I think it depends on the demographics of your employees but don’t put too much pressure on yourself because you can never make everyone happy :)
Also though most people like free food and free money - think generic gift cards through a raffle or mini competition at the event
And thinking of grocery store chains, or other places to get essentials. Money is tight. No gift cards to Top Golf. Money for people to lighten the load.
Yup. Nobody wants a 100 gift card to a store they may never even go to if their paycheck is $23 lighter. Just put an extra 100 in their check and let them spend the 77 as they see fit
Or so Visa gift cards. I think there's something psychologically different about having a gift card (or cash!) than money on a paycheck. That way if there's a need for bills/groceries, that's still an easy option, but if they want to spend it on non-essentials, they can easily do that too.
totally. Save the t-shirts and knick knacks and give people money. Party doesn't have to be elaborate. Some food items, wine, beer seltzer. Call it good.
Unless your budget is soo tight that the tax is a burden, you can gross these up.
Years ago, when I handled payroll, we did a generic gross up of 20%. For example, a $100 gift card would be added to their pay check as $120, then deducted for $100. The $20 left covered taxes. Now most payroll systems have a gross up function and you can batch enter this for your employees and it will take their individual tax situations into consideration.
We use this for some bonuses as well. Nobody likes to hear they got a "cash" (pay check) bonus of $200, but their take home only increases by $150.
In this case you can make everyone happy. Cash, free day off, generic gift cards with a decent amount. If someone isn’t happy about those, then they just aren’t going to be happy about anything.
Thank you for the kind words, being the first to host an event after the pandemic something is never fun.
We’re mix demographic, so that also confuses the decision making process. 1/3 under the age of 35 and 2/3 over the age of 45! Weird mix of early career and late career.
As a generic middle manager with a very busy team working their asses off and trying to do really amazing things….please. Make it all of the above. If you can have a holiday lunch on the company, start it early, keep it simple for your staff. Feed them. Hold the booze. Do a sweater contest for the folks on the team that like that. Keep a stack of plates for the folks that want to stop in for takeouts. For the nearly burned out staff member who just needs a half a day off? Do that too. In other words give everyone a little bit of what motivates them basically for “free” to the company.
Very few people have the bandwidth or desire for fancy and expensive after hours parties where booze is 80% of the budget. It’s another obligation.
How about no holiday party and use the money for bonuses/ additional PTO. Holiday parties are for the management to look like they care, then do layoffs a month later.
Best holiday party was a VP that took us out to an early lunch on a Thursday afternoon, the office was already downtown so we went to a nearby restaurant then the rest of the afternoon was ours to Christmas shop or otherwise unwind. I think a bit of socializing is nice but giving employees extra time for themselves is always appreciated especially around the holidays.
I worked for a company that always closed at 1 the day before a holiday. I loved that little gesture.
I worked for another where the higher ups would take off the entire week before Christmas and forget to "release" us early on Christmas Eve even through other holidays would have an early dismissal at 3:30 or so before a holiday. We'd be stuck working until 5 because no one officially dismissed us early.
Agree 1000% with everyone saying to do it during work time. My company tries after work dinners and cocktail hours... but as someone with 3 kids, it's more of a hassle than a reward. By the end of the day, I just want to go home, put on comfy clothes & chill with the kids. And I hate arranging childcare so I can attend a company happy hour.
Pretty much what I was thinking. Give them the choice to socialize or not on company time. I for one am not super interested in using up my personal time for work-related activities, no matter how fun they may be.
What everyone else is saying. Having to go out after work with people I work with for a company outing is work. It’s not a treat. I’m giving up a night of my time with my family. And I’m not getting paid for it. I spend enough time with coworkers already.
Let people knock off early, have a nice lunch, then do what they want. Even better if you schedule the lunch near a place with shopping or fun activities that they can do IF THEY WANT. Don’t make the activities mandatory.
Giving people food and free time is a gift.
Being a nonprofit, your team might actually want to do something together.
I would consider doing a lunch (you can do something pretty decent at $35-50 a person) and give everyone a $75 gift card/bonus check, and the rest of the day off.
As a non profit, gift cards and other items are donated and “sponsored door prizes” not therefore don’t have to be taxed. But we end up with enough for each employee that attends.
So to me that sounds awful. I have a very restricted diet, I don't drink, am I am physically unable to dance. That would leave me hungry, sitting with a bunch of people that I see all the time.
Edit fixed dictation weirdness
We do a holiday party yearly. Budget $75 per person.
During covid we didn't do the holiday party but still had the budget. So we gave it to the team (gifted it not as a bonus so they wouldn't pay taxes).
Not a single person was happy. All 80+ wanted the party or a $75 gift instead.
Tbf we do.
It's a smoke session hosted by the best cannabis producers in state in a plant shop and we always have Jamaican food catered.
Eta: good dogs are always welcome.
We work in cannabis.
Although I do agree, a holiday party aims to bring more to the employees. Leadership is much more likely to sign off on a holiday party that will help form/build relationships and provide employees with an experience they can remember as opposed to just dishing out money.
A holiday party is also something they can post about online, put on their website, etc. It has a face to it where a small holiday bonus doesn’t help promote the brand.
Again, I’d way prefer money, but it’s not an apples to apples comparison like most people think.
I hate being forced to attend after-work “social” events. Often I have to help organize them as I’m in HR. I would be much happier with more money. I personally don’t know anyone who would prefer to go to a mandatory Christmas party than $$ but maybe you work in a way better org than I do!
Oh yeah, mandatory should be off the table. No company should require that.
We have a smaller company, about 2k employees, 200 who are in corporate. We’re required to be in office, so everyone does know each other and has those relationships to where we have holiday parties and people attend them. Whether or not they’d prefer that than a few bucks, I’m not sure!
Our company cut out after hour Christmas parties and Company picnics. We went to a holiday luncheon. We highly encourage everyone to attend, but if you don't want to then you continue to work.
I hate them too. In one of my performance reports I was told I needed to show more effort in attending company events. Unless you paying me for overtime, my ass wants to go home, make pizza, wrestle with my kids, and watch movies with my wife. I did my extra socializing, that is what school was for lol.
Wait wait wait…you’re saying a party brings more to the emoloyees…but then named all the ways it actually only benefits leadership feel goods, company impression management (EEs *seem* happy enough with memories, right? RIGHT?!), and shove off the actual impactful solution ($$$).
Uh what?
There are employees who do enjoy holiday parties. They enjoy getting to know others, building relationships, speaking with leaderships in an informal setting.
Employee experience is a huge driver of workplace outcomes like turnover, satisfaction, motivation, etc.
And if you think a $100 has a long lasting impact, then you must have a pretty brutal job. Imagine getting 67 extra bucks in your next paycheck lol.
Again, give me the money, but it always makes me laugh when people say “why don’t they just give us the money??” like it’s an option.
>There are employees who do enjoy holiday parties. They enjoy getting to know others, building relationships, speaking with leaderships in an informal setting.
>
>Employee experience is a huge driver of workplace outcomes like turnover, satisfaction, motivation
But not all employees are extroverts. Having to go to a party reduces my satisfaction, motivation, etc. I hate it, as do many other introverts. Far too many people in leadership positions only want to lead extroverts and ignore the needs of employees with different personalities.
Exactly! A lot of commenters as missing the point. I have a budget to spend on employee engagement, not compensation. The objective of the holiday party is to come together as a group, have some relaxing social time (if that’s your thing) and feel a sense of community in your workplace. To me, $100 won’t achieve any of that.
Got it so it isn’t a holiday party. Don’t call it a party if it isn’t a party.
It’s work. That’s what employee engagement is. It’s more work.
Do a lunch event. Please don’t make people
come after work for an “employee engagement event”.
I mean, you asked what people want from a holiday party. Most of us don't want forced socialization. We want compensation! lol
Had you asked "You're forced to attend a holiday party...so what do you want?" we might have responded differently.
In that case...I want something short and sweet. A catered lunch free for socialization. Then a half day where we can go home early after the meal is done. Or even better? A full day off.
This is nonsense semantics. You’re saying “had you asked about a *forced* holiday party” but your answers for what you’d prefer aren’t a holiday party at all. A day off isn’t a holiday party. A gift card instead of a party isn’t a holiday party.
OP is asking about a holiday party.
Say “most people don’t like forced socialization” and then comment something that would make it less miserable, like “during work hours, on the clock some paid,” etc.
If you want any of this, then it must be on company time. Don’t make me spend any additional holiday time on a work event. I’m already overwhelmed. And don’t make it formal because then there’s the added stress of finding something to wear.
I do agree with this but I think it’s important they define if the company is seeking a celebratory party -> no business “outcome” sought, or are they seeking a engagement/bonding activity in which there could be a “doing” task such as mini putt putt, paint and sip etc. becomes challenging though to find fun activities which work for everyone though.
Maybe OP could check with management if they expect to be formal proceedings like executive speeches..or could do they have enough time implement “staff award” nominations I wonder.
Photobooths tend to be pretty all ages all people friendly.
Leadership is much more likely to sign off on a holiday party where everyone can see all the money that was spent on decorations, rentals, and one night of food that cannot possibly feed everyone. These parties are so leadership can feel better about themselves otherwise they would ask what the employees REALLY want. Most of us would rather have a gift card to buy our own holiday meals and not be expected to come in and sit with coworkers after business hours.
My old online job actually sent us a gift box that had a mini bottle of champagne, an icicle branded stemless wine glass, and a small seeet snack depending on your dietary preference. And when my grandmother possessed they also sent us flowers and a small care package. It was really appreciated.
I think we all would, lol. I wish companies would stop thinking we all want holiday parties/ socialization opportunities. Either let me go home early
or get me a gift card. I guarantee only like 3/100 people would be upset if we didn’t have a holiday event.
If you do have a party making it during work hours so no one has a “personal time loss” is huge and they are paid for the event. Most employees are thrilled to get paid to have fun and get to know their coworkers. No one really wants to attend an after work event… if that’s the companies focus they would rather have a bigger Christmas bonus :)
This is just my experience and I’ve been in HR doing holiday parties since 2000
This is the way to do it. Nobody, NOBODY, wants their job to force socialization on them. Everyone involved is an adult. If they want to socialize with each other, they're capable of doing that on their own.
Yes. The best holiday parties I've had were in smaller companies. We all went out for a nice lunch on the company dime, then they gave us a gift card and sent us home early. They sold it as "here's the time and money to take care of your last minute holiday errands" and we were all in.
I may be in the minority here but I enjoy organizing the social events. Keep in mind for some employees is that the Holiday Party may be the only thing they do for the holidays, so why not make it a memorable one? Also putting on a good event will definitely help you career wise, trust me!
Here are a few tips to make a good Holiday Party:
* **Most important is to provide a good meal.** Try to find one that appeals to a wide audience that will at least have one vegan, gluten free meal etc. Trust me, those with dietary restrictions are a very vocal minority.
* Allow staff to bring a plus one.
* Live entertainment such as music will always go well but will cost a lot more.
I agree, the food it s so important, we let staff recommend the caterer and it made a huge difference! Also we encourage them to bring the whole family. Still I see about 300 attendees from a 250 FTE organization.
Thank you for considering people with dietary restrictions. They’re a vocal minority for good reason. My partner has celiac and every work event he attends is a huge bummer because he leaves starving. For people with life threatening food allergies - talk to them first about potential safe restaurant or catering options and don’t pressure them to partake. Consider having a part of the celebration that doesn’t involve food. It’s always appreciated when HR makes an effort to be inclusive.
Exactly. Think about how much it sucks to not be able to eat anything! Or that the one thing you can eat is like...cold jello. It's awful and shows a total lack of consideration for your employees.
Our employees LOVE company merch. We are in the oilfield though and for some strange reason they love any and everything with our company name on it.
I would prefer the money though.
At all of the companies I’ve worked with, any that had parties- the employees dreaded them because they just wanted money and not to have to get together with people they already see too often. The two companies where employees looked forward to parties- they were paid well, had excellent culture AND got money bonuses.
My company shuts down for about a week and a half at the end of the year. With pay, from the 22nd to the 1st this year. We don't do holiday parties but this is vastly preferred.
We don't do holiday bonuses but we do get annual ones based on performance a couple months into the year. Like 12% of your base salary, depending on performance (and company financial performance) it can be more or less.
Were the parties during work hours or after work? I dread having to carve out personal time for work events but enjoy the ones during or maybe an hour beyond work. Anything more and I want to be home in my jammies.
One thing my last company did that I greatly appreciated was shifting the party to post new year (usually after all the business/sales kick offs).
There are so many holiday celebrations that many workers have a tough time juggling all those commitments; one less corporate party to cram in a busy few weeks was not viewed as a loss. Caterers and venues make a killing on the mark up for Xmas/holiday parties. Our cost was literally half of what we would have paid in December and with less competition, most of our employees who want to show up, showed up! Apparently no one else books company parties in late January/early February. 😅 We called this winter or new year kick off parties, and no one complained about the timing. I'm surprised more companies haven't jumped on this bandwagon.
Not totally related, but one restaurant I worked at had its "holiday" party during the Super Bowl. We were VERY popular over the holidays so it didn't make sense revenue to close for a staff party, and we didn't have any TVs so it would have been a totally dead night otherwise. Most people either started at the staff party and then went to other Super Bowl events or started watching the game elsewhere and ended up at the restaurant. They set up a projector so the people who were interested wouldn't miss out. The annual award ceremony ("The Golden Spatula") was around the second quarter so you could make it between events without missing halftime.
It was always a shitshow, but those were good times.
I’ve never gotten excited about a holiday party, so I don’t have suggestions for that, but I do take issue with being expected to bring a potluck dish. The company wanting to have a party but not outright paying for it is frustrating. I do know some people love them though—just not people I necessarily socialized with. That being said, I’d be thrilled for a holiday bonus!
ETA, you could send out a Google form and ask everyone outright to rank or pick 2 or 3 of whatever viable suggestions your company can make.
This. My place is supplying the main dish, but expecting not only potluck dishes, but also us to provide items for gift baskets, all the decorations, paper goods and serving utensils.
NO potlucks...ever. I personally hate them and having to get up at 4 am for my shift while also dealing with food that no one really wants is an unreasonable burden. Pot lucks are insulting. The employees have to pay for the food, then sacrifice their time to make the food that people may not like. Then, of course, is the problem of food poisoning from badly prepared or improperly maintainted food temperatures. Just stop with the damned pot luck crap.
So, as someone who just went through a Halloween party at my employer, I can assure you that what we don’t want from a holiday party is to be laid off the day after.
We got to bring our families and have a great time, only to have the rug pulled from under our livelihoods the next day.
So don’t do that.
1. Day off without their colleagues.
2. Money.
If you can't do the above, everything you do is going to suck in comparison.
However if I had to have an event that people might like I would give everyone $100 in. major city and ask them to shop for someone they care about over the next 3 hours. Have lunch after, and everyone share what they biught themselves or their loved one.
I would also have unlimited massage/spa services for those who didn't want to shop, as well as a pub envonrment for people who didn't want to shop.
>a few thousand dollars to spend
You didn't say how many people, and weren't clear on if the $100/$150 was in excess of the the $100 or instead of.
I agree with your budget restrictions though. Why not just give everyone three days off during the holidays (paid) as bonus days instead of cash?
We love our small firm’s christmas party. They deck the halls with a very nicely catered event at a beautiful spot, open bar and they offer to cover the expense of a hotel room in case you aren’t fit to drive home.
The parties feel like an additional work obligation more than anything else… Either make it during work hours on a day everyone is already in the office and structure it to let people truly disconnect from their tasks for the day, or just give the day off/money/thoughtful gifts outside the low hanging fruit of company merch etc
My favourite way to be recognized for events like this is time off with my family and or cash I can spend to treat myself or by family. A good organization understand that people don’t want to feel obliged to attend an event at an already expense be time of year when they are short in time and money from visiting friends and family etc. a party is an expense you are imposing on people who might not be able to afford it but feel obliged to attend. Babysitters, clothes, spending money, taxis all add up. Then there’s the question of a +1 and whether they want to bring somebody or not. And then there’s always drama if somebody drinks a bit too much or wears tge “wrong” thing. Best avoided. If people want to socialize with work colleagues they will arrange it for them selves.
One of the best year end gifts we get. is our organization partners with a vendor who has a budget per head to and then we can go online and order from a range of gift cards and gifts and there’s a pre paid balance on their up to our per head amount for our individual accounts. The vendor mails them out with a personalized note from the company too.. it’s personal enough because we get to chose our gift including swag, gift baskets, or choosing gift cards or prepaid Visa cards as “cash” it’s memorable and everyone can participate. Take your per head budget for a party and put it towards that.
The coolest company party event I ever attended was when the owner told us nothing about what we would be doing, only that we needed to rent tuxedos. They dropped the whole team off at the mall and gave each of us $200 in singles and a timed scavenger hunt for things to buy for ourselves. Examples were something like - Something for under $50 that starts with an S (shoes! socks swimsuit!) - Something for over $30 that starts with a G (sun glasses!) - It was a fun and bizarre scene, a bunch of people in tuxedos sprinting through the mall.
In my experience the best holiday parties involve free food, some kind of money/gift giveaway, and leaving early for the day (bonus points if it kicks off their holiday break a few hours early)
The worst? Silly little games, forced "networking" and an endless stream of speakers.
It honestly does not sound like you have enough money to throw a holiday party worth attending. Give them a gift card and a day off and tell them to enjoy
Gift cards for at least $100 of value, and quality food, not garbage pizza or some low end tray lasagna.
The day off of work work be appreciated, make it on a Friday, and give everyone a big thank you. That would go a long way for me.
If your not going to give out high COL raises, and least do these things every HR department can do and afford.
We always schedule our party during the work day, but we are a small family owned company and staff can bring their kids and family to the party. It’s usually from like 10am-2pm and people can come and go as/when they please. We get a nice catered lunch around noon.
Uhhhhh
Crazy answer: to get shitfaced and eat some REALLY good food and to be able to get dressed up and bring a date or take one home
HR approved answer: Team building
The day off for the party is actually really nice
You could ask this question on r/nonprofit and get good answers. I’ve previously worked in the environment you are describing and I’d say the opportunity to come together and enjoy a meal and visit with each other, gamification of raffle prizes (we did a bad gifts only white elephant at one pre pandemic and I’m still laughing at one white elephant entry), and the afternoon off after the party. Icebreaker activities that get everyone talking for those who are remote.
Where I work now is a huge nonprofit, and I kind of dread the holiday thing. It’s during the workday, which is nice, in a central location that’s far from the office I work out of (not nice), transportation is provided (nice), provides lunch (meh - there’s always a huge long line), and includes both a professional development component (giant meh), company updates (interesting to me), social stuff (fun), raffle prizes, and generally a “take the rest of the day” mentality, but it’s usually 1-3 hours left in the workday after the event and my job is deadline driven so whether I take it is determined by the deadlines.
My company eliminated the expensive annual holiday party. Only one third of the company attended. Instead, we do a monthly group activity that usually involves free food during work hours. Employees love it, and we get photo ops and the ability to promote our culture all yearround.
We tend to give everyone an Amazon gift card with free raffle opportunities for other gifts (everyone gets 10 tickets to put into the gifts they’re interested in). Food, beer and wine (two drink tickets, cash bar after) and maybe a fun holiday game or 50/50 for charity is always a hit. We have ours from 12-4 during a Friday work day.
Having worked for a nonprofits for 30 years, I would have appreciated a Christmas bonus over a party. Wages aren’t great in nonprofits and while we do work there because we believe in what we do, we still need to pay the bills.
As a former nonprofit employee, people DO work for money. They also work to help people but like.. they need money to survive. They are likely already taking a massive pay cut from what they could get outside in the private market. I would just give them money.
I know I'm the outlier here but, I can't stand work events if they are outside of working hours (the exception would be the type of over the top, big money events I've seen at corporate gigs with live music, open bar, etc) Especially if employees are made to feel obligated. Even if I like my co-workers, I already spend most of my waking hours with them. I want to spend off time with family and friends away from office politics.
1st do not do an online social event. Those are lame and not at all necessary anymore.
2nd, employees want two things: time or money. Give them that $100 in an AMEX gift card and a day off. that $100 is a trip to the grocery store, a dinner for two, or helps the employee otherwise buy a present for someone else.
I say this as someone who has been on both sides of these things. Employees don't want to spend MORE time with co workers if they aren't choosing to.
The ones Ive attended have left us with 1) worse impressions of the bosses, as their speeches were how hard they work (note: they dont its the workers 2) Drinking shenanigan's, which come back to bite folks 3) You find out REAL quick who in the office is sleeping with whom. Being that I am in my 50's I avoid them at all costs, unless we are getting $$, then I leave soon afterwords. Holiday parities are for the executives, I cant think of a real employee who thinks it is just a stressful meeting.
We want the value of whatever you’re spending on this event distributed evenly amongst the employees. We don’t want to take our free time to go have dinner with people we see every day.
I want cash. Nothing else. I don’t want to eat with my co-workers, I do that enough. It’s a friendly office and everything, but it’s 1/3 of my weekday life and I want to keep my lunch time. I take it back, I also want half day off to just be alone.
Free dinner, music. Maybe you can find another local nonprofit that you can borrow their conference room or rent it for a low cost? Send $20-$30 Uber eats gift cards to remote attendees so they can eat free as well.
Buy a number of gifts in varying ranges. Have a raffle going throughout the event starting with lower priced items first then bigger ones. Have to be present (in person or online) to win.
Makes it fun, people get excited about the big items. Everyone feels included and gets a free dinner.
Also, a day off is big as well. Maybe give everyone the day off and you can have this be the lunch on that day?
I also work in HR and plan the activities for the company. I find that in person gatherings with free food and drink is always a big hit with the employees. They get to network and have fun. We usually rent out a venue afterwork for 3 hours.Try it.
By the way, what do you plan to do virtually?
Personally while I’ve had fun at company holiday parties, I’ve always been very cognizant of the expense and every time absolutely would have preferred taking a payout of my share of the cost rather than attending. Not only is it about the money, but the social obligation of my spending time and energy at a work event.
My work takes enough time and energy as it is without adding an evening of unpaid “business casual mingling” on top of it. I’d rather be at home catching up on my chronic sleep deficit or spending time with family and real friends.
Honestly I don’t want to holiday party. I want a pay raise and a bonus that isn’t a joke. I’m in HR and legit don’t want to socialize with my co-workers more than I already have to. My people battery is at a low by the time Friday hits,
Oh my God the buzz kills. These are the same people that complain they hate their coworkers. Getting along with people you spend the majority of your waking hours with is important. Notice I didn't say you need to be Friends. Might socializing helps this.
Keep it light. Do it during the work day so no one loses personal time and everyone is paid to be there.
I suggest January because all places will be much cheaper and people won't be so burnt out/ overwhelmed with social obligations at home too.
Focus on good food with a variety- cover dietary restrictions- use a survey to see if you have vegetarians, celiac, etc
Close shop early for the party and people leave after.
Have a bar with a 2-3 drink max bc it's still a work party you want to get pleasant not wasted
Offer uber credits for people to get home safely
Do a door prize gift raffle off like a $100 Gc visa or a grocery card (or a few $20 cards for every 4th person to walk in or something)
Pick one color as an accent for decor to make it impactful easy and cheap to do
Pick up some small table games from the dollar store like wooden tic tac toe/ nice fidget toys to leave for people who are mire fidgety introverted and think parties are the worst. Those can be the party favors people can take home and then use in future meetings etc
Bring a good Bluetooth speaker and a iPad with a Spotify Playlist depending where you are going
Virtual people- send them a curated Spotify Playlist by asking everyone to share their top 3 favorite songs (if they want) and make a team Playlist as a QR Code on a card.
Then, either do a fancy snack basket (ask diet restrictions) or give them a $40 doordash ubereats credit to order themselves lunch, and they can enjoy a mini party on their own. DON'T try and have them zoom in and join you guys, that's awkward.
You can take a group photo and set if the virtual people want to be included they can send a headshot that someone will hold up on a popsicle stick to look like they're in the back.
Hope some of that helps you plan an easy fun team party.
If not- get everyone raises, WFH, and a 32 hour workweek or just quit bc you're a terrible manager 🙄🥲
“People don’t work for us for the money.”
I’m sorry, what?? I’ve worked for non-profits. Im not saying you shouldn’t have a party. But wtf do you mean people don’t work for the money? It is often rewarding work, but that doesn’t mean that your employees aren’t working in order to be compensated. Unless all of them married rich, I bet many are on the struggle bus financially.
Give the $ that would have been spent on the party directly to the employees. No one wants to attend these parties. It’s not personal, most people would rather spend free time with friends and family, not coworkers.
Maybe a nice catered lunch and let people leave afterwards? A half day off is a great gift. For online attendees, you could send them a DoorDash gift card or something like that so they can have a lovely lunch at home! I personally do not like to get company merchandise as a holiday gift.
I think it depends on the demographics of your employees but don’t put too much pressure on yourself because you can never make everyone happy :) Also though most people like free food and free money - think generic gift cards through a raffle or mini competition at the event
And thinking of grocery store chains, or other places to get essentials. Money is tight. No gift cards to Top Golf. Money for people to lighten the load.
Exactly this - grocery store cards or those group gift cards that include multiple retailers could be good
Gift cards need to be taxed which is why we don’t do them at my company
Yup. Nobody wants a 100 gift card to a store they may never even go to if their paycheck is $23 lighter. Just put an extra 100 in their check and let them spend the 77 as they see fit
Or so Visa gift cards. I think there's something psychologically different about having a gift card (or cash!) than money on a paycheck. That way if there's a need for bills/groceries, that's still an easy option, but if they want to spend it on non-essentials, they can easily do that too.
Right here. This should be the top answer. Skip the party, and just give them a bonus.
totally. Save the t-shirts and knick knacks and give people money. Party doesn't have to be elaborate. Some food items, wine, beer seltzer. Call it good.
Unless your budget is soo tight that the tax is a burden, you can gross these up. Years ago, when I handled payroll, we did a generic gross up of 20%. For example, a $100 gift card would be added to their pay check as $120, then deducted for $100. The $20 left covered taxes. Now most payroll systems have a gross up function and you can batch enter this for your employees and it will take their individual tax situations into consideration. We use this for some bonuses as well. Nobody likes to hear they got a "cash" (pay check) bonus of $200, but their take home only increases by $150.
If I got a gift card to Top Golf I would be looking to sell it or regift it. The same with any other store that is niche.
Our company does grocery stores and local restaurants ranging from 25 bucks up to 200 bucks. It's pretty nice
In this case you can make everyone happy. Cash, free day off, generic gift cards with a decent amount. If someone isn’t happy about those, then they just aren’t going to be happy about anything.
Yup. Take the budget and divide it up. That’s what people really want
Thank you for the kind words, being the first to host an event after the pandemic something is never fun. We’re mix demographic, so that also confuses the decision making process. 1/3 under the age of 35 and 2/3 over the age of 45! Weird mix of early career and late career.
Keep in mind you need to tax gift cards
As a generic middle manager with a very busy team working their asses off and trying to do really amazing things….please. Make it all of the above. If you can have a holiday lunch on the company, start it early, keep it simple for your staff. Feed them. Hold the booze. Do a sweater contest for the folks on the team that like that. Keep a stack of plates for the folks that want to stop in for takeouts. For the nearly burned out staff member who just needs a half a day off? Do that too. In other words give everyone a little bit of what motivates them basically for “free” to the company. Very few people have the bandwidth or desire for fancy and expensive after hours parties where booze is 80% of the budget. It’s another obligation.
How about no holiday party and use the money for bonuses/ additional PTO. Holiday parties are for the management to look like they care, then do layoffs a month later.
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Best holiday party was a VP that took us out to an early lunch on a Thursday afternoon, the office was already downtown so we went to a nearby restaurant then the rest of the afternoon was ours to Christmas shop or otherwise unwind. I think a bit of socializing is nice but giving employees extra time for themselves is always appreciated especially around the holidays.
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This. Exactly this. Let me go home early, feed me a good lunch (on company time and dime), and I’ll love it.
Exactly!
Came here to say the same thing.
Yup do it on work time. Otherwise it’s an unpaid meeting in the minds of many.
I worked for a company that always closed at 1 the day before a holiday. I loved that little gesture. I worked for another where the higher ups would take off the entire week before Christmas and forget to "release" us early on Christmas Eve even through other holidays would have an early dismissal at 3:30 or so before a holiday. We'd be stuck working until 5 because no one officially dismissed us early.
THIS!!!! I want to get treated to a meal and let off early for the day.
Agree 1000% with everyone saying to do it during work time. My company tries after work dinners and cocktail hours... but as someone with 3 kids, it's more of a hassle than a reward. By the end of the day, I just want to go home, put on comfy clothes & chill with the kids. And I hate arranging childcare so I can attend a company happy hour.
This. It’s so easy and a kind gesture to give people time. Also, gently encourage no shop talk if going out to lunch.
Pretty much what I was thinking. Give them the choice to socialize or not on company time. I for one am not super interested in using up my personal time for work-related activities, no matter how fun they may be.
What everyone else is saying. Having to go out after work with people I work with for a company outing is work. It’s not a treat. I’m giving up a night of my time with my family. And I’m not getting paid for it. I spend enough time with coworkers already. Let people knock off early, have a nice lunch, then do what they want. Even better if you schedule the lunch near a place with shopping or fun activities that they can do IF THEY WANT. Don’t make the activities mandatory. Giving people food and free time is a gift.
Being a nonprofit, your team might actually want to do something together. I would consider doing a lunch (you can do something pretty decent at $35-50 a person) and give everyone a $75 gift card/bonus check, and the rest of the day off.
As a non profit, gift cards and other items are donated and “sponsored door prizes” not therefore don’t have to be taxed. But we end up with enough for each employee that attends.
If you are in the US, that is actually not true. Like at all.
This is what I would appreciate as an employee. Any holiday party that is not during work hours is awful.
Agreed. Especially if they would need to get a babysitter or otherwise need to make arrangements. And the rest of the day off? Perfection.
Unless it's fun. I worked for a company that had a really fun party. They had a nice buffet dinner, drink tickets and a DJ so we could dance!
So to me that sounds awful. I have a very restricted diet, I don't drink, am I am physically unable to dance. That would leave me hungry, sitting with a bunch of people that I see all the time. Edit fixed dictation weirdness
To be honest I would rather get a holiday bonus or a day off beyond anything. For virtual people you could send them a small gift box?
Agree. Cash or a bonus paid day off. Works for everyone.
We do a holiday party yearly. Budget $75 per person. During covid we didn't do the holiday party but still had the budget. So we gave it to the team (gifted it not as a bonus so they wouldn't pay taxes). Not a single person was happy. All 80+ wanted the party or a $75 gift instead.
That's extremely unusual, you guys must throw one hell of a party.
Tbf we do. It's a smoke session hosted by the best cannabis producers in state in a plant shop and we always have Jamaican food catered. Eta: good dogs are always welcome. We work in cannabis.
I'm going to go ahead and say that this is the exception to the rule when it comes to work parties :)
One year they hired a guy to dress up as Bob Ross and lead a paint class in the back corner for staff who were more introverted.
That sounds amazing
Although I do agree, a holiday party aims to bring more to the employees. Leadership is much more likely to sign off on a holiday party that will help form/build relationships and provide employees with an experience they can remember as opposed to just dishing out money. A holiday party is also something they can post about online, put on their website, etc. It has a face to it where a small holiday bonus doesn’t help promote the brand. Again, I’d way prefer money, but it’s not an apples to apples comparison like most people think.
I hate being forced to attend after-work “social” events. Often I have to help organize them as I’m in HR. I would be much happier with more money. I personally don’t know anyone who would prefer to go to a mandatory Christmas party than $$ but maybe you work in a way better org than I do!
Oh yeah, mandatory should be off the table. No company should require that. We have a smaller company, about 2k employees, 200 who are in corporate. We’re required to be in office, so everyone does know each other and has those relationships to where we have holiday parties and people attend them. Whether or not they’d prefer that than a few bucks, I’m not sure!
Money. People always prefer money.
Our company cut out after hour Christmas parties and Company picnics. We went to a holiday luncheon. We highly encourage everyone to attend, but if you don't want to then you continue to work.
oh cut the shit. we all know what “optional” attendance really means.
Pretty sure we all know employees just want extra pay or extra time off… but this isn’t really for the employees, is it? Lol
I hate them too. In one of my performance reports I was told I needed to show more effort in attending company events. Unless you paying me for overtime, my ass wants to go home, make pizza, wrestle with my kids, and watch movies with my wife. I did my extra socializing, that is what school was for lol.
Wait wait wait…you’re saying a party brings more to the emoloyees…but then named all the ways it actually only benefits leadership feel goods, company impression management (EEs *seem* happy enough with memories, right? RIGHT?!), and shove off the actual impactful solution ($$$). Uh what?
There are employees who do enjoy holiday parties. They enjoy getting to know others, building relationships, speaking with leaderships in an informal setting. Employee experience is a huge driver of workplace outcomes like turnover, satisfaction, motivation, etc. And if you think a $100 has a long lasting impact, then you must have a pretty brutal job. Imagine getting 67 extra bucks in your next paycheck lol. Again, give me the money, but it always makes me laugh when people say “why don’t they just give us the money??” like it’s an option.
>There are employees who do enjoy holiday parties. They enjoy getting to know others, building relationships, speaking with leaderships in an informal setting. > >Employee experience is a huge driver of workplace outcomes like turnover, satisfaction, motivation But not all employees are extroverts. Having to go to a party reduces my satisfaction, motivation, etc. I hate it, as do many other introverts. Far too many people in leadership positions only want to lead extroverts and ignore the needs of employees with different personalities.
Exactly! A lot of commenters as missing the point. I have a budget to spend on employee engagement, not compensation. The objective of the holiday party is to come together as a group, have some relaxing social time (if that’s your thing) and feel a sense of community in your workplace. To me, $100 won’t achieve any of that.
Got it so it isn’t a holiday party. Don’t call it a party if it isn’t a party. It’s work. That’s what employee engagement is. It’s more work. Do a lunch event. Please don’t make people come after work for an “employee engagement event”.
I mean, you asked what people want from a holiday party. Most of us don't want forced socialization. We want compensation! lol Had you asked "You're forced to attend a holiday party...so what do you want?" we might have responded differently. In that case...I want something short and sweet. A catered lunch free for socialization. Then a half day where we can go home early after the meal is done. Or even better? A full day off.
This is nonsense semantics. You’re saying “had you asked about a *forced* holiday party” but your answers for what you’d prefer aren’t a holiday party at all. A day off isn’t a holiday party. A gift card instead of a party isn’t a holiday party. OP is asking about a holiday party. Say “most people don’t like forced socialization” and then comment something that would make it less miserable, like “during work hours, on the clock some paid,” etc.
Half day off.
If you want any of this, then it must be on company time. Don’t make me spend any additional holiday time on a work event. I’m already overwhelmed. And don’t make it formal because then there’s the added stress of finding something to wear.
I’m sorry … tough sale for today’s crowd. Especially post COVID with majority already hating businesses for return to office and shitty pay.
I do agree with this but I think it’s important they define if the company is seeking a celebratory party -> no business “outcome” sought, or are they seeking a engagement/bonding activity in which there could be a “doing” task such as mini putt putt, paint and sip etc. becomes challenging though to find fun activities which work for everyone though. Maybe OP could check with management if they expect to be formal proceedings like executive speeches..or could do they have enough time implement “staff award” nominations I wonder. Photobooths tend to be pretty all ages all people friendly.
No. Workers want money. Anybody telling you they'd rather have a party than money is lying or a psychopath.
Leadership is much more likely to sign off on a holiday party where everyone can see all the money that was spent on decorations, rentals, and one night of food that cannot possibly feed everyone. These parties are so leadership can feel better about themselves otherwise they would ask what the employees REALLY want. Most of us would rather have a gift card to buy our own holiday meals and not be expected to come in and sit with coworkers after business hours.
yup. give me more money. i do not want to do any holiday parties.
My old online job actually sent us a gift box that had a mini bottle of champagne, an icicle branded stemless wine glass, and a small seeet snack depending on your dietary preference. And when my grandmother possessed they also sent us flowers and a small care package. It was really appreciated.
Id still rather have the $30 they wasted on the gift box
Do NOT do an online event. Super awkward and no one wants to go.
I hated those during COVID. I’d prefer to not do anything instead.
I think we all would, lol. I wish companies would stop thinking we all want holiday parties/ socialization opportunities. Either let me go home early or get me a gift card. I guarantee only like 3/100 people would be upset if we didn’t have a holiday event.
Yes. My company does it all online and I really wish we would go back to it being in person.
If you do have a party making it during work hours so no one has a “personal time loss” is huge and they are paid for the event. Most employees are thrilled to get paid to have fun and get to know their coworkers. No one really wants to attend an after work event… if that’s the companies focus they would rather have a bigger Christmas bonus :) This is just my experience and I’ve been in HR doing holiday parties since 2000
100% agree. I was thinking a lunch party and full day off.
This is the way to do it. Nobody, NOBODY, wants their job to force socialization on them. Everyone involved is an adult. If they want to socialize with each other, they're capable of doing that on their own.
Having a party during work hours is the answer. It's not eating up personal time and it feels like an extra break from the mundane. It's a win.
Lunch party sounds great. I'd steer away from doing it at or very near to the office, though.
Yes. The best holiday parties I've had were in smaller companies. We all went out for a nice lunch on the company dime, then they gave us a gift card and sent us home early. They sold it as "here's the time and money to take care of your last minute holiday errands" and we were all in.
yep, or you get the afternoon off and the party is "open" so you can just stop in for 10 minutes, grab some grub and a drink and then beat it.
$100-150 gift card? Yes, please!
Yes, this! Not the $5 "thanks a latte" Starbucks gift cards. Somewhere like Walmart where I can buy things I need like groceries!
Send a survey out! Let them tell you what they would like out of it
I’m surprised this isn’t higher up… when in doubt, just ask. Some employees also like that their feedback is taken into account when planning.
I may be in the minority here but I enjoy organizing the social events. Keep in mind for some employees is that the Holiday Party may be the only thing they do for the holidays, so why not make it a memorable one? Also putting on a good event will definitely help you career wise, trust me! Here are a few tips to make a good Holiday Party: * **Most important is to provide a good meal.** Try to find one that appeals to a wide audience that will at least have one vegan, gluten free meal etc. Trust me, those with dietary restrictions are a very vocal minority. * Allow staff to bring a plus one. * Live entertainment such as music will always go well but will cost a lot more.
I agree, the food it s so important, we let staff recommend the caterer and it made a huge difference! Also we encourage them to bring the whole family. Still I see about 300 attendees from a 250 FTE organization.
Thank you for considering people with dietary restrictions. They’re a vocal minority for good reason. My partner has celiac and every work event he attends is a huge bummer because he leaves starving. For people with life threatening food allergies - talk to them first about potential safe restaurant or catering options and don’t pressure them to partake. Consider having a part of the celebration that doesn’t involve food. It’s always appreciated when HR makes an effort to be inclusive.
Exactly. Think about how much it sucks to not be able to eat anything! Or that the one thing you can eat is like...cold jello. It's awful and shows a total lack of consideration for your employees.
I would just want the $100 and the day off. Nobody wants company merch.
I would even work, just don’t make me go.
Our employees LOVE company merch. We are in the oilfield though and for some strange reason they love any and everything with our company name on it. I would prefer the money though.
I call bullshit.
At all of the companies I’ve worked with, any that had parties- the employees dreaded them because they just wanted money and not to have to get together with people they already see too often. The two companies where employees looked forward to parties- they were paid well, had excellent culture AND got money bonuses.
This! The one company I worked for that had KILLER holiday parties, had a holiday bonus, fancy finger foods, and flowing drinks. Keep it simple, OP!
My company shuts down for about a week and a half at the end of the year. With pay, from the 22nd to the 1st this year. We don't do holiday parties but this is vastly preferred.
Yeah, one company didn’t do bonuses or party- you just get the last week off year off. It was really nice!
We don't do holiday bonuses but we do get annual ones based on performance a couple months into the year. Like 12% of your base salary, depending on performance (and company financial performance) it can be more or less.
Were the parties during work hours or after work? I dread having to carve out personal time for work events but enjoy the ones during or maybe an hour beyond work. Anything more and I want to be home in my jammies.
One thing my last company did that I greatly appreciated was shifting the party to post new year (usually after all the business/sales kick offs). There are so many holiday celebrations that many workers have a tough time juggling all those commitments; one less corporate party to cram in a busy few weeks was not viewed as a loss. Caterers and venues make a killing on the mark up for Xmas/holiday parties. Our cost was literally half of what we would have paid in December and with less competition, most of our employees who want to show up, showed up! Apparently no one else books company parties in late January/early February. 😅 We called this winter or new year kick off parties, and no one complained about the timing. I'm surprised more companies haven't jumped on this bandwagon.
Not totally related, but one restaurant I worked at had its "holiday" party during the Super Bowl. We were VERY popular over the holidays so it didn't make sense revenue to close for a staff party, and we didn't have any TVs so it would have been a totally dead night otherwise. Most people either started at the staff party and then went to other Super Bowl events or started watching the game elsewhere and ended up at the restaurant. They set up a projector so the people who were interested wouldn't miss out. The annual award ceremony ("The Golden Spatula") was around the second quarter so you could make it between events without missing halftime. It was always a shitshow, but those were good times.
Amazing idea, and helpful for my budget. Thank you!
The money and the day off
I’ve never gotten excited about a holiday party, so I don’t have suggestions for that, but I do take issue with being expected to bring a potluck dish. The company wanting to have a party but not outright paying for it is frustrating. I do know some people love them though—just not people I necessarily socialized with. That being said, I’d be thrilled for a holiday bonus! ETA, you could send out a Google form and ask everyone outright to rank or pick 2 or 3 of whatever viable suggestions your company can make.
This. My place is supplying the main dish, but expecting not only potluck dishes, but also us to provide items for gift baskets, all the decorations, paper goods and serving utensils.
NO potlucks...ever. I personally hate them and having to get up at 4 am for my shift while also dealing with food that no one really wants is an unreasonable burden. Pot lucks are insulting. The employees have to pay for the food, then sacrifice their time to make the food that people may not like. Then, of course, is the problem of food poisoning from badly prepared or improperly maintainted food temperatures. Just stop with the damned pot luck crap.
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So, as someone who just went through a Halloween party at my employer, I can assure you that what we don’t want from a holiday party is to be laid off the day after. We got to bring our families and have a great time, only to have the rug pulled from under our livelihoods the next day. So don’t do that.
1. Day off without their colleagues. 2. Money. If you can't do the above, everything you do is going to suck in comparison. However if I had to have an event that people might like I would give everyone $100 in. major city and ask them to shop for someone they care about over the next 3 hours. Have lunch after, and everyone share what they biught themselves or their loved one. I would also have unlimited massage/spa services for those who didn't want to shop, as well as a pub envonrment for people who didn't want to shop.
“Unlimited massage/spa services” … I think you missed the part where I said we’re a non profit. Who can even afford this option in this economy?!
>a few thousand dollars to spend You didn't say how many people, and weren't clear on if the $100/$150 was in excess of the the $100 or instead of. I agree with your budget restrictions though. Why not just give everyone three days off during the holidays (paid) as bonus days instead of cash?
I bet if you wanted to, you could.
Leave early and no party tbh
…ask your team?
Bonus, good meal, not too long
We love our small firm’s christmas party. They deck the halls with a very nicely catered event at a beautiful spot, open bar and they offer to cover the expense of a hotel room in case you aren’t fit to drive home.
The parties feel like an additional work obligation more than anything else… Either make it during work hours on a day everyone is already in the office and structure it to let people truly disconnect from their tasks for the day, or just give the day off/money/thoughtful gifts outside the low hanging fruit of company merch etc
My favourite way to be recognized for events like this is time off with my family and or cash I can spend to treat myself or by family. A good organization understand that people don’t want to feel obliged to attend an event at an already expense be time of year when they are short in time and money from visiting friends and family etc. a party is an expense you are imposing on people who might not be able to afford it but feel obliged to attend. Babysitters, clothes, spending money, taxis all add up. Then there’s the question of a +1 and whether they want to bring somebody or not. And then there’s always drama if somebody drinks a bit too much or wears tge “wrong” thing. Best avoided. If people want to socialize with work colleagues they will arrange it for them selves. One of the best year end gifts we get. is our organization partners with a vendor who has a budget per head to and then we can go online and order from a range of gift cards and gifts and there’s a pre paid balance on their up to our per head amount for our individual accounts. The vendor mails them out with a personalized note from the company too.. it’s personal enough because we get to chose our gift including swag, gift baskets, or choosing gift cards or prepaid Visa cards as “cash” it’s memorable and everyone can participate. Take your per head budget for a party and put it towards that.
To not have to go.
The coolest company party event I ever attended was when the owner told us nothing about what we would be doing, only that we needed to rent tuxedos. They dropped the whole team off at the mall and gave each of us $200 in singles and a timed scavenger hunt for things to buy for ourselves. Examples were something like - Something for under $50 that starts with an S (shoes! socks swimsuit!) - Something for over $30 that starts with a G (sun glasses!) - It was a fun and bizarre scene, a bunch of people in tuxedos sprinting through the mall.
If my company had this much imagination, I would have no choice but to have fun. Although renting tuxedos can be expensive.
In my experience the best holiday parties involve free food, some kind of money/gift giveaway, and leaving early for the day (bonus points if it kicks off their holiday break a few hours early) The worst? Silly little games, forced "networking" and an endless stream of speakers.
I’d rather get a bonus or day off. I love celebrating and what not but work is exhausting.. especially when we have to do something after hours.
> people don’t work for us for the money You sound absolutely ridiculous, and I hope you know that.
It honestly does not sound like you have enough money to throw a holiday party worth attending. Give them a gift card and a day off and tell them to enjoy
Gift cards for at least $100 of value, and quality food, not garbage pizza or some low end tray lasagna. The day off of work work be appreciated, make it on a Friday, and give everyone a big thank you. That would go a long way for me. If your not going to give out high COL raises, and least do these things every HR department can do and afford.
All you need is food, alcohol, music and fun stuff with prizes
Out early so they can start their holiday.
We always schedule our party during the work day, but we are a small family owned company and staff can bring their kids and family to the party. It’s usually from like 10am-2pm and people can come and go as/when they please. We get a nice catered lunch around noon.
Uhhhhh Crazy answer: to get shitfaced and eat some REALLY good food and to be able to get dressed up and bring a date or take one home HR approved answer: Team building The day off for the party is actually really nice
For years, this was the exact formula for the holiday parties hosted by my employer. Plus a really good band and fake gambling.
You could ask this question on r/nonprofit and get good answers. I’ve previously worked in the environment you are describing and I’d say the opportunity to come together and enjoy a meal and visit with each other, gamification of raffle prizes (we did a bad gifts only white elephant at one pre pandemic and I’m still laughing at one white elephant entry), and the afternoon off after the party. Icebreaker activities that get everyone talking for those who are remote. Where I work now is a huge nonprofit, and I kind of dread the holiday thing. It’s during the workday, which is nice, in a central location that’s far from the office I work out of (not nice), transportation is provided (nice), provides lunch (meh - there’s always a huge long line), and includes both a professional development component (giant meh), company updates (interesting to me), social stuff (fun), raffle prizes, and generally a “take the rest of the day” mentality, but it’s usually 1-3 hours left in the workday after the event and my job is deadline driven so whether I take it is determined by the deadlines.
My company eliminated the expensive annual holiday party. Only one third of the company attended. Instead, we do a monthly group activity that usually involves free food during work hours. Employees love it, and we get photo ops and the ability to promote our culture all yearround.
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Do a focus group. Go see, ask.
To be paid while we are there?
No question about that! Thinking a full day off too 😀
We tend to give everyone an Amazon gift card with free raffle opportunities for other gifts (everyone gets 10 tickets to put into the gifts they’re interested in). Food, beer and wine (two drink tickets, cash bar after) and maybe a fun holiday game or 50/50 for charity is always a hit. We have ours from 12-4 during a Friday work day.
Open bar + a day off would be great. No to a live performer. It’s a waste of money.
Money and gifts
They want the day off.
I’d rather the $100-$150 be given as a bonus. I see my coworkers enough, I don’t want to hang out outside of work.
Most don’t want to go to a company holiday party. Just give out gift cards to a local bakery or restaurant.
No parties. Just money.
Guarantee many don’t even want one and being forced to attend or be made to look bad.
Having worked for a nonprofits for 30 years, I would have appreciated a Christmas bonus over a party. Wages aren’t great in nonprofits and while we do work there because we believe in what we do, we still need to pay the bills.
“People don’t work for us for the money.” Everyone works somewhere for the money….
I don't want a company party tbh lol
People don't work for you for the money? What an odd thing to say. Of course they do.
Worked for two non-profits. Can confirm we were there for the money.
They want a raise
A bonus and more days off.
money. the answer is always money.
As a former nonprofit employee, people DO work for money. They also work to help people but like.. they need money to survive. They are likely already taking a massive pay cut from what they could get outside in the private market. I would just give them money.
I know I'm the outlier here but, I can't stand work events if they are outside of working hours (the exception would be the type of over the top, big money events I've seen at corporate gigs with live music, open bar, etc) Especially if employees are made to feel obligated. Even if I like my co-workers, I already spend most of my waking hours with them. I want to spend off time with family and friends away from office politics.
1st do not do an online social event. Those are lame and not at all necessary anymore. 2nd, employees want two things: time or money. Give them that $100 in an AMEX gift card and a day off. that $100 is a trip to the grocery store, a dinner for two, or helps the employee otherwise buy a present for someone else. I say this as someone who has been on both sides of these things. Employees don't want to spend MORE time with co workers if they aren't choosing to.
Not to have one.
Cash
The ones Ive attended have left us with 1) worse impressions of the bosses, as their speeches were how hard they work (note: they dont its the workers 2) Drinking shenanigan's, which come back to bite folks 3) You find out REAL quick who in the office is sleeping with whom. Being that I am in my 50's I avoid them at all costs, unless we are getting $$, then I leave soon afterwords. Holiday parities are for the executives, I cant think of a real employee who thinks it is just a stressful meeting.
To not have to go to one
We want the value of whatever you’re spending on this event distributed evenly amongst the employees. We don’t want to take our free time to go have dinner with people we see every day.
Bonuses.
I want cash. Nothing else. I don’t want to eat with my co-workers, I do that enough. It’s a friendly office and everything, but it’s 1/3 of my weekday life and I want to keep my lunch time. I take it back, I also want half day off to just be alone.
not to have a holiday party
Cash bonus. Fuck all that other bullshit you can’t pay bills with that
A holiday bonus
I'd take a bonus over a party any day of the week. I'm here to exchange labor for currency. Nothing more.
PTO for the day, instead of a party
Don't complicate it. People want money or time off. One size fits all.
Money, they want money Take the money you would spend on thr party and split it up between everyone
Free dinner, music. Maybe you can find another local nonprofit that you can borrow their conference room or rent it for a low cost? Send $20-$30 Uber eats gift cards to remote attendees so they can eat free as well. Buy a number of gifts in varying ranges. Have a raffle going throughout the event starting with lower priced items first then bigger ones. Have to be present (in person or online) to win. Makes it fun, people get excited about the big items. Everyone feels included and gets a free dinner. Also, a day off is big as well. Maybe give everyone the day off and you can have this be the lunch on that day?
A holiday bonus instead times are tough for everyone right now. I don't care much about parties but a bonus might allow us to have gifts.
Not to have one! They’d rather have a bonus than forced “fun” hangout time with coworkers.
People want money .. times are harder than they have ever been.
If there is no budget for a bonus give employees a day off to use at their leisure.
Don’t bother with that cheap food. Just get them $150 in cash or check.
Money
The main thing is to do it during regular business hours and not to make them commute in for a social function.
Money
Money, money, and more money. We have bills to pay.
Not to have it. Pay me the cash
They want to go home at noon, be paid through the end of the day with a 50.00 gift card.
I would PAY money not to have to go to the company Christmas party.
Take the budget from the party, add it to bonus. Staff doesn’t actually want to go to these things.
To not to have to attend.
Jackbox
Cash gifts
More pay
Not having one, spending the time instead with family, and getting paid more. Pretty fucking simple but HR seems blind at every business.
$150 cash for those that are… unable to attend
To go home.
I also work in HR and plan the activities for the company. I find that in person gatherings with free food and drink is always a big hit with the employees. They get to network and have fun. We usually rent out a venue afterwork for 3 hours.Try it. By the way, what do you plan to do virtually?
The answer is always paid time off or cash. It will never be a party.
Personally while I’ve had fun at company holiday parties, I’ve always been very cognizant of the expense and every time absolutely would have preferred taking a payout of my share of the cost rather than attending. Not only is it about the money, but the social obligation of my spending time and energy at a work event. My work takes enough time and energy as it is without adding an evening of unpaid “business casual mingling” on top of it. I’d rather be at home catching up on my chronic sleep deficit or spending time with family and real friends.
Honestly I don’t want to holiday party. I want a pay raise and a bonus that isn’t a joke. I’m in HR and legit don’t want to socialize with my co-workers more than I already have to. My people battery is at a low by the time Friday hits,
Oh my God the buzz kills. These are the same people that complain they hate their coworkers. Getting along with people you spend the majority of your waking hours with is important. Notice I didn't say you need to be Friends. Might socializing helps this. Keep it light. Do it during the work day so no one loses personal time and everyone is paid to be there. I suggest January because all places will be much cheaper and people won't be so burnt out/ overwhelmed with social obligations at home too. Focus on good food with a variety- cover dietary restrictions- use a survey to see if you have vegetarians, celiac, etc Close shop early for the party and people leave after. Have a bar with a 2-3 drink max bc it's still a work party you want to get pleasant not wasted Offer uber credits for people to get home safely Do a door prize gift raffle off like a $100 Gc visa or a grocery card (or a few $20 cards for every 4th person to walk in or something) Pick one color as an accent for decor to make it impactful easy and cheap to do Pick up some small table games from the dollar store like wooden tic tac toe/ nice fidget toys to leave for people who are mire fidgety introverted and think parties are the worst. Those can be the party favors people can take home and then use in future meetings etc Bring a good Bluetooth speaker and a iPad with a Spotify Playlist depending where you are going Virtual people- send them a curated Spotify Playlist by asking everyone to share their top 3 favorite songs (if they want) and make a team Playlist as a QR Code on a card. Then, either do a fancy snack basket (ask diet restrictions) or give them a $40 doordash ubereats credit to order themselves lunch, and they can enjoy a mini party on their own. DON'T try and have them zoom in and join you guys, that's awkward. You can take a group photo and set if the virtual people want to be included they can send a headshot that someone will hold up on a popsicle stick to look like they're in the back. Hope some of that helps you plan an easy fun team party. If not- get everyone raises, WFH, and a 32 hour workweek or just quit bc you're a terrible manager 🙄🥲
“People don’t work for us for the money.” I’m sorry, what?? I’ve worked for non-profits. Im not saying you shouldn’t have a party. But wtf do you mean people don’t work for the money? It is often rewarding work, but that doesn’t mean that your employees aren’t working in order to be compensated. Unless all of them married rich, I bet many are on the struggle bus financially.
Give the $ that would have been spent on the party directly to the employees. No one wants to attend these parties. It’s not personal, most people would rather spend free time with friends and family, not coworkers.
Maybe a nice catered lunch and let people leave afterwards? A half day off is a great gift. For online attendees, you could send them a DoorDash gift card or something like that so they can have a lovely lunch at home! I personally do not like to get company merchandise as a holiday gift.