Still treating your staff to post-shift shots and calling it team building? You may want to rethink your approach.
“Going out and getting drunk together is really ingrained in bar culture, but it can also alienate some employees, especially those who have families, relationships with people not in the industry, or those who don’t drink,” says Kate Gerwin, the owner of Albuquerque’s forthcoming Blue Hippo.
In addition, “it can make staff uncomfortable to be put in a position of having to drink with bosses and co-workers,” says Kailey Jenkins, the general manager at Zahav in Philadelphia. “Because our owner [Mike Solomonov] has been sober for over 10 years, team-building events without alcohol are important to us so we can be inclusive of all employees.”
At Flagstaff House in Boulder, Colo., health is also an important part of corporate culture. “We’re surrounded by alcohol every day, and there’s a bar where we work,” says general manager Adam Monette. “People at other jobs just don’t have access to that, so we try to focus on other activities for staff just like any other business would.”
Here, Gerwin, Jenkins, Monette and others share their strategies for developing and executing the best team-building activities without the booze.
illustration: Valero Doval