4 Ways To Make Your Internal Comms Fun

Happy International Fun At Work Day! To celebrate, Caitlin Kirwan dived into the benefits of having fun at work and explored how it can be embraced in the world of internal comms.    

It’s not an April Fools… April 1 actually is ‘International Fun At Work Day’. A day dedicated to bringing a bit of joy and playfulness into the working world, and remembering the things we love about our jobs.

Fun at work and employee engagement

Having fun at work helps to build stronger and more positive relationships with coworkers, which is shown to increase employee engagement and retention, improve job satisfaction, and result in higher productivity. There’s a lot to be said for lightening up and having a bit of fun!  

Studies have also linked workplace fun to enhanced creativity and innovation – skills that many organizations value as critical to their growth and overall success.

And while there’s definitely nothing worse than forced fun – I’m sure some of you have horror stories of awkward team-building activities or mandatory company sports days for team members who hate sports – the case for workplace fun is incredibly strong…

• Increased productivity 
• Stronger co-worker relationships 
• Better company loyalty
• Higher employee engagement
• More creativity and innovation

How to make your internal communications more fun

It’s all well and good to understand the benefits of having fun at work, but how does that translate to the world of internal comms? Our roles are very important, and we’re often responsible for communicating with employees about serious subject matters.

It’s never going to be appropriate to throw in a few light-hearted puns or organize a fun company event right in the middle of announcements about org changes or company restructurings.  

But life is about balance, and we’re not communicating serious strategic topics 100% of the time.  So there’s no reason why you can’t bring a little fun into your internal comms to help lift spirits and bring a smile to employees’ faces!

Here are some ideas for how you can weave some sunshine into your internal communications…

1. Embrace light-hearted quizzes

Everybody loves a quiz, right!?

Inviting different employees from across different teams and departments to write, and host, a weekly or monthly quiz can be a great way to boost engagement and introduce some workplace fun.

The subject matter certainly does not have to be work-related! Whether it’s online or in person, you could encourage participants to donate a small ‘entry fee’ to one of your organization’s chosen charity partners.

2. Lean into gamification

We’re human beings… we’re all naturally a little bit competitive. And playing games is a great way to get a thrill while unleashing this competitive spirit!

Gamification involves applying ‘game elements’ in a non-game context, such as a slightly dry e-learning course or an incentivizing employee leaderboard.

Think about how you can use gamification as part of your internal comms strategy. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to incorporate gamified elements into your employee experience platform. Or maybe you could introduce a ‘line manager communications leaderboard’ to incentivize team leaders to deliver their weekly briefings, week in and week out.  

3. Play IC team meeting bingo

Ok, I’ll admit, this one's for you and your team rather than for the rest of the business. Every now and again, playing a game of team meeting bingo is a great way to bring a smile to the faces of your colleagues and encourage some light-hearted team bonding!

Start by drawing up a list of the top words or phrases that are always used in your IC team meetings. ‘Metrics’, ‘engagement’, ‘campaign’, ‘reach out to’, ‘intranet’ or ‘click-through rate’...you get the gist!

Send a table to your co-workers ahead of the meeting, and it’s game on! Perhaps you can have a prize for the first completed line, and the first completed bingo card.

Here’s a sample IC bingo card – click to download it!

4. Spice up your channel strategy

It’s very easy to get stuck in a rut and use the same communication channels over and over again… email, intranet, digital signage, etc.

So why not spice things up by trying something new? Perhaps you’ve been thinking about giving a ‘CEO podcast’ a go, launching an employee app, or transitioning to a fully integrated employee experience platform.  

It’s certainly not a bad thing to stick with the same comms channels if you’re onto a winning formula that is getting the results you want. But if you’re looking for a way to create a more connected and inclusive work culture that builds community and combines recognition, the Workvivo platform might be the change you need.

Have fun!