Original speakeasies were something to be kept secret, only for those in the know. Our club, The Lacek Group Speakeasy, is far from its namesake. Our company, a loyalty marketing agency, sponsors our club and it is open to all employees. Our club exudes company values of inclusiveness, kindness, and respect. We’ve seen tremendous club growth this year and we can attribute it to many things, but I think that our inviting culture and an open invitation to simply stop by has been essential. Our club is a great way to network with other people at the company and we try to make it fun. We even invented a new speaking role — the joke of the day!

As marketing professionals, we know how to promote our club. Some initiatives that we have done to promote our club include having a member invite all employees to attend in our monthly all-company meeting, outreach to new employees, and following up with guests to thank them for coming and invite them to try out a role at the next meeting. Meeting invites have been set up for the entire year.

One tool that was particularly successful in driving member growth was our first-ever speech contest held in the spring of 2022, which we called “Speechapalooza”. Any employee was invited to give a speech in the novice or experienced speaker category. Prizes were awarded to the best speakers in each category, voted on by their peers. We had significant participation and found that the speakers invited their teammates and managers to watch so our guest attendance was also very high.

Our club officers work very hard to promote our meetings and drive engagement. Club growth and engagement is a standing agenda item on our officer meetings and we’re always trying new ideas. Right now we’re working on custom backgrounds for award winners to use in online meetings. So, what’s next in store for our club? I’m not sure yet, but I’m certain there will be no slowing down.