Blows to team morale and motivation are sometimes not immediately noticeable. More often, the drain on your team comes as a slow creep, and if not taken care of, it can lead to burnout and fatigue.
An interesting way to help combat this is with a contest! A friendly competition among your staff can both reinvigorate and inspire creativity. In specialist roles that require technical skill there is a lot to be gained from having your staff participate in an activity meant to stretch their creativity and get invested in something outside of their work routine. Below are a few of the benefits from running a contest like this for your staff.
Practice The Fundamentals
A contest that targets the core competencies of your specialists is a great way to both refresh and practice the fundamental skills that they rely on daily. Fatigue, and perhaps even complacency can set in, but a competition that focuses on doing a simple task very well can bring out the fire that might have faded in some of your staff.
Explore New Territory
Creativity is abound when working against your peers. Theories can be tested and techniques can be learned, with the benefit of these coming back to your business. Your employees will stretch and level up while testing themselves against their peers.
Bonding With Peers
A friendly competition is a great way to start building comradery within the team that might have been sorely neglected. Bringing your team closer has great benefits, both with knowledge sharing and keeping morale high.
I’ve taken a look at a few of the teams that have decided to run a contest like this. SEO Contest Uwelcome2019 is an example of this in action. This team is participating in a fun challenge, testing their skills and stretching their abilities. Junior staff are leveling up and senior specialists are getting back into the work that they’ve been away from for too long. Team morale is up as well, as they are all engaged and sharing in their learnings.
Trying a contest like this is a great way to tackle low engagement and drops in morale on your team. Experiment with a few different formats and find one that works for you and your peers!