Holiday Office Party Considerations for Employers

The time for office holiday parties is quickly approaching. Hosting a festive event is a great way to celebrate and show appreciation for your employees, but it takes planning beyond choosing a venue. Sharlyn Lauby, SHRM-SCP, and President at ITM Group, shared some holiday office party considerations for organizing your event.

What’s the Purpose of the Event?

“Organizations need to establish the purpose of their celebration,” Lauby suggests. Are you celebrating December holidays specifically? Do you want to give back to your employees who have worked hard this year? Or are you aiming to give employees downtime to unwind?

If you answered option two or three, consider celebrating employees at a different time of year. December is often busy, especially for employees with families, active social lives, or second jobs. It’s also one of the busiest times of year for many industries (e.g. retail, hospitality, travel), so there isn’t a lot of spare time or energy for festivities.

Many companies choose to host “their holiday parties in January because the operation is busy, and employees have their own (personal or family) holiday events to attend,” Lauby says.

How Can Remote Employees Join In?

“In today’s dispersed workforce, organizations need to think about what they are doing for remote employees,” says Lauby. If your entire organization is remote, you might choose to host an online event such as holiday trivia, a virtual happy hour, or a year-end “awards show.”

If most of your employees are located in one geographic region with just a few remote employees, you need to find ways to include those people. Try these ideas:

• Offer to reimburse their travel to join an in-person holiday party
• Help organize small, local parties for remote employees that live near each other
• Plan virtual events throughout the season that they can participate in (e.g. gingerbread house content, ugly sweater contest, holiday playlist sharing, long-distance gift exchange, holiday craft making)

What Is Management’s Role at the Event?

According to Lauby, managers play several roles in workplace holiday events. First, make sure they don’t play favorites. “Often [managers] are the distributor of drink tickets, which needs to be managed. As in, a manager cannot give their employees an extra ticket,” Lauby explains. They also shouldn’t be seen handing out gifts to their teams at the party, in case other managers chose not to do so. If they want to give their employees gifts, it should be done privately at the office during work hours.

Make sure managers know that their workplace role as leaders supersedes letting loose at the party. “For example, as the HR director, I didn’t have drinks during the holiday party. I was working,” says Lauby. Ask managers not to overindulge, and to “stay to ‘close’ the event and make sure that everyone leaves safely.” Setting these expectations ahead of the party ensures it will run smoothly.

How Will Alcohol Be Handled?

One of your first holiday office party considerations should be whether or not to serve alcoholic drinks. If you do serve them, Lauby explains that you’ll also need plans for:

• Employees who need a safe ride home
•  Employees or guests who conduct themselves in an inappropriate way

“Companies can say all they want that employees need to preplan to get home, but the reality is the organization needs to monitor alcohol consumption and be prepared to act,” Lauby says. Be on the lookout for employees who are visibly intoxicated and help them by discreetly offering water, food, and a ride home. You can also keep drinking in check by using drink tickets, only serving beer and wine instead of liquor, or having limited bar time.

READ MORE: 15 Tips for a Lawsuit-Free Holiday Party

What Inclusionary Steps Can We Take for the Event?

Now more than ever, diversity and inclusion should be at the top of your holiday office party considerations. Every employee should feel welcome, safe and celebrated at your event. Consult the list below to make sure you didn’t forget any DEI elements:

• Venue/location: physically accessible; welcoming for all (i.e. no political or religious affiliation)
• Menu: food and drink options for various dietary restrictions
• Dress code:should match workplace policy (unless employees are required to wear uniforms on the job, then business casual); don’t require formal (might be financially inaccessible) or gender-specific clothing (not inclusive of all gender expressions)

• Cultural messaging: with few exceptions, don’t call it a “Christmas” party; focus on culturally inclusive winter/year-end celebrations

How Case IQ Can Help

Did an employee get hurt during your holiday party? Did someone submit a report that they were harassed during the event? Case IQ’s modern case management software, paired with WhistleBlower Security’s employee-friendly hotline, can help you receive, manage, and investigate employee misconduct all in one secure, centralized platform. Learn more about how we can improve your HR programs here.