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.

5 Employee Engagement Tips for the Holiday Season

With Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year all just around the corner, it can be a challenge to keep your employee’s heads in the game and not focused on their personal lives. Here are 5 tips to help keep productivity and employee engagement strong during this time of year.

1.    Acknowledge the season.  There is no hiding the fact that the holiday season is a hectic time of year. Have an open conversation about it. Let your employees know that you understand how schedules and personal lives can become strained around this time of year, but also acknowledge that everyone is still expected to give their all.

2.    Remind your employees that what they are doing is making a difference. During the holiday season it’s easy for employees to get so caught up in their personal lives that commitments and productivity at work take the back seat and ultimately suffer. Remind your employees that what they are doing is making a difference in the community, and their work is valued. They play a vital role in the company.

3.     Remember to say thank you. Make sure your employees are aware that you appreciate the effort they are putting forward. Give outstanding employees handwritten notes expressing your appreciation. “Organizations that care about employees and demonstrate that appreciation have higher engagement. It improves productivity, increases shareholder value, and companies are able to get more output and performance from employees,” says Allan Steinmetz, CEO of Inward Strategic Consulting in Workzone: Boss doesn’t need to be Scrooge.

4.    Find out what employees want to accomplish in the New Year. While everyone is busy planning out their New Year’s resolutions, it is the perfect opportunity to have a group discussion on employee’s professional goals. Having employees fill out self-evaluations is also a good way to keep employees engaged by encouraging them to take stock of their strengths, weaknesses and goals. 

5.    Create an enjoyable atmosphere. It is incredible how productive employees who feel welcome and accepted into the workplace can be. Consider decorating for the season, or get feedback from employees on how they would like to celebrate the holiday season in the office. 

 

If you are interested in learning more ways to strengthen employee engagement, visit our website at www.inwardconsulting.com.