How Can We Encourage Punctuality and Boost Attendance at HR Events? Let's Discuss!

Hi All,

I want to open a general discussion on two simple yet very important issues.

1) Many times, I have seen project managers and software engineers coming very late to meetings, even though they know the scheduled meeting is very important. I have also observed that they often walk out in between the meeting to answer their mobiles or for some silly reasons.

2) Recently, we organized an office outing at a beautiful resort and planned interesting events to attract maximum employees to the occasion. However, we could hardly gather a crowd at the event.

I request all my HR colleagues to give their suggestions on how we can attract the maximum number of employees to such general occasions. After all, it is an HR event, and we have the responsibility to ensure its success.

Conclusion: When I discussed the above two issues with a few other HR friends, I learned that they are also facing these problems. I am putting this forward for an open discussion to invite some innovative ideas.

Regards,
Sai

Hi, Sai,

Many times I have seen project managers and software engineers coming very late to meetings, even though they know the scheduled meeting is very important. I have also observed that they often walk out in between the meeting to answer their mobiles or with some silly reasons. As a meeting is a completely official matter, you can establish a policy for that. For example, no mobiles allowed in the meeting, and no one can leave without completing the meeting. When it comes to timing, I think seniors need to set an example and call all their juniors for the meeting. You can talk to the concerned senior person and implement this. If the seniors are also not following the rules, just before starting the meeting, inform everybody that it is about to start. Even after all this, if they bring their mobiles or don't come on time for the meeting for the first two times, you can warn them. If the behavior continues, you can confiscate their mobiles until they leave the office and keep a note of those employees to consider during appraisals. Additionally, inform all employees that it would affect their appraisal.

Recently, we organized an office outing at a beautiful resort and planned interesting events to attract maximum employees to the occasion. However, we were unable to gather a large crowd at the event. Firstly, provide a detailed description of where you will be going and the exciting activities planned. Let them know that whoever attends such occasions will receive a surprise gift there, without the need for anything expensive, based on the company's budget. Initially, many people might not attend, but as word spreads among all employees, they will look forward to the next occasion.

Hope this helps.

Chitra

Hi Sai,

I feel like your problem is quite common. I have observed this many times in my organization as well. The management pressures us to organize some employee recreation engagement activities to refresh them from their daily schedule. We plan, design, and want everyone to participate in these programs such as dinner parties, birthday parties, festival gatherings (Christmas, New Year's Day, Diwali, Ramadan, etc.), official outings, and sports events.

I don't say all the employees, but always a segment of employees always oppose and will never turn up to the occasions. The better idea is to identify the employees who are not turning up and give them key roles to organize these programs. To some extent, we can solve this problem.

Regards,
SVKuppili

Hi Sai,

Chances are there that the employees may not be happy in the company. So, it's better to conduct an Employee Satisfaction Survey in the company and find out whether they are happy and comfortable. If people are not comfortable and satisfied in the company, they may tend to lose interest in it.

Once you conduct the survey and if you find this as one of the reasons, try to have a one-on-one discussion with these people to understand why they are not satisfied or to gather any suggestions from them.

I feel like you may solve this problem this way.

Thanks,
Best regards,
Srinidhi Prasad.