On a sunny June afternoon, productivity comes to a standstill at Big Marble Farms as more than 300 employees leave the offices, greenhouse and packhouse and spend several hours playing games, navigating obstacle courses, throwing axes and jumping in blowup castles, all as part of the annual Employee Appreciation Day at the farm.
“A reduction in production is a small price to pay to make staff feel appreciated,” says vice-president of sales and marketing Jonathan Schow.
Employee appreciation has long been a priority for Big Marble Farms. The Medicine Hat greenhouse grower also hosts anniversary parties, Stampede events, spring flings and Christmas parties.
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It may not be a typical farm, but increasingly, human resource experts recommend such celebrations for farm businesses of practically every size and complexity.
“The more we’ve grown, the more parties we throw,” says Schow.
Making employees feel valued is critical to company culture, he says. Employees are more productive and they feel more engaged when they receive regular recognition.
Employee appreciation has also been linked to lower turnover and to greater job satisfaction, and it increases the likelihood that employees will recommend the farm they work on as a great place to work.
Employee appreciation can take many forms. During the pandemic, when the 80-plus employees at the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) were working from home, the association mailed succulents with the message, “Thank you for helping us grow.”
The Winnipeg-based association hosts events throughout the year, which have included candle-making classes and cookie baking events. But, says Larysa Motruk, CCGA’s vice president of human resources, they aren’t only about employee appreciation.
“We are fostering a culture of learning, knowledge sharing, respect and trust. We are celebrating our successes, whether big or small, and we like to have fun,” she says. “We want to create a culture of appreciation (and) believe that you should say thank you to your employees on a regular basis.”
More farms these days are buying tickets to sports events for their teams, or paying for a night out on the town in a nearby city.
While all forms of employee appreciation are valuable, though, there’s something special about a party. Celebrations bring everyone together and provide opportunities to build company culture and relationships, celebrate successes, foster communication and reward staff for their work.
In 2023, CCGA hosted an employee appreciation event that included breakfast; it gave staff a chance to take a break from their responsibilities and to connect with each other.
“Having food together provides a great opportunity to connect, collaborate, share, learn about each other,” Motruk says. “When people have opportunity to get together it helps them to get to know one another and to develop respect and appreciate each other, and that in turn helps to build a more effective and inclusive workplace environment. It’s important that we recognize that we’re all working together to contribute to our success.”
Farms across Canada host parties for their employees. The events range from casual catered picnics on the farm to elaborate offsite events. Big Marble Farms allocates several hours at the end of the workday for their employees and their families to participate in activities, enjoy a catered meal, listen to live music and spend time together without the pressure of checking items off their to-do lists.
“During the workday, our operation is so big that we don’t often see each other,” says Schow. “An employee appreciation event fosters closer relationships between management and staff in other departments.”
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And while that may not be quite as true on more traditional family-based farms, those farms also benefit from the chance for team members to deal with each other as whole people, not just cogs in the wheel.
Management does all of the work to co-ordinate the annual anniversary party at Big Marble, and at the event, the president gives the “state of the union” address and management expresses gratitude to the employees for the role in the farm’s success.
“We go out of our way to let our employees know that they are part of our family and to make them feel appreciated,” Schow adds. “We can say it all we want, but if we don’t follow it up with actions, it doesn’t mean much.”
Ready to celebrate with your employees? Here are five ideas for summer parties
1. Picnic: A summer picnic can be simple or elaborate. For a low-key event, hire a local food truck, set up chairs and blankets and a few games, and encourage staff to grab a bite and relax. Or, go all out with catering that includes picnic tables with matching linens and tableware, themed cocktails and mocktails and a s’mores bar.
When planning a menu for any summer event, Schow suggests including foods that are traditional or culturally relevant to the workers.
2. Scavenger Hunt: Create teams made of people who don’t usually get much chance to work together and hide clues all over the farm so employees have a chance to explore different areas of the operation. Scavenger hunts encourage teamwork and friendly competition, especially if there are prizes. Consider offering appropriate gifts or an afternoon off to the winners.
3. Office Olympics: Similar to a scavenger hunt, farm olympics are an opportunity for teamwork. Create a station for teams to customize their jerseys and let the games begin. Send teams to the fields, see which team can throw a boot the farthest or putt a ball closest to a flag, or host a farm or local-community trivia contest, or co-ordinate egg-and-spoon races.
4. Ice cream social: Summer and ice cream go hand-in-hand so set up a sundae bar with several flavours of ice cream and frozen yogurt. Include multiple types of toppings and encourage employees to get creative. Or, hire an ice cream truck to stop at the farm to serve cones and cups for a few hours.
5. Offsite adventures: Outings to mini golf courses, go-kart tracks or scenic boat cruises are all field trip options. Although offsite parties can be more expensive, the venue provides all the necessities, meaning all you have to do is show up and have fun.
Regardless of the type of summer celebration you choose, HR specialist Larysa Motruk suggests making it a priority to express appreciation during the festivities, adding, “Recognition and appreciation can come in many different forms and are unique to each organization. However, it needs to be sincere so the employees know that they genuinely matter.”
Celebrations are not the time for farms to be thinking about a return on investment. Sure, parties help generate goodwill and created culture conducive to growth, but, says Marble Farms VP Jonathan Schow,
“It’s about doing something for the staff that does so much for your business.”
