In
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, he introduces Mr. Fezziwig, a character
whose kindness, generosity and affection for his employees contrasts
with Ebenezer’s Scrooge’s attitude towards business and personal ethics.
In
the book, Fezziwig had an annual ball around Christmas where he gave
his employees a platform where they could let their hair down. It was
his way of thanking them for their hard work over the year. Almost 2
centuries after the book was first written, the Christmas party has
become a permanent fixture across the world, from Africa to Asia to the
Americas and beyond, with many companies irrespective of size getting
involved in the festivities. Unfortunately, there are varying
definitions about just what a party should entail.
“Yeah,
our Christmas party holds on the last Friday before Christmas in
whatever conference room happens to be free. They order in pizzas and
drinks and that’s it. No one wants to attend but it’s mandatory so
people generally spend half an hour and leave.” This was the story a
client told me about her office Christmas party!
There
are lots of reasons to scale-back on the office Christmas party – from
poor financial performance to oil prices to currency devaluations and
stock exchange slumps. Having said this, this short-sighted approach
will cost you more in the long run, because by scaling back you ignore
the single most important reason to have the Christmas party to end all
Christmas parties – EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT.
When
people ask me what employee engagement means I always say: “It’s an
employee’s decision to apply his discretionary effort to the company’s
goals, to accept those goals as his/her own and wholeheartedly commit to
achieving them.” The key word in this definition is “discretionary” For
only when an employee feels valued and engaged do they go above and
beyond the transactional paycheck = 8 hour attitude of a typical
employer/employee relationship.
Employee
engagement has never been as important as it is now and Christmas
parties are an important way to help improve employee engagement. A
truly engaged staff force is a loyal, productive, innovative staff
force.
Now imagine the Christmas
party scenario I gave at the start, only this time staff are so excited
because they know their company has invested in a memorable party that
the ladies go out and buy new outfits, the men rent tuxes and everyone
leaves work a little early because they want to get dolled up for their
night. I know it sounds like I am describing the prom – but a good
Christmas party should be as memorable as the prom – and what’s more
you’ll still be raking in engagement dividends well into the new year.
If
you are looking for an experience, something different, and are trying
to save costs this year, a shared office party might just be the answer.
It removes the burden of responsibility of organising an end of year
event, takes away the pressure of trying to find a new theme year on
year that fits into your organisational culture and is a great way to
network and meet new clients and still remain within the confines of
your own party.
After all, Christmas
is the season of goodwill and is a key milestone in every organisation
regardless of religion or beliefs and with the feeling of giving
maximised at this time of the year, it is important that you select the
right product to reward your employees this Christmas for a job well
done. This is why we created the The Unofficial Christmas party, a
shared end of year celebration for all corporate organizations that will
give business owners a platform to reward their staff with a high
production value Christmas party without the hassle and expense of going
it alone and with considerably more glamour and style that most
companies can manage on their own.
Want your staff to be at the Unofficial Christmas Party? Visit theunofficialchristmasparty.com
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