With March Madness underway, communicating with your employees might be the last thing on your mind. But having a little fun with them related to the March Madness tournament could build camaraderie that lasts all year long (that’s communications cleverly disguised as fun).

What!? Gamble at Work?

Yep, consider a free online bracket generator (plenty from which to choose). Or live on the edge and have a paper version for everyone to see. Half the fun of March Madness is filling out a bracket, and if your employees associate fun with the workplace, all the better. The American Gaming Association says 40 million Americans complete more than 70 million brackets a year. You might as well get in on the fun at work. No harm, no foul. See what I did there?

Consider team brackets, with the winning team getting a half day of vacation or a fancy lunch. Take it one step further and mix your teams between departments to encourage interdepartmental collaboration. Collaboration or competition? It’s the same thing!

Food – Glorious Food

Even IF you don’t want your employees watching their brackets at work (they are probably doing it anyway) and even IF you don’t want to support any bracket-picking whatsoever, how about food? Consider a potluck or a basketball themed food day. Each person participating draws a team name from a hat and has to bring a potluck food item associated with that team/name/mascot/state. Just Google Nutter Butter Referees. You’ll get the idea.

Net/Net

Treating employees like real people instead of “just workers” helps them remember to relax, remain professional and yet still have fun at work. You might be surprised at the goodwill you will reap by embracing – rather than ignoring – everyone’s favorite season: March Madness.