.
Here are six essential components that your internal campaign should have:
- A title: Don’t underestimate the value of having a quirky name for your campaign. When you name your campaign, for example, ‘Raise the Bar’ or ‘Million Pound March’, it becomes real, and your employees can really relate to it.
- A timeframe: We prefer shorter timeframes, ideally 12 weeks or less. Don’t make it so long that employees get bored. You want a real effort to lift performance that will make an impact and keep the team energised.
- Visual representation: We love to see real-life campaign visuals. Something on the wall that shows people where they are and where they’re going with the campaign is brilliant. We’ve seen football-based campaigns with team members’ faces represented in a league table. Or Christmas trees with their faces on baubles. It’s okay to be a little bit cheesy with these.
- Consistency: It’s going to be important to keep your team focused on the current campaign. One team we worked with created a campaign around #PlayYourPart. They printed coffee mugs with an internal brand for the team. And whenever there was an update on team performance, they used the #PlayYourPart logo. Others we’ve seen include #RaiseTheBar journals, #BeYourBest pens and #Team400 T-shirts.
- Light-hearted nature: One of the great things that happen when you build a campaign is lightening the mood. Yes, business is serious, but there are still moments where the team can feel good. Seeing a campaign succeed from day to day is a great way to lighten the mood and get everyone pulling together.
- A reward: Make sure that you reward those who take actions that are aligned with the campaign. Who has scored the most goals? Who has the highest bauble on the tree or who has stepped up and #PlayedTheirPart?
Achieving the desired outcome
The outcome you want is that your employees engage with the campaign. They understand the purpose, their part in making it a success and how they and the business will benefit in the long run. It provides a short-term focus and can drive super focused employee efforts and activities aligned with your objectives. And when you reward the team for nailing the campaign, everyone feels a huge sense of camaraderie – and renewed energy for the next campaign.
So go on, give this a try and see how it can have real benefits on employee engagement and team culture. Plus, it will help you move the department, division or entire organisation closer to achieving its objectives and overall business vision.
For more information on maximising team performance, check out our blog 4 Tips to maximise team performance with hybrid working.
If you have any questions about this blog or would like more guidance on creating internal motivational campaigns of this nature, reach out to us by emailing hello@reclaro.com, we will be more than happy to help.
