NY Firm Escapes the Office After Tax Season

Everyone knows that tax season is crunch time. And the stress of putting in the long hours to meet impending tax deadlines can sometimes leave employees feeling like they may never be able to escape their office.

While the chaos of busy season can be a challenge, it also presents a unique opportunity to bring teams together. Once the rush is over and the pressure dies down, coming together as a firm to celebrate a job well done is a great way to boost the morale of the firm and show appreciation for all the hard work.

One Long Island-based tax and business advisory firm discovered a unique and fun way to show appreciation for their employees and celebrate the end of a busy tax season. For the second consecutive year, accounting and business advisory firm Margolin, Winer & Evens (MWE), hosted its own “Escape the Office” challenge for its employees to celebrate the end of tax season. Leaning on the popular “Escape the Room” concept, MWE devised its own in-office challenge for teams to take on.

“We always find a way to celebrate the end of the season as a team,” Christine Brennan-Savino, Director of Human Resources said, “Launching the ‘Escape the Office’ event was the perfect way for our team to kick off the end of a busy tax season.”

While there were numerous “Escape the Room” destinations nearby, the HR and Marketing teams opted to take the extra steps needed to recreate the concept in the comfort of their own office.

“Though it wasn’t the easiest option, we wanted to fully customize the experience for the staff,” added Marketing Supervisor Michael Weingartner, who brainstormed and developed the carnival theme, complete with ferris wheel and trick mini-toilets that squirted water at unsuspecting participants. “The employees loved the unique approach,” Brennan-Savino said, “and had a blast trying to find their way out.”

Last year’s inaugural prison-themed event was a huge success, receiving the largest employee attendance of any internal company event. This year, as the chaos of tax season came to a close, employees geared up once again to compete against one another – only this time, rather than “Escaping the Prison,” they were challenged to “Escape the Carnival.”

The two-day long event saw 15 teams compete against each other – and the clock – to complete a carnival-themed obstacle course that included challenging games, puzzles and rhyming riddle clues – all in an effort to win prizes.

Twelve of the 15 teams were able to successfully ‘Escape the Carnival’ by solving all of the clues and finding the escape key needed to open the door. On the last day of the event, the firm held an awards ceremony honoring participants and welcoming all of the staff with a giveaway for stopping by.

“The course was a challenge, but I enjoyed working with my team to solve it,” said MWE partner Amy Joyce. “The event is actually similar to our busy season. We have to come together as a team in a pressured environment in order to accomplish our goal.”

Employees really enjoy what’s become an annual tradition, according to Brennan-Savino. It’s an opportunity for everyone to collaborate with colleagues from various levels throughout the firm and participate in an activity that’s very different from their typical work. The team who completed the course in the least amount of time escaped with a prize of $200 to fund an outing together.

“We continually receive positive feedback, and the big question is what the theme will be next year” Brennan-Savino said.

In addition to employee satisfaction, MWE has also received external praise for the event. In May of 2018, MWE received a national award for its Escape the Office event from the Association for Accounting Marketing, a national trade association of accounting marketing, business development and growth strategists

“Finding a way to reward employees for their hard work and to help them unwind after months of long hours is essential to maintaining a positive company culture and keeping morale high,” says Craig Savell, Managing Partner at MWE, who also participated in the event this year. “Our annual ‘Escape the Office’ event brings employees of all levels together to have some fun and celebrate a job well done.”