The holiday season can be intense in any business. There are fewer working hours in the month, for some industries the workload increases considerably, and there’s a lot competing for the attention of your employees and your customers.
Let us not forget, however, the magic of the holidays amidst the chaos of the season. As business leaders, we have an opportunity this time of year to show our employees how valued they are by our company. When you have a great team, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.
There are so many ways to celebrate your team, but here are a few of our favorites:
Holiday Gifts
This is the obvious one, but is worth mentioning. Many businesses give holiday bonuses, and that’s a particularly helpful and welcome thing at the holidays when your team is experiencing higher expenses with gift giving and holiday events. However, a small token of your appreciation is a welcome way to tangibly show your team that you care about them personally.
Some businesses may give a branded piece of company clothing, others a luxury item like a Yeti mug or a cool piece of technology, while others may just do a small gift bag of holiday treats. Whatever you choose, giving your team a small reminder of the value they bring pours over into the rest of the year.
Tell Them
Words matter. When you take a break from the usual conversation to let your team know how great a job they’re doing, how grateful you are for them, how they’re moving your company forward, not only do they feel that appreciation, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Words of encouragement shape your company culture.
You can do this by leveraging your digital signage to regularly post messages that celebrate your team that they’ll see throughout their day, throughout your workspace!
Take a Break
While many companies do a holiday party, which is awesome, for those who don’t, consider surprising your team with a special lunch or an unexpected break. Even something small like cookies and hot cocoa mid-day is a treat that will lift the spirits of your team and let them know that you care about them as people.
However you choose to celebrate, we hope you remember that your company wouldn’t be what it is without the incredible team you lead. Finding ways to invest in them and pour into them, especially at the holidays, will return dividends for months to come.
If you’d like some other fresh ideas on how to invest in your team, we’d love to help. We’ve created this guide to communicating more effectively with your employees we’d love to share with you – click here to download it.