Des Moines Corporate Games Cultivates Culture, Team-Building & Pride at Aureon HR

As a competitor and someone who likes to pretend that I was once athletic, I’ve been excited to lead Aureon HR’s Des Moines Corporate Games team. When I first got involved with the Corporate Games, I saw an opportunity to have some fun with co-workers. But what really has happened has been so much more.

Aureon HR is a fantastic place to work and we really take pride in our culture. We are extremely involved in the community and we have a lot of fun, while our core business is to be an HR partner for our clients. The Corporate Games is another avenue for fun activities for our employees.

It’s great that our leadership at Aureon HR actively promotes participation. We’re not a company that is just going to post sign-up sheets in the break room. Aureon HR has been willing to invest resources (both time and money) to the Corporate Games because we’ve seen the value. 

Our Corporate Games committee pushes people out of their comfort zone. We’ve been able to recruit participation from employees who have not otherwise been actively engaged. Aureon HR sets goals to have participation by both males and females in every single event. 

Cultivating Team-Building

With 200 internal employees at Aureon HR, it can be difficult to get to know everyone. Through the Corporate Games, I’ve seen new friendships being made from employees in different departments. Some of our more reserved or timid people in the office have been the most outgoing while competing.

One of our HR Specialists was relatively new to Aureon HR and didn’t know many co-workers yet. After he went out and ran a 4:30 mile during the Corporate Games Track & Field, he was everyone’s hero! We do an excellent job recognizing event winners like this, and really acknowledging all our participants, both internally and through Aureon HR social media. That has added to our internal culture and our external branding as a fun place to work.

We have some talented current and former athletes in our office. (There are also those of us who like to act like we are good athletes, but then we go out and pull a hamstring on our second long jump attempt…) We’re a competitive company overall, so we’re also here to win! After finishing third in 2018, UTC Aerospace and Berkley Technology Services better know we’re coming for them next year!

Cultivating Company Pride

The Corporate Games has also been a source of company pride. Our employees strive to do their best while representing Aureon HR. It’s fun hearing trash talk amongst co-workers who are competing against one another while still cheering each other on. We also take a lot of pride when competing as a team against other companies. 

The approach that Aureon HR takes with the Corporate Games is how many Top Workplaces run their business: We do things the right way, we are committed towards specific goals, we are active in our community, we work together as a team, we are visible with a strong brand and we provide fun opportunities for our employees.

I hope to continue to see the Des Moines Corporate Games grow, and here’s my advice to a company joining for the first time: Don’t just participate but get actively engaged! And also just know that if you are in the same Division as Aureon HR, you might be fighting for second place!

To get your business involved with Des Moines Corporate Games, register today! Learn more about how your organization can promote employee wellness in the workplace by accessing The Partnership’s free GetActive Workplace Wellness toolkit downloads.