Celebrating March Madness at the Office

March is famous for a few things- St. Patty’s Day, the beginning of Spring & definitely among these is March Madness.

College Basketball lovers know this is the time to gather around to cheer on their favorite teams all the way through to the Final Four. These fans carry their love of basketball everywhere they go, including the workplace.

A recent monster.com article quoted stats from a  March Madness survey done by Office Team showing that:

-50% of managers say college basketball playoff activities boost employee morale

-22% of managers say the tournament has a positive impact on productivity in the workplace

What Can your Company Do to Celebrate March Madness?

Decorate the Office

Employees could decorate their cubicles or bring in their favorite sports memorabilia to decorate their work space.  You could even have a contest for the most spirited work area.

Wear your March Madness Team Jersey Day

Plan a day where your employees can wear the jerseys of their favorite teams to work. This would be a good idea for casual Friday.

Brackets For Charity

In 2013, the Society of Human Resource Management found that nearly two-thirds of the members it polled said office pools promote team building.

Having a bracket pool with prizes and giving money away to charities is a new thing that many companies are doing. This allows for friendly competition and for employees to give back to the causes they stand behind.

One company who did brackets for charity is Protiviti, a global consulting firm with over 3,000 employees. They recently gave the winner of the company’s sponsored pool a free iPad Air and then the company made a charitable donation in the recipient’s name.

A financial services company named The Motley Fool awards prizes to its company pool for the worst bracket and the biggest upset. The CEO even had a friendly competition with the president of Carfax where the winning bracket would have to give $5,000 to the charity of the other companies choosing.

Nonprofits like Special Olympics are also involved in the bracket challenge. They participate in a program called “Brackets For Good” where the NCAA team names get replaced with charity names and the bets placed, go towards the charity the team represents.

Bring your Favorite Appetizer Game Day Potluck

Organize a day where employees bring in their favorite appetizer to share for a special game day themed lunch. Beforehand decorate the break room in NCAA colors orange, black and white and order some basketball themed cupcakes or cookies. If you’re looking for appetizer ideas check out this game day snack Pinterest board.

 MTM Recognition Celebrating March Madness

We celebrate March Madness by watching the games and stand in awe of the winning team when they’re awarded the Championship trophy. We’ve been the proud manufacturer of all NCAA Champ trophies including this celebrated award, for many years and counting. It means a lot to us to partner with such a great organization.

“Manufacturing some of the most prestigious awards in college sports is one of the most exciting things about my job,” said Cory Beltz, Sports Development Director at MTM.   “It’s an honor to be a part of history as these awards go out the door and are ultimately awarded in any given season.”

Be sure to catch the games this month to find out who will take home the Championship trophy.  Here’s a link to the NCAA March Madness schedule.