Those of you who can remember the Canada/USSR Summit hockey series (La Série du siècle in French) will recall the passion that overtook Canada that September in 1972. I recall schools closing early and special work arrangements being made so that folks could watch the games. Everybody was talking about the Summit, it was in all the papers and on TV. More recently, Olympic Hockey fever captured our collective attention.
In just a few weeks, another month-long event will capture the attention of a lot of Canadians and of most of the world. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will start 11 June and will end on 11 July in South Africa. As important as hockey is to the fabric of Canadians, soccer has similar impact on the lives of people around the world. In fact, for a lot of people, the World Cup is a more important event than the Olympics.
A word of advice: if you are dealing with customers overseas, you’d better check the World Cup schedule before scheduling an appointment or making that all important phone call.
A recent study, conducted during the 2010 Olympics, showed that contrary to what we might assume, the Olympics did not distract employees from their jobs. Rather, the Olympics created comradeship and engaged employees in the workplace. As a business owner, you might want to take advantage of the World Cup to increase employee engagement. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Team bonding. Use the backdrop of the World Cup for team bonding. Maybe schedule an outing to catch a big game or simply turn on the TV in the boardroom. Create a World Cup bulletin board where stats will be kept. Leverage this event and increase team cohesion and morale.
2. Diversity. Diversity is good for business, in fact it’s a competitive business advantage. Where are your employees from? Where are your clients from? Make it an occasion to learn about someone elses’s culture. You might consider adopting teams that reflect the diversity of your employee and client bases.
3. Consider flex time. You get the work done and those employees who are die-hard fans get to watch the important games without missing work. Employees who do not care for soccer can also benefit from the flex time schedule. This is a win-win situation.
By the way, Canada last qualified for the men’s World Cup in 1986.
Do you have suggestions on how to use the World Cup to your advantage? We would be pleased to read them.
No comments yet.