As we approach December and the holiday season many companies start planning how they will celebrate with their employees. So as an employer, what are your options? Some may choose to forgo the holiday party and use the budget or funds to distribute bonuses to employees. This may be a great option if you have employees with vastly different schedules or remote employees in different locations. Others may choose to offer more paid time off around the holidays so employees can spend time with their friends and families or relax and recharge.
Although surveys will show that most employees prefer these first two options, there are several benefits to hosting a more traditional holiday celebration. The main reason being to show appreciation and thanks to your employees for the work they have done in the past year. Additionally, it is a great opportunity for c-suite leaders and executives to engage and get to know lower-level employees. It is also beneficial to allow employees to interact and socialize with others from different teams or departments.
There is no one size fits all for holiday parties and it really is about what your employees want and what is the best choice for your operation and company culture. Several factors to consider are the size of your company, budget, location, timing, and guest list. For large organizations, having separate holiday parties for certain locations, teams, or departments may be necessary as there are just too many employees spread out geographically to hold in one place. There is always the option of hosting a virtual holiday party where you can have online games and competitions and gift boxes with crafts or activities to be either picked up or shipped to employees.
If you choose to have an in-person event, who will you invite? Some companies choose to invite employees and their families’ while others keep it strictly to who is on payroll. The guest list should influence the location and timing as well. If you include families, it may be best to choose a time after working hours and an offsite location. For just staff, you can still choose another location after work, however, having your holiday party at the office can be a great way to save money and also make travel easier for employees. You can play around with the timing and schedule the holiday festivities during the workday. Many companies choose to host the party during the last few hours of the workday, others have taken time in the middle of the day for a nice lunch.
Adding activities, games, prizes and even decorations are great ways to increase engagement at the event. Employers can give all employees a small gift or reserve a few gifts as prizes for game winners. Team bonding activities, icebreakers, or even a cookie exchange are other easy, low cost, ways to promote engagement. If you have a little more money to spend, crafts like making gingerbread houses or offsite activities like mini-golf, bowling, escape rooms, or scavenger hunts can be a lot of fun. Along this same note, your company’s budget for holiday festivities will dictate which of the above choices you are able to make.
Lastly, here are a couple of best practices to keep in mind when it comes to your company holiday celebration:
- Host the party during working hours to ensure the highest participation.
- Choose a convenient location, especially when you employ many remote workers.
- Ask employees what they want in a survey or poll. At the very least, let them choose from a few options.
- When it comes to food and beverage, make sure you have options for dietary restrictions and if you are serving alcohol avoid an open bar by giving employees drink tickets instead to discourage overconsumption.
Sources: 7 Fun Work Christmas Party Ideas Your Employees Will Love. Indeed.com. (2024, October 31).; Hartman, F. (2023, December 21). How to survive your office holiday party. Welcome to SHRM.; Shumway, E. (2023, December 19). Home for the holidays: Employees report declining interest in workplace social events. HR Dive.; Visier. (n.d.). Holiday partiers RSVP no to company-sponsored events: Visier, Inc..
By Lauren Cromie, courtesy of SBAM-approved partner, ASE.
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