About Company Picnics

Company picnics can be a lot of fun. Employees get to socialize with each other while enjoying food in a fun and friendly environment. Many companies host an annual picnic, others might even have a company picnic several times a year. The company picnic is an event for everyone, and is usually eagerly anticipated by the employees and management alike.

Significance

Company picnics are a way for a company to promote interaction of company employees outside of the workplace. A company picnic fosters an environment where employees that are at different levels of the company hierarchy can socialize with coworkers they might not have the opportunity to socialize with during their standard workday. This is also an opportunity for upper level management to be more visible to the workforce of the company.

Size

Company picnics can come in various different sizes. A company picnic can be held for the entire company, one location of the company, or one division of the company. These decisions are usually made based on the logistics of finding a location that is central for all the attendees of the picnic and budget for the picnic. Companies of various sizes have company picnics ranging from small groups under 20 to groups over 1,000 employees or more.

Features

Company picnics have a variety of characteristics. A company picnic will have food. Sometimes that food is prepared by the members of upper management, other times it is a potluck where everyone brings a food item, and other companies hire a caterer to provide food for their company picnic.
Games are also usually a part of company picnics. These range from team-building events to individual competitions. Sometimes a company executive will even get in the dunk tank. A third component of company picnics are award presentations to recognize successful employees in the company.

Benefits

The benefits of a company picnic are significant. A company picnic can increase the morale in the office as employees feel appreciated and enjoy a day out of the office. They can also allow open interaction between executives and employees in a non-intimidating environment. Company picnics also allow employees to network within the company with other employees that they might not interact with on a daily basis.

Considerations

When planning a company picnic, several things need to be considered. One is finding a location that is large enough to host the picnic without being too large. The organizer should also consider the location, and determine a place that is either close to the office or central to the homes of most of the employees. A consideration the company picnic must think about is if it will be employees only or if families will be permitted to attend. If the company picnic is held on a weekend during non-work hours, it is more common to invite families than it is for one held during work hours.