The Serious Business of Fun

Having fun at work is important. Creating a fun and happy work environment helps your employees feel more motivated, energetic, dedicated and productive. Fun can be used as a strategy to recruit and retain employees, reduce stress and differentiate yourself in today's competitive marketplace. Having a fun workplace can make you money and earn you respect -- plus, it can improve morale and make the workday more enjoyable for everyone.

However, fun is a pretty serious issue.

"We stress that what's most fun about fun is getting results and making our clients happy", said Martin Sher, chairman of AmSher Receivables Management in Birmingham, Ala. "We let our employees know that if you get good results, clients will send you more business and you'll make more money. We always relate fun to business."

Martin Sher, IFCCE, and his brother, David, who is AmSher's CEO and president, are committed to building a happier workplace. They lead seminars during which they tell funny stories, sing self-penned songs and encourage people to wear red clown noses. Last summer, they spoke at ACA International's Annual Convention and Exposition in Dallas at a workshop titled: "You Can Have Fun at Work." They list their four core business values as follows:

To be honest.

To treat people with dignity and respect.

To continuously improve.

To have fun.

"Catherine Lewis is our chief people officer, and one of her responsibilities is to make sure we have fun in the workplace," Sher said. "We budget for fun. Collecting is a tough job and collectors get abused and hear a lot of negativity during the day, so we're trying to create a more enjoyable workplace."

Workplace fun isn't about delivering a monologue of knock-knock jokes to your employees every morning or encouraging your staff to disregard their work in favor of game of charades. Fun is simply about improving morale and helping your employees feel more connected to and comfortable with your company. People who feel secure and happy in their jobs are dedicated and loyal employees, willing to go the extra mile for your company when the situation calls for it. They go through their days with enthusiasm and confidence, work more cooperatively in teams and can help you push toward your company mission and goals.

So what makes a workplace both productive and fun? Fun can include the tiniest details, like little toys in desktops or a bulletin board in the hallway with work-related cartoons or photos. It could mean bagels on Friday morning, company contests, occasional lunch outings or regular casual days.

Try infusing your meetings with a bit of fun. For instance, once a month, AmSher employees gather for not a staff meeting, but a family meeting. In addition to monthly business matters, Sher makes it a point to do something fun during each meeting, including activities such as happiness training, talent shows, game shows, and even an instructional video on how to belly laugh.

"It's an investment in time and money, but it helps build camaraderie and a sense of teamwork, not to mention a commitment to the company," Sher said. "We're just trying to infuse the right dose of fun to let people know we care about them and that their jobs are important."

To that end, you should try to regularly celebrate success and achievement within your business. Bring in cake for a company milestone and call attention to employee birthdays. Be kind and attentive with your staff. Encourage communication and make sure employees know that their opinions are heard and valued.

The results of incorporating fun into the AmSher workplace can be seen in a variety of places, from the letters of appreciation Sher's employees give him (once he got a letter of thanks from an employee's mother), to the time AmSher employees chipped in to help the company move its operations across town.

"I think all the work that we've done in family meetings and with creating a commitment toward the company has really helped our business survive," Sher said.

Martin and David also attend the Humor Project's annual conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to gather ideas for bringing humor and fun to their business and seminars. "At this conference there are about 2,000 people, but we are the only bill collectors," Sher said. "They are so amazed that bill collectors come to the Humor Conference that they had us do a session. It's great PR, actually. And it gives warm and fuzzy side to the collection industry."

Unfortunately, many people assume that if you're having fun at work, you won't be able to get the job done. After all, they say, work is work.

"There are some people who think this is stupid and a waste of time," Sher acknowledged. "But we wouldn't do it if we didn't feel like it was good for our business and employee retention. We do it because we think it's good for the company."

However, at the same time, Sher was quick to point out that AmSher is not all fun and games. He is well aware that there is a time and place for fun and that boundaries in the workplace must be drawn.

"We're not all loosey-goosey," he said. "We have an urgent workplace just like everyone else. We do these off-the-wall things once a month at the family meetings, for the most part."

The fact is that adults spend the majority of their waking hours at work. Ultimately, creating an enjoyable workplace can help you ensure that those hours are as productive and pleasant as possible for everyone involved -- and that's not always an easy feat for many members of the credit and collection industry.

Sher said, "If you have to do a job that requires you get abused all day long and to call people who don't want to be called, if you don't try to make that person's day better, you're hurting your team."

© 2005 ACA International. All rights reserved.