March Madness

How many of you have office pools based on the NCAA Men's Basketball tourney? If you do, have you ever heard the news talk about how bad the this Bracket pool can be on your productivity? You always hear the stories on how there was "x" amount of lost production hours this March because employees are too distracted by basketball to work.  If you, as a sign company, feel like this is a problem in your work place then we may have a few helpful tips. Now before we just dive into these tips, let's lay down some background. First you will have to come to the realization that sometimes it is better to embrace a movement like March Madness instead of resisting. Any time something like this comes up through the year, the Super Bowl, Indy 500, NFL Playoffs, Dancing with the Stars....okay maybe not that, but you get the point. Things are always going to come up where your employees band together for a common cause and it will distract from their work. 

First Tip: Realize that your employees are doing something together and try to understand that this is a positive thing. Better they are all doing something positive and upbeat than something that is causing a negative atmosphere. Embrace it, just set some rules. Suggest that they have fun doing the Bracket, but please make sure the work is being done. Try to keep the bracket checking to breaks and lunch time. These will set a tone that the office can have a fun time while working but the work comes first and the positive atmosphere will help, not hinder production.
Second Tip: If you have clients all over the country, see if they want in on the pool. It is a great way to establish a better relationship with your customers. Since the teams playing are from every state usually  it is a good way to spark conversation. Most people are prideful for a certain school in their area and even if they are not a basketball fan, they most likely will want their school to win. Everyone become interested during this time of year because of the bracket. Plus this will give you a new interest in following that game because your customer likes them too.
Third Tip: If you see someone uninterested or negative, have them bring you a report or a file and then also have them check up on a game score for you and report to your office. It would be a great way to have them do something productive and spark a bit of fun into what seems to be a negative situation. 

Now these tips can go further than just March Madness time, try to implement them into your workplace every day. Fighting it is only going to cause more negativity and production will go down longer than just the month of March. This is a way to keep the workplace from becoming mundane and help enhance the positive vibe that every workplace needs. Remember, it won't lose production numbers as long as you set rules and one of those rules is to have fun too. Go Team!!