Office Parties and Celebrations

Organizations often like to bring their employees together to celebrate the holidays and/or to recognize company achievements over the past year.  This can be an enjoyable event or troublesome if the party gets out of hand.  Here are some things to think about prior to your celebration: 

• Choose a week night to help with your budget.  (Also employees are less likely to indulge in alcoholic beverages during the week knowing the following day is a work day.) 
• Provide plenty of food, plenty of non-alcoholic beverages, and entertainment. 
• Remind employees that the same behavioral policies and rules at the office apply at the party. 
• If you choose to offer alcoholic beverages, review your insurance policies for alcohol-related events. 
• If serving alcohol, limit consumption by providing a limited number of drink tickets to employees of legal drinking age. Stop serving alcohol before the party officially ends. 
• Provide cab fare or have available a list of cab numbers for the ride home. Offer discounted hotel accommodations.  
• Ask senior members of your organization to assist with overseeing the party to make sure everyone has a safe and fun evening. 
• If company business presentations are made, keep them short.  Remember this is a company party, not a full-blown business meeting. 
• If honoring years of service of employees, acknowledge them as one group. Remember to keep the speeches to a minimum. 
• If your budget allows, give out raffle tickets for a few door prizes.  The prizes don’t have to be expensive. 
• Do have your management team mingle and introduce themselves to employees. It only takes a second to shake someone’s hand and everyone likes being acknowledged. 
• Remember to thank the employees who pulled all the pieces together to make it a great celebration.

A well thought out party can be a lot of fun and help build relationships in your organization. Decide in advance what your expectations are and enjoy your time together.