Involving the wider family and integrating them within the organisation that a parent employee works at is an important step in demonstrating what a supportive culture the parent’s employer adopts.
Below you will find a list of ideas that can be utilised or adapted for your organisation, however, the feasibility of these working may depend upon the wider organisational culture. Having a ballot box or suggestion box may be a good place to start in collecting ideas from employees about what type of event or family fun they would wish to host or attend.
Ideas
Traditional fun day – (bouncy castle, balloon modelling, outdoor food vendors (many vendors will attend on a free of charge basis to the company providing they can sell their goods), craft stalls, tombolas, fairground and so on.
Team day – sports day type activities, if budget permits: ‘it’s a knockout’ to involve employees and their families in family friendly fun. (However, be mindful that this is an active fun day and could marginalise disabled employees or those who have a preference for non-active activities!)
Music festival – host your own festival with local bands or bigger artists (if budget permits!)
Things to consider and remember
Careful health and safety planning is required for hosting a large numbers of guests – consider fire marshals, first-aiders safety wardens and so on.
Ensure you are documenting your family fun day on social media outlets with photos to demonstrate to employees and a wider audience what kind of organisation you are.
Are there any charities that your organisation work closely with that could help assist you in the setting up of this event and you can offer support back in the form of fundraising?
There are many resources and links online that document what needs to be considered when planning a family day or event, however, requirements and specifics will depend upon your individual organisation.
To get you started, try these links: