Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Keeping Employees Engaged (and Happy) During the Holidays


Keeping employees engaged and happy during the holiday season is quite the feat. To aid you in this challenge we have added a few more tips that we find to be effective during this time of year.

1.   Be Flexible - Implement flexible schedules and allow employees to work remotely during the holiday week. This is extremely helpful for employees who are traveling during the holidays. Offer half days once a week to give employees time to do gift shopping.

2.   Food and Fun - Organize a company pot luck meal, a Yankee Swap gift exchange or Secret Santa event. Give the staff a turkey for their holiday dinner.

3.   Many Hands Make Light Hearts - Engage the group in a charity event day - volunteer at local food bank or homeless shelter. Besides being altruistic, volunteering is a great team-building exercise.

4.   Competition Between Friends - Sponsor an employee contest to find ways to bring the holidays into the work setting to achieve the goals of the company.

5.   Help with Meals - If the company has a catering service or cafeteria, offer discounted prepared food that people can take home to save on the stress of cooking.

6.   Free Gift Wrapping - Set up free gift wrapping stations or even offer free gift wrapping services for your employees.

7.   Give Thanks Often - Increase recognition efforts during the holiday season. While having a sustainable year round recognition strategy should be a priority for all organizations, the holiday season can be an especially stressful time for many employees. It doesn’t take a big holiday bonus; some meaningful holiday cheer can be just the thing they need.


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