Cup Fever that doesnt need a sicknote!

HR directors will be starting to worry about how they will get any sense out of their staff when World Cup fever hits the country this summer.

With everybody in the office certain to have an interest in the football this summer, Industry specialists Silentmanager, predict that 5 million people will be making their own managerial decisions by playing a fantasy football game during office hours. With everyone from the MD to the cleaning lady claiming they could do better than Sven, fantasy football leagues will be run in thousands of offices throughout the country. With such massive national interest the World Cup may contribute to employees minds wandering or taking days off sick when big matches are played.

Silentmanager are building on this popularity by giving companyís the opportunity to get staff talking about football in a constructive way, benefiting operations rather than becoming a distraction. Through a fantasy football game employers can take advantage of the footballing interest and use the medium to interact with their staff on a positive level, rather than seeing the event as a distraction. When it comes to the World Cup - if you canít beat employeesí interest, why not join them!

Designed to sit as part of an existing intranet or extranet, the World Cup fantasy game platform actively engages staff to use the companyís communications systems, allowing the employer to communicate with their staff through a unique and light-hearted channel, whilst simultaneously reinforcing key messages. Whether the message is related to company objectives, strategy, training, management decisions or sales targets, the game also achieves the objectives of heightening employee morale and happiness levels within the work place.

Jon Trigg, Commercial Director of Silentmanager, explains ìWe have worked with several companies who have found that our games are a great way to increase the productivity and focus of their staff. The one misconceived perceptionî, Trigg explains, ìis that employees will sit playing a game, all day, not doing their work. But average time playing any game is only 8 minutes, in the day - most people spend more time, in the toilet, having a cigarette or making personal phone calls!î

Silentmanager have developed games to fit into specific company requirements. Some can only be accessed at certain times of day ñ what better way to keep staff at the desk during lunch?