Having day off for fun, games, camaraderie important for teams

My company recently had an Olympics-themed event. Basically, a company picnic with teams and games, and rather than do it over the weekend, we chose to do it on a weekday and closed our offices at noon.

We rented out a field, got buses so there wouldn't be drinking and driving, and had a caterer serve hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, beer, wine and White Claw, which apparently is what everyone wants now because we ran out of it quickly.

I am in the service industry. My recruiting and staffing firm works directly with candidates and clients who are either looking for jobs or hiring people to fill jobs. It's extremely competitive and sometimes if a client needs something and

we're not right there, they call someone else. Most of the time we benefit from that, as we are always on.

We have grown revenues at LaSalle Network every year for 20 years. We've never had layoffs. We continue to hire and promote from within. Eighty-five percent of our managers started their careers with LaSalle and are now leaders.

More than 65 percent of our management team is female, 60 percent of our executive team is female, and we've been a leader in the culture-as-strategy theory for over 20 years. On paper we are doing it right.

Outside the office is important, too, and not just happy hours. While happy hour is fun, it's after work, not on company time, and not everyone goes. So the decision to close the office, pull people away from their desks and have social interaction was a big decision. Not everyone is competitive. That's OK. Not everyone cheered. That's OK. But I think everyone spoke to someone they don't usually talk to.

I watched the most social people go up to the biggest introverts and strike up a conversation. I saw blank faces turn into smiles. I listened to people say how good the food was.

We have a team member who is a singer, and she sang the national anthem. Most people didn't know she could sing, and while she was nervous, it was fantastic. People appreciating people.

We laughed during the tug of war. We laughed during the inflatable joust. We laughed during the flippers and snorkel relay. We just laughed. For that day, it wasn't about what deal we closed. It was about whether Team Green would beat Team Blue and simply having fun on company time.

I have always said that being a great place to work is about hiring the right people. It's not about the perks, the games or even the money. If you hire people who don't like that stuff, it won't be a great place to work for them.

My goal is to hire people who believe in having fun at work and who enjoy their co-workers. I like to hire people who are good at their jobs and want to take on more, but who realize they should enjoy the work and those with whom they work.

It wasn't cheap. Food and drinks and buses and giveaway prizes and music. Lost production time back at the office. But at the end of the day, it was priceless. I can't wait until next year.

Tom Gimbel is the founder and CEO of LaSalle Network, a staffing and recruiting firm headquartered in Chicago.