Christmas is an important part of the year for small business owners, and it is essential that you use this time to celebrate the hard work of your employees. Having a team of hard-working employees that get on well alongside one another is crucial to success when you have a small team, but this is not something that can be developed overnight. It is important to use team bonding activities and exercises throughout the year, but you can also use the holidays as a time to unite and celebrate. Read on for a few tips as to how you can go about doing this.
- Christmas Party
Most businesses will have a Christmas party which can be a brilliant way to celebrate a year’s hard work and allow staff to relax and enjoy one another’s company. This could be a party in the office, at a hired venue or a meal and drinks out on the town. No matter where the arty is held, it should be focused on having fun and enjoying one another’s company and not related to work.
- Team Days Out
Before finishing for the holidays, you could organize a team day out for bonding and relaxing. This could be to a nearby city, to the coast or for a fun-filled activity day as these are designed to be enjoyable but also with the goal of bringing staff closer together.
- Christmas Bonus
There are few better ways to thank your employees for their work and to put them in a good mood heading into the holidays than a Christmas bonus. Money is the main driving factor in most cases so adding a little extra to their paycheck during this expensive period of the year is sure to be highly appreciated.
- Live Entertainment
Tickets to any form of live entertainment can be a nice way for a small business owner to spend quality time with employees before the break and show appreciation.
What you choose will depend on your team, but a few options include a theatre production, sporting fixture or a concert. There are often many high-profile live entertainment options at this time of the year, and you should be able to find tickets for affordable places through ticket sale opportunities.
- Gifts
Christmas is a time for buying gifts for those close to you and doing this for employees will show that you value them not only as an employee but as a person. This is particularly true if you purchase individual gifts that are well-suited to their tastes and interests. Many offices organize a Secret Santa which is a nice idea, but you can take this one step further by providing your employees with individual gifts.
It is important that every small business owner considers the Christmas period and how they can use the holidays to show appreciation for their employees. This is vital for keeping morale high and creating an enjoyable working atmosphere going into the break so that everyone returns in the near year feeling energized and motivated for a productive start to the year.