Every September marks a key moment for businesses. After the summer holidays, a well-deserved period of relaxation and disconnection, teams sometimes struggle to immediately regain their momentum, motivation and work rhythm. However, this phase is strategic: a good restart determines performance, cohesion and the working atmosphere for the rest of the year and even the beginning of the following year.
So how can you re-energise your employees and recreate a genuine desire to move forward together? Here are some effective and modern ways to boost your teams’ morale at the start of the new term.
Offer an opportunity for discussion on overall objectives to reconnect employees with the company.
Even if your teams are not new, a well-organised meeting can make all the difference. The idea is to re-establish benchmarks, restore fluid communication and highlight common goals. Here are some best practices to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly:
- At this back-to-school meeting, share projects, reassure everyone, and align short-, medium- and long-term visions.
- Involve your employees in these short-, medium- and long-term objectives. They can give their opinions or even suggest new ideas.
- Highlight achievements made before the holidays to remind everyone of the importance of the work accomplished. Do not be afraid to praise them in front of the group, as this will double the impact.
- Add a touch of fun to this meeting. Your employees will not be motivated by a boring meeting on 1st September. Feel free to organise this time around a fun workshop or bring in someone from outside the company to stimulate discussion.
This type of meeting helps combat post-holiday demotivation and creates an environment conducive to team cohesion and commitment.
Re-motivate your troops with challenging and achievable goals.
Once you have explained your grand vision, seek to motivate your employees. To do this, it is essential to restore meaning to their daily work and, above all, to make it achievable. Employees perform better when objectives are prioritised, clear and inspiring.
For the start of the new school year:
- Set mini-goals over 4 to 6 weeks to create quick motivation.
- Promote collective goals where possible to encourage team spirit.
- Encourage your managers to adopt positive and constructive communication, and to be a driving force for dialogue, especially at the start of the year.
The start of the new academic year should be a period of launch, not a sprint that will quickly leave your teams gasping for breath: well-thought-out objectives that correlate with your grand visions will make employees want to get involved again.
Reconnecting on a daily basis through games between colleagues
After these refocusing meetings, think about team cohesion and informal moments. Your teams have been enjoying light-hearted moments over the summer. If you don’t want the return to work to be seen as a sacrifice, then put some small daily rituals in place. Be careful not to focus solely on the first two weeks back at work. To maintain a positive atmosphere, consider incorporating regular, quick and simple fun micro-moments throughout the year:
- Collaborative meals
- Fun quizzes
- Themed coffee breaks
- Creative challenges of all kinds
- Immersion and mutual assistance games (partner of the month, departmental challenge or even a ‘live my life’ challenge)
These moments strengthen interpersonal relationships, boost engagement and help employees rediscover the joy of working together after the holidays.
Promoting wellbeing at work: a key driver in September
Returning from holiday can be difficult: getting back into the swing of things, mental load, family life at 100 miles an hour (back to school, etc.). To avoid immediate stress, it is crucial to look after your employees’ well-being when they return to work. Here are a few simple ideas:
- Offer flexible working hours during the first few weeks if your business allows it.
- Set up a quiet space or relaxation times.
- Offer a wellness workshop (yoga, sophrology, breathing).
An employee who feels good is more committed, creative and cooperative. For team cohesion to develop or be restored, individual serenity is essential.
Reignite momentum with fun team building activities
The start of the new academic year is the ideal time to organise team building activities. After a period of physical or mental distance, employees need to reconnect and regain a strong sense of belonging to the group.
Fun activities have real power because they reactivate the spirit of collaboration, break down cliques and reinforce more informal communication. Remember that you don’t have to blow the budget by offering your employees a fancy event. The simplest moments are sometimes the most memorable.
- Get out of the office by offering fun activities such as sports competitions, sporting challenges or even a treasure hunt with an exciting prize at the end.
- Creative workshops to be organised at the office to spark collective imagination, such as creating a mural as a team or even shooting a film or humorous advert about the company.
- Simple activities that promote relaxation and disconnection: tree climbing, hiking, even a game of boules can help you get your teams back on track.
These convivial moments promote team cohesion and restore a positive dynamic that is essential for returning to work.
Focus on Fontdouce: team-building outings for a great start to the new school year
For companies seeking an inspiring location and memorable activities, Fontdouce is a must-visit destination in September. Nestled in the heart of an exceptional natural environment, this abbey and its activity park offer original, immersive team-building events tailored to all employee profiles.
In September, Fontdouce becomes a veritable playground for companies from all sectors of activity who come to celebrate the start of the new academic year and reconnect. With more than a dozen activities on offer, there is something for everyone.
- Fun Olympics, perfect for re-energising the team after the summer holidays.
- Tree-top adventure courses that are ideal for building team spirit by pushing everyone to exceed their limits.
- Unusual activities combining culture, adventure and discovery: orienteering rallies, group off-road scooter trails, etc.
All these activities are supervised by professional facilitators who are accustomed to working with companies, ensuring safety, pace, conviviality and an ice-breaking atmosphere. In short, Fotndouce is the ideal place to re-energise employees, create lasting team cohesion and offer your company a truly memorable experience at the start of the new season.
Re-energising employees after the summer holidays therefore requires a subtle blend of conviviality, organisation, well-being and collective action. Team building, games between colleagues, appropriate objectives and daily attention create a positive spiral that has a lasting effect within the company.
