Corporate retreats help build your employees’ morale, improve collaboration, and increase productivity in your business. However, you’ll have to find ways to engage all your employees to achieve these benefits, as participation is a key part of the success of any company activity or task. 

Most company events are designed for an engaged workforce, which is fine for extroverts, but not for employees who may have a shy disposition. Unfortunately, shy employees may need help to actively participate in company activities. Frogbridge Events can help you engage all of your employees, along with assisting with any other questions you may have. 

6 Ways to Encourage Shy Employees to Participate in Company Activities

As a business owner or manager, it’s best to know how to get all your employees excited about your events and how to make them comfortable enough to participate. Here are six ways to encourage shy employees to participate in your company’s activities.

1. Host Events They Are Comfortable With

Shy employees are more likely to engage in activities they are familiar with and comfortable with. Therefore, when planning a corporate retreat, you should ask all your employees what they might want to do so that you can choose accessible activities that everyone can enjoy and excel in.

It’s also important to involve your shy employees in the planning process. Let them make crucial decisions like the event format, time, location, and catering. A person is more likely to participate in company activities they planned themselves. Additionally, you should take time to understand situations that make your shy employees feel threatened and provide better alternatives. The goal is to ensure company activities meet the needs of all employees, including shy ones.

2. Create a Safe Environment

Your company events should also have different ways for employees to be engaged. Rather than forcing employees to participate in things they are uncomfortable with, provide options so that all employees can contribute in a way that’s most comfortable for them. When shy employees feel more in control, they’ll overcome their fears and feel more confident when participating in an activity of their choice.

Giving them choices creates a safe environment for them to overcome their fears and have fun. The more opportunities shy employees have to engage, the more comfortable they will be participating in company activities.

3. Limit Group Members

Team-based activities are a great way of making your company retreats memorable and enjoyable. However, some shy employees may have difficulty participating in crowded environments. Therefore, when sorting your employees into teams, you’d want to limit the number of participants in them. This will encourage all the team members to participate in the given activities.

When creating teams, assign shy employees to colleagues they are most comfortable working with. Having familiar faces around them allows them to thrive, have fun, and enjoy the opportunity altogether. Alternatively, you can simply allow them to choose their team partners. Team building activities featuring smaller groups of people foster collaboration and allow the shyer members to break out of their shell.

4. Share the Plans in Advance

Quiet people don’t like surprises and usually feel intimidated when suddenly put into the spotlight. They need time and space to prepare and plan for things, rather than deal with surprises. Therefore, throwing new activities at them may significantly discourage them from participating. Share the agenda in advance of whatever company activities you plan on doing so that your shy employees can mentally prepare themselves for the big day.

You should keep them informed as much as possible and let them know in case of any changes. When the day comes, they will be well-prepared and ready to engage in the activities planned for the retreat.

5. Use Incentives

Incentives can help encourage almost every employee, including the shy ones, to participate and feel motivated. By incorporating incentives such as gift cards, movie tickets, free meals, and coffee mugs in your company event, you’ll not only bring them to the event, but also encourage them to engage.

You should ensure that the incentives align with what your employees care about. This ensures that you select an incentive that shy employees find truly motivating, which may involve some research and planning. 

6. Foster Cooperative Competition

Sometimes your shy employees need a little push to get out of their comfort zone. Therefore, your company retreat should include engaging and competitive activities to motivate and inspire your employees to achieve certain goals. This creates a healthy competition that allows your employees to encourage each other, achieve milestones and celebrate successes.

Many people enjoy activities that allow them to win and outdo others. Therefore, as positive peer pressure and polite competitiveness take over, your employees will be more motivated to participate in company activities.

Contact an Experienced Corporate Event Planner at Frogbridge Events

Participating in company activities can be a huge challenge for shy employees. They tend to feel more uncomfortable in various social circumstances and are mostly seen as actively disengaged employees. However, you can engage them by planning an introvert-friendly retreat. That’s why you should let corporate event planning experts at Frogbridge Events handle everything for you.

We have the facilities to help you create a welcoming experience for all your employees. Call us today at (609) 208-9475 or contact us online to talk with one of our event planning experts to learn how we can simplify your retreats and encourage employee participation.