Employees work hard to impress their employers, to represent their company in an unrivaled fashion and to express their professional pride. And when you work hard as an employee, you look forward to some form of appreciation from your employer — and you might also look forward to playing hard after, too! So besides a salary increase and articulated appreciation, oftentimes, what your employees are really looking forward to is a chance to de-stress with their fellow co-workers at the company’s corporate party.
You can do that! And you can also probably even do a little extra to really ensure that your party is recorded as unrivaled — but what? Along with adding to the party experience and showing your undying appreciation through something special like personally picked and perfectly curated gift boxes for your employees, you’ll want to consider the following!
Listen to What Your Staff Has to Say
When searching for ideas to make your corporate function a killer success, what better advice to get than that of the attendees! Their recommendations could come in the form of the party’s theme, decorations, the perfect menu items, party favors that they would enjoy (think: fun and functional gifts like funny pens or cool company stickers), a party music playlist that suits the environment or even a lead on a great entertainment service that meets your budget. And while you don’t have to see to all of their recommendations (and probably couldn’t even if you wanted to), you should see to as many as possible without going overboard. Because as much as you’re the one organizing the function, it’s not so much for you to enjoy as it is for your staff. Along with this, including your employees in the party preparations and planning will make them feel extra valued, appreciated and proud to be a part of the party in all senses of the word.
Figure Out a Theme
Figuring out a theme for your party is essential when it comes to organizing how you want the event to be structured, creating an atmosphere, selecting music and much more. And while these areas can be adapted as needed to create a last-minute event that is exciting, having them all cohesive and your style solidified will only serve to help you engage your attendees.
Once you’ve decided on a theme, use a few of the suggestions given by staff when it comes to what’s popular and desired and incorporate them into activities and experiences that your attendees will truly enjoy collectively to increase engagement even more!
Indulge in Entertainment and Incorporate Engaging Activities
Parties are meant for engaging, conversations and fun-filled activities. Your employees don’t want to endure 8-hour shifts every day and then be expected to stand around twiddling their thumbs at the staff party. One foolproof way of breaking the silence and generating actual engagement is always to play some upbeat music! Whether that’s lively and upbeat to match the environment or mellow and laid back to create an ambiance, just make sure that you’ve taken the time to prep a playlist!
Apart from music as a form of entertainment, there are other ways to provoke engagement between staff that could be just as exciting and interactive, if not even more so. So bring out everyone’s playful side with an interactive game or contest — and if you weren’t already, you should strongly consider adding in prizes to be won in these contests whether that be incredibly kawaii and cute office accessories or the cool curated gift boxes that we mentioned above.
When it comes to games that will liven up your employees, you should also strongly consider a trivia game focused around the company that brings about bonding, a scavenger hunt that gets them exploring the location and getting comfortable in it or a live performance talent show that allows them the opportunity to showcase their true self. Your staff often share a lot in common and really get a chance to connect during out-of-office endeavors — so let them! This is something that can easily become more entertaining and engaging than any hired DJ or performer ever could!
Be Strategic with Your ‘Save the Date’
Having an idea of the date you would like to host the staff party is just as crucial as knowing the location you would like the party to be held. If it’s been decided to have the party on a workday, consider making it work during the last hour of the day when the most vigorous period of work is over, productivity is dwindling and people want to spend the rest of the day with their peers.
In addition to the ideal time of day, the day of the week also plays an important role when hosting your corporate party. Because while there are no right or wrong days of the week to work your party into, Friday puts forward the least risk of employees calling in the next day. Aside from this, simple considerations like weekly due dates and department workloads will go a long way when it comes to encouraging engaged attendees.
If your party is driven by a specific holiday, like Christmas or New Year’s, it’s also important to try and avoid having the party coincide with the actual date of the holiday (or even come too close to it) as most of your employees will undoubtedly prefer to spend this time with family or loved ones. If hosting your holiday party over the actual holidays is your only option, make sure to schedule the party during work hours to try to accommodate as many people as possible and get everyone involved.
Make Sure to Enjoy This Party Before You Begin Planning the Next
Investing enough time into your initiative is the best way to ensure that it goes effectively and looks like it was done effortlessly. It’s also the best way of showing your staff how much you cherish their hard work. So don’t be scared to spend a bit of time on this — and don’t hesitate to stop and enjoy the party with your staff once it’s all finally fallen into place! Not only is this important for your well-being, but for your staff as well who would surely love this opportunity to share some time with you!