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.