You have seen them on LinkedIn, you have read the 5 star reviews from your friends that have been along and you just can’t escape the ongoing niggle in your brain telling you that your workplace needs to participate in a creative workshop!

Maybe you have already done the research yourself or maybe your workplace has a health and wellbeing checklist in place but even with all the PowerPoint evidence you just can’t seem to get your boss (or the financial department) to say YES to booking in a workshop.

Well here is your guide to help you turn that ‘not right now’ into ‘let’s arrange it for next month’.

Step 1; Speak to your team -
There is power in people and if you have the support backing you from other colleagues in your work place it will be an easier sell as you are already guaranteed participation. Even if you have a social club in place, incorporating creative workshops throughout training days is a huge benefit to team morale and if you can get even a couple of group leaders to confirm this, you are one step closer!

Step 2; Check the calendar -
Everyone loves the phrase, two birds one stone, partly because we want the best outcome from as little resources and time as possible. Do you have a training day or networking event that’s already been booked in? Is there a required monthly review that takes place? Piggy backing a creative workshop on top of calendar events means it's less disruptive to the work day, and people will be more likely to get involved.

Step 3; Give your evidence -
There are so many studies across the web that show the benefits of creativity and workshops in the workplace. Here are some of our favorite blog posts that you can share with your boss if they don’t believe you.

5 reason to book a creative workshop for your next work event
The importance of creativity in business
The Power of Art Workshops in enhancing employee effectiveness

If your boss is to busy to read blog posts, here are 5 main points you can blurt out to them in the elevator;

- Creative workshops reduce stress
- New connections and friendships are formed
- They facilitate effective teamwork
- Creativity builds on problem-solving skills
- It improves mental health and clarity

Step 4; Budgets -
We are very well aware that different sized businesses have different spending habits and budgets. But here is the good news - educational workshops, training workshops, networking workshops AND creative workshops are a tax deduction. So as well as having your employees learn invaluable skills AND promote a healthy work culture the business can also benefit from these expenses. Our events manager can help work within a particular budget and time frame.

Step 5; Give them choice -
There is a chance that your boss is the ultimate leader and that they enjoy their decision making role. There is also a chance that they have been in their role for quite some time so probably have a fair bit of experience in compromise and delegation, but they also most likely appreciate initiative. And that is why you will present them with 3 options for them to choose from. If you are lucky they will say ‘you choose what the majority wants’, if not, that’s ok because all 3 workshop options you have given them have actually already been approved by you.

If after these steps your leader is still not convinced by your proposal, here is my number - 0458296144. Get them to call me directly and we can talk about their hesitations and why they are holding their workers back from being a more cohesive, efficient and happy team.

How to convince your boss to book in a creative workshop