A Home Run for Employee Appreciation

Play ball! Each Summer we take a moment as a company to get all of our employees together, along with their families, to celebrate the success that we have had and spend time outside of the office to have some fun. On June 28^th, we had our annual Summer Bash at Smith’s Ballpark where we gathered to watch a Salt Lake Bees baseball game. The evening was filled with hot dogs, cracker jacks, and more importantly, employee appreciation. Employee appreciation is very important to OptConnect, and our annual parties are just one of the ways we like to show employees that we appreciate their hard work. This is because, "When you show your employees that you see and appreciate their efforts — and take the time to demonstrate how much of a measurable impact they're having on your business and your corner of the world — those employees feel good about what they do, and they take those feelings home with them." (Forbes)

A Home Run Event

Choosing to have the Summer Bash at a baseball game seemed like a no-brainer because of the nature of baseball games. Baseball is one of those sports that cater to everyone. It provides a relaxed atmosphere where you can really get into the game or you can spend time socializing with friends or taking in some of the fun festivities around the ballpark. With a private deck on the suite level, we were able to enjoy a fully catered meal along with ballpark classics like hot dogs, cracker jacks, and more! As we watched the Salt Lake Bees take on the Reno Aces, we arranged to have an employee throw the first pitch and had five employees compete in the produce race during the 3^rd inning. We also held a raffle where we gave out some pretty big prizes to our lucky employees that night. It was gratifying to see our employee's faces light up when they realized they had won one of the raffle prizes. What really made the event was being able to have our employees gather in a fun, relaxed setting where they could socialize outside of work and introduce their families to one another. It’s always great to see employees expanding beyond their teams and socializing with someone they may not have the opportunity to interact with at work.

Making Employees Feel Valuable

Employee appreciation is integral to our culture at OptConnect. Many people may not realize this, but as quickly as our technology has changed, so have the ways that employees like to feel appreciated. Though employee appreciation can happen privately or publicly, studies show that private appreciation is a thing of the past and that employees feel more value from public appreciation. That is why we put a lot of effort into the employee events that we have. In fact, at each of our annual company parties, President and CEO Chris Baird gives an update to the entire company and discusses recent progress that we’ve achieved as a company and why everyone’s role is valuable and contributes to the overall success of OptConnect. In addition to these employee events, we also send out a company-wide survey post-event to get feedback from attendees. This is feedback that the party planning committee meets on and evaluates before the next event. We value employee feedback, and we want to stay current with the wants and needs of our employees. Here at OptConnect, every role matters and every employee is invaluable. To learn more about joining our awesome team, click here to see current open positions https://optconnect.zenapply.com/apply.