The foundation of good morale and productivity is hiring the right people.  Yes – don’t hire grumps.  And the people must have clear roles, responsibities, expectations and goals.  And they must receive training and coaching which includes feedback, direction, support and recognition from a trusted manager or coach.

If these aren’t in place, this article is NOT for you.    If they ARE in  place,  I encourage you to put this quote to work every now and then.

 Here are ten just-for-June opportunities for doing this.  In some cases, you may feel like a fool.  Your teammates may roll their eyes.   But they will laugh too.   And that will lighten the load, break the tension and maybe even bring people closer together. Not just today – but down the road as they think about or talk about the day that ___________ (fill in the blank). 

1. June 4 is National Doughnut Day. Celebrate by bringing duh – doughnuts to work! Make sure to have the coffee pot handy, too.
   
2. June 4  is  Cheese Day. Say cheese with a platter of unusual cheeses and ask your staff to guess each type. Add a fruit tray and some crackers.
   
3. June 7 is  Chocolate Ice Cream Day. Have an Everything-Chocolate-Ice-Cream-Sundae Social…chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, chocolate candy bars for toppings, even chocolate whip cream in a can!
   
4. June 10 is Ball Point Pen Day. Pass out goofy pens from the dollar store. Attach a simple, but personal note with each pen. Great morale booster.
   
5. June 12 is Magic Day. Got any big messes in the office?  Offer to buy lunch for anyone who will help you magically make the mess disappear.
6. June 15 is Smile Power Day.  Share one or both of the quotes with your team.  They are available for download (printable and as wallpaper for your computer) in the “Serious About Service” section of our Quote Library. 
     

As a bonus:  Pass out smiley buttons. Then ask each employee what one thing makes them smile? It’s a great team building conversation.

7.  June 18 is Go Fishing Day. Take your staff out to the lake and bring some fishing poles and some worms.
8.  June 18 is also Splurge Day. Splurge on a catered lunch while at the lake.
9.  June 21 is the 1st day of summer and the longest day of the year.  How about giving everyone a short day at work?

10. And the entire month of June is:

• Great Outdoors Month – Plan group jogs, nature walks or biking adventures on Saturday mornings.
• Drive Safe Month – Talk about cell phone safety and driving while on the job.
• Adopt-A-Cat Month – Put a jar in the office and ask for donations all month long for your local animal shelter. Get staff to bring in photos of their cats to put by the jar.
• Dairy Month – Sounds like another good reason to have an ice cream social.
• Iced Tea Month (June 10 is Iced Tea Day)
• Candy Month – In a staff meeting try to guess your employees’ favorite candy bars. Then set up a Candy “Bar” at the next meeting. Put out all their favorites and let everyone belly up and get their sugar rush on.
• Fruit & Vegetable Month – nice way to offset the one above!
• Turkey Lovers Month – In honor of the gobbler…ask employees to share recipes where turkey can be substituted for red meat. Better yet, have them bring in the dish to sample. Vote to see whose recipe is the best. The winner receives…you got it…a turkey!
  

Warning – Before you begin, re-read paragraphs 1 and 2.

Also see:  10 Just-for-June Marketing Opportunities

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