Christmas parties should be a fantastic fun and celebration time for all staff. They can, however, raise a load of considerations for Human Resource professionals. More than 78% of business owners attest to having encountered problems arising from a Christmas get-together. Taking careful steps to avoid issues is imperative. Being mindful of the diversity of employees and trying to balance inclusion while ensuring that people know it is not mandatory to attend is a worthwhile fine line to tread. Remember, not everyone likes parties or celebrates Christmas!
Clarity around Conduct & Dresscode
Offering clear directives on appropriate conduct and dress code is important. Again, ensuring that balance is reached between being the fun police while making the environment appropriate, safe and inclusive for all. If providing alcoholic drinks, think of the implications, have bar staff who are vigilant if any employees get drunk and don’t provide them free all night. Remember, it’s an office Christmas party, not a pub crawl! And remember, there will be staff who do not consume alcohol for personal or religious reasons. Consider adding a meaningful activity that structures the event and brings mindfulness of appropriate conduct to participants in a natural, less authoritative way. If you are looking for a team-building activity that is alcohol based, try Team Tonic or Whisky WIsdom. These teambuilding programs intelligently encourage exploration of the aromas of these much-loved spirits.
Networking & Building Relationships
With increased remote teams and home working, for some businesses, Christmas is a key time of the year for people to get together face to face. Look for ways to build relationships and strengthen existing bonds. A memorable end-of-year party can be vital in retaining key members of staff. The Big Picture, where teams create individual canvases that are part of a giant picture, is a great way of doing something tactile, relaxing and fun. It is also an ideal opportunity to reinforce key values or accelerate networking by incorporating a strategically aligned team-building activity. Team building activity Orchestrate! where people learn to play together as an orchestra in less than 2 hours is an exhilarating shared experience that is difficult to forget!
Outcomes, timeframe and location
Selecting the right activity hinged on carefully forethought outcomes is essential for full engagement and a positive result. Whether you are looking for a Christmas party idea to break the ice, stimulate conversation or kick-start celebrations, plenty of options are available. If you work consistently with a team-building provider, they will know your group and understand your company’s overall vision and culture, making the process much easier. Defining the location, number, and demographic of participants is also important. Many companies choose to get outside in the fresh air with a festive-themed GPS treasure hunt like Go Team. Indoor tablet-based team quizzes like Push It! spice up a Christmas party and get people networking, laughing and appreciating each other’s varied skills quickly and effortlessly. There's even an online or hybrid version. Whether indoors or outdoors, these app-based programs are highly engaging in bridging the generation gap and can be easily tailored to suit the occasion and subtly reinforce company values.
Giving Back
Given the true spirit of giving at Christmas, there is an increasing trend towards CSR and charity-related team activities where co-workers can directly impact their local community and ‘give back to other less advantaged groups. Research shows that employees value these initiatives and are readier to get involved in a team-building activity that ultimately gives to a worthy cause. There are many such programs to choose from, including building bikes and making toys for disadvantaged children, mini-golf courses made from packaged food stuff which ultimately go to a local charity, tree planting programs and the like. Catalyst Global has collaborated with the global giving initiative B1G1 to create Go Give. A fun and highly immersive app-based team challenge where points convert to impacts for carefully selected worthy causes worldwide.
Now that’s a memorable Christmas get-together!
