With the recession biting, managers may be considering cancelling their office or team Christmas party. However, according to the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), it is more important than ever to invest in motivating and rewarding employees.
The ILM's top 10 tips for employers on holding a Christmas party on a budget are:
- Have a 'kids style' Christmas party (and save yourself staff embarrassments as well as cash by banning alcohol for the afternoon) - bring in some sandwiches, crisps, cakes and jammy dodgers along with party games. You can always move onto the pub for a few drinks later
- Have an eco party - instead of asking people to cough up for secret Santa have a swap-shop (don't just swap clothes - do books, CDs or any gifts you've received that you'd rather pass on to someone else!)
- Take some time out of the day to celebrate success - talk about what the team has achieved and share out a big box of chocolates
- Use your office as the venue - festoon a meeting room or boardroom, order some buffet food from your local supermarket or café and - as a special twist - get managers to serve their teams
- Book a function room at your local pub - find a venue where they don't charge regular customers for room hire and then negotiate a deal on house wine. This will offer the team a change of scene and guarantee your local landlord a healthy bar spend
- Remember that if you really do need to hire a venue, choosing a midweek date will reduce your hire costs as well as the food and drink prices
- Hold a team lunch in a bring-your-own-booze restaurant and save yourself money on the alcohol spend
- Go to www.officechristmas.co.uk and search according your budget, number of guest and location to find Christmas party offers around the country from £16.50pp
- Team up with other organisations in your building (or teams within your company) to share costs and finally talk to the people that you usually only say hello to in the lift
- Manage your budget by going all inclusive - they're often a little more expensive, but at least you'll know what your bill will be at the end of the night.
