December Spotlight: The Office Christmas Party…Is It Worth It?
Every Holiday season companies all over the world ask themselves one important question: Do we throw an office Christmas Party, or is it just an unnecessary expense. While it may seem that spending a large portion of the company budget on a big party may seem frivolous, there are a few benefits you may want to consider.
1. Encourage Team Building and Bonding
The relaxed atmosphere of the company Christmas party allows for team members who might not ordinally have much contact with one another to interact. Giving members from different departments a chance to socialize in a relaxed atmosphere can easily translate to better working relationships in the office. Accounting might just be more willing to allot a bigger marketing budget if they’re on friendly terms with the team.
2. Reinforce Company Values
It’s easy to be bogged down in the day-to-day necessities of the office and forget what it was that initially drew you to your job or company in the first place — because you thought it would be a great place to work. Holiday parties are a time to remind employees AND management what they love about the company and their colleagues.
3. Time for Some HONEST Reflection
Most employees will not convey their true feelings about the company at work. No one wants to be seen as the “squeaky wheel,” but during a party, the casual atmosphere can allow for more free conversation. This offers a great opportunity to learn REAL opinions, and possibly make your office a better place to work overall.
* Just make sure not to punish ideas you don’t agree with.
4. HR/ Marketing Opportunity
If you are trying to attract new talent, the benefits you offer staff could be the difference between you recruiting the person you want and that person going to one of your competitors. Roughly 80% of companies host a Christmas party for staff; you don’t want to stand out for being part of the 20% that doesn’t.
* Also the social media and marketing team will LOVE all the great content a Christmas Party will give them to work with!
5. The Company Christmas Party Is a Great Way Show Your Staff Appreciate
(…and make sure they stick around)
Employees are the heart (and in many cases the face) of every company, and a company-wide Christmas Party is the perfect way to say a BIG thank you to your staff for all their hard work. Employees who feel appreciated are more likely to be more productive and loyal than their dissatisfied counterparts. In fact, Employee Benefits News reported in 2017 that turnover can cost employers 33 percent of an employee’s annual salary!
“The reality is that regardless of the size of your business, employee turnover is a major concern. Whether it’s because of cutbacks or employee dissatisfaction, if it becomes a frequent occurrence, it can have serious implications for your business” says Forbes Magazine. This being the case, can you really afford NOT to throw the staff Christmas party?
When break you break it all down, the average person will spend one third of their life at work. That’s a significant amount of time to spend away from their families, their hobbies, and their own personal desires. Your staff spends a good portion of their life sacrificing so that your company can succeeded. In the grand scheme of things a Christmas party at the end of the year to show them you understand this fact and that you appreciate them costs almost nothing in comparison.
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