Stephen Brown Xmas Party
As Winter Covid cases increase and there is talk of a further lock down, the idea of a work Christmas party is looking extremely unlikely.
After a year of reduced business revenues, furloughing and redundancies, the idea of a Christmas party is probably a long way from people’s minds too and quite rightly so.
Keeping up employee morale is however a key role of all organisational leaders and recognising the efforts of those team members who kept the business running in tough times and welcoming home those employees who were furloughed will make a difference to how your people perform in 2021.
Striking the right note in a safe and cost effective way is therefore a challenge many firms currently face.
With this in mind you might wish to consider a virtual get together on Zoom or Teams, bring in an external professional wine taster and hold an online wine tasting.
Wine can be sent out beforehand, as can any food or snacks such as pizza deliveries.
Team members can be tasked with preparing online games (hopefully avoiding the worn out quiz!)
You could even theme your event, such as an Italian night if you take the Pizza route.
There are plenty of other ways to bring people together online, although all religious celebrations tend to centre on the custom of a feast and socialising together as an important way to share ideas, experiences and build relationships. So if online wine tasting doesn’t float your boat, perhaps an Indian takeaway and beer night, or an online cookery class with ingredients sent out beforehand.
An alternative idea to a party and less likely to leave you with a headache might be to arrange a walk, an ideal way for smaller more health conscious teams to get out from behind their screen and enjoy some company and fresh air (Santa hats not compulsory). This is also a very cost effective way to bring people together and as the saying goes “the best things in life are free”.
Being outside in smaller groups may also allow you to host a BBQ if the proper precautions are followed.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope this article provides some useful food for thought and helps you plan a way to bring your team together and celebrate the success or survival of your business in 2020.