DO YOU LIKE FOOTBALL?
Any answer leads to a single consequence: Three weeks await us in which nothing else will be discussed…; at work, in the cafeteria, with friends, with family, etc. The World Cup reduced productivity in the company.
IT WAS ALREADY TUESDAY. BUT NOT ANY TUESDAY. MY TEAM DEBUTED IN THE WORLD CUP. A WORLD CUP IS AS IF FOR A FEW DAYS THE BEST REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BEST COMPANIES IN THE WORLD FACE EACH OTHER. BUT THE RULES ARE VERY SPECIAL:
If you lose, your company will be criticized and its representatives vilified, perhaps during the time when another failure or success makes the previous pain useless.
The further the competition progresses, the feeling of failure becomes even stronger and, not infrequently, unbearable.
But if you win, that team will be identified as the ones from Olympus itself, and their story will be etched in all of our hearts for all, all of our lives.
The first game was our debut. Everyone in the office was waiting for the moment, but until 4:00 p.m. we had to try not to lose concentration on our work.
Don Froilán, the bony and always grumpy boss, kept a close eye on us. He knew that this day our work rhythm was like that of a summer day: intensely relaxed, exhaustingly calm, since all the energy was concentrated in those two hours that would keep us with the adrenaline fired.
Frodo, as we employees of the Bank’s Treasury Department called him, paced the meadow like the lion when he chooses his prey among hundreds. He knew that the looks of our companions gave us away easily. Too easily.
It would only be necessary to open the “As” or the “Brand” on the computer or mobile, or open a page that connects us to a radio or television channel that broadcasts it, to be the object of their accusations and recriminations…: “I already knew, Don Andrés, that we all pay your salary today, right…? Well, Don Andrés, at least have the honesty to go home with your olives and your beer to watch the little game, while the rest of us do our job plus yours…”
Gosh how Don Froilán spent them! Subtle, but straight to the heart!
“How’s the shit going? Who bet on 0 – 4?” I talked to my colleagues at the vending machine while we got some coffees…
“Well, who is it going to be… Manolito, who, since he has become an independentist, wants to see us humiliated from minute 1.”
“Frodo is coming,” whispered Miguel.
“Good morning gentlemen,” greeted Frodo. “Today we have a little coffee early, right? Is it that the day will be longer?”
“No, no, Don Froilán, it was a coincidence, first one came, the other saw it and joined, and so, in no time at all, we have been adding the 16,” said Miguel.
“How curious, gentlemen, what need for socialization I see in you today…, it won’t be the party, right?” Don Froilán dropped.
“What’s up boss, if now with Movistar we record the game and when we get home after work, we put it on and see it as if it started at that very moment.”
“The ball of José Javier has already spoken.” It was heard from who knows where.
“That?” Don Froilan said…
“Nothing, nothing, that’s how it is, it’s wonderful to be able to record it and see it later…, so we don’t lose concentration…”. Miguel repeated looking at the group.
“By the way, gentlemen, to help you through withdrawal, I have called you to an internal meeting from 4 to 6 pm, in the “France” room. I thought you might like to know.”
Silence filled everything. The coffee tasted a bit more bitter today…
“Brave son of…”, purred Agustín, the one with the most optimistic bet: Spain 5 – France 0.
In a few minutes, the vending machine looked like a Forum Philatelic stamp dispenser. They all went back to their work.
HOW CAN THE WORLD CUP AFFECT YOUR COMPANY?
No one doubts what a soccer World Cup means every four years, an event of enormous depth and that impacts almost all areas, integrating passionate crowds with everything that happens around it; the scenarios, the teams, the stars of each country, the luck and plays that will be remembered by the narrators and by the photographers who will capture every moment with their cameras.
But the impact and influence of this type of event is rigorously studied, in fact, at the PSA plant in Vigo, when Celta wins, on the next working day, people perform 30% more at work, according to the HR department. Similarly, at the Volkswagen plant in Pamplona, productivity drops by 21% on Mondays if Osasuna has lost, or in Italy, where various studies conclude that the days of strikes at Fiat maintain an arithmetic proportion with the results of Juventus in Turin. Analyzes in Eindhoven contrast that something similar occurs in the Phillips plants with the results of the PSV. In conclusion, a soccer world cup reduced productivity in the company.
BUT PERHAPS THE CLEAREST EXAMPLE IS THAT OF EL CORTE INGLÉS. ON THE DAY OF THE EURO CUP FINAL IN AUSTRIA AND SWITZERLAND, THEY DECIDED TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS TWO HOURS EARLIER THAN NORMAL SO THAT THEIR EMPLOYEES COULD SEE THE FINAL MATCH BETWEEN SPAIN AND GERMANY. THE ENGLISH COURT HAD ONLY TAKEN A SIMILAR MEASURE WITH THE TERRORIST ATTACK OF 11-M AND WITH THE MANIFESTATION OF REPULSE FOR THE MURDER OF THE COUNCILOR OF THE POPULAR PARTY IN ERMUA, MIGUEL ÁNGEL BLANCO.
In parallel, 30% of the theaters in Madrid closed on the day of the final. Bars and breweries increased the sale of their products exponentially and even the company that made the merchandising for the team, specifically flags and scarves, doubled its production during the Eurocup.
The managers are no strangers and they know that “nobody wants to miss the debut and the rest of their team’s matches and, of course, they are considering how not to lose concentration and focus on the business result, in addition to the match result. At the end of the day, the shareholders pay them for that”.
HOW TO TURN THIS EVENT INTO AN OPPORTUNITY?
Let’s see, there are two lines of work that we must converge:
The direct one. Acting on the fact and clearly and concretely showing the consequences and objectives that are sought to be obtained with the actions implemented. It is the win-win principle.
The indirect or underlying. It is what is intended to be obtained but in a covert way or if you allow me, in a subtle way.
Direct Actions. We detail some:
Put especially large screens and surround sound in the rooms where they are going to project or broadcast the games.
Theme the rooms and their accesses causing a truly soccer atmosphere.
Generate specific organizational merchandising for this event: pins, t-shirts, caps, mats, etc.
Design a specific internal and external communication for this period. All communication must relate the company, its values, its objectives, the person, etc., with the keys to said competition.
Make the departure time even more flexible if there are matches of maximum interest after 7:00 p.m.
Keep in mind the competition schedules to schedule your meetings.
LET US REMEMBER 6 KEY ASPECTS FOR THE GENERATION OF
COMMITMENT IN A TEAM:
Specify and highlight the rules of the game that these actions entail in the company. Give visibility and generate certainties and security. Employees should see in this not something festive, but part of the company culture that focuses on the person as the main cause of productivity and competitiveness. Everyone should know what will and will not be allowed during this special period.
Make this event build variety, break monotony, bring out creativity, innovation and mark a line of differentiation.
Spark internal networking at these matches and during this time.
Leverage participation and make the people on your team feel important. Make original contests that encourage participation among cross-disciplinary teams.
Take advantage of the event to relate it to milestones or behaviors that you want to emphasize for the development and growth of your company.
Make these actions memorable and have a social impact in the environment where the company competes and focuses its professional activity. Try to include some of your customers in these initiatives.
These approaches can be good for both employees and companies; From a human point of view, employees will feel happy and grateful because the company cares for and attends to interests of this nature, gives them a space for coexistence and, due to the nature of the event, a sense of unity and pride of belonging. While from the business and business angle, absenteeism is avoided, commitment to the company is reinforced, which will boost productivity, innovation, reduce errors in tasks, also reduce unwanted talent turnover, and efficiency .
There are many ways to achieve a win/win in these cases, from making schedules more flexible, either by extending them in the morning or in the afternoon, to conditioning the offices so that there is a space that allows you to watch the games together. In addition, the excitement generated by these events gives rise to activities that will integrate the work teams in a natural way, from inviting people to attend with the national team jersey, to carrying out internal social activities. The imagination of the human resources departments or company managers is the limit.
In the opinion of the Transformation consultancy, Watch&Act, this type of activity provides golden opportunities to consolidate the worker-company relationship, promoting integration, participation and why not?, continuing with the sporting spirit, which in addition to using the national team jersey, wear the company jersey with pride and satisfaction.
In short, tell Frodo to enjoy!!! It was only a few days!
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