CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: CELEBRATING YOUR STAFF

At this time of year it’s important to celebrate your business and staff achievements; how can you bring some Christmas cheer to your people both in the office and as they work from home?

hristmas is a time for celebration. The festive season is filled with delicious food and precious time spent with family and friends, and it can provide a much-needed boost to the office as well Celebrating Christmas in the office is a great way to boost employee morale, strengthen team relationships and build your company culture – and it’s also the perfect opportunity the boss to let staff know how much they appreciate their efforts. There are many ways to bring Christmas cheer to your workplace this month – here are a few ideas to get you started, most of which lend themselves to hybrid approaches so that staff working from home can also get involved.

A Christmas party is a great way to celebrate the festive season with your staff. You can host a Christmas lunch or dinner with drinks, music and games, such as karaoke or bingo, to reward their hard work over the year.

Hosting a party away from the office is especially important as it gives staff the chance to relax and enjoy Christmas away from their usual working environment. It can also encourage communication between colleagues who don’t normally have the chance to interact during the working day,

creating new opportunities for inter-team collaboration on their return to the office. Apparently, 17.5% of businesses cancelled their Christmas parties in 2021, making it more important than ever to hold a party for your staff this festive season.

Another fun way to celebrate your employees’ hard work throughout the year is to host an awards night. This can be combined with your Christmas party, or held separately to celebrate the standout employees and projects of the year. This is a great way to show appreciation for your staff, as well as motivating them in the run-up to Christmas and the new year.

According to a poll by Employee Benefits, more than half of UK businesses gave their staff extra days off in the Christmas period as a reward in 2021 meaning employees were able to spend more time with their loved ones over the Christmas period. Why not consider offering your staff some extra days to take with their families and friends over the festive period to boost team morale and increase productivity.

Gifts are a perfect way to celebrate Christmas - but they can be difficult to organise. One way to give gifts in the office is by turning to the old favourite - Secret Santa. It may have been around a long time, but it is still a great way to encourage communication across the office, create new friendships and celebrate Christmas on a budget - especially important in our current cost of living crisis. You can impose an affordable cost-cap to prevent too much expense.

Organising themed days over the festive period can be a fun way help your staff to celebrate Christmas – for example: ● Christmas jumper day: wear your best (or your ugliest) Christmas jumper into the office. ● Festive bake sale: hold a festive bake sale where employees bring in their home-baked treats to be shared around the office. ● Christmas decoration day: bring your favourite decorations to work and transform the office into a festive wonderland.

Christmas can be a time of joy for some, and a time of stress and sadness for others. You and your employees can hold charity events and fundraisers – maybe by donating the proceeds from your themed days, such as the Festive Bake Sale, or holding a silent auction.

Just as festive traditions differ between families, countries and cultures, they will also differ between businesses and it’s important that you celebrate in a way that meets the needs of your particular business and employees.

SMALL BUSINESS CELEBRATIONS For Steve Carter, MD at Advantia Business Solutions, this year’s Christmas celebrations will be more reserved. “At Advantia we have a relatively small, and extremely close-knit, team. We are now home-based - mainly because we