How to Get Your Employees In The Holiday Mood This Year

In a couple months, it’s going to be the most wonderful time of the year.

Agreed, it’s a little early to put up the Christmas decorations. But as a small business owner with some or a ton of employees, you’re probably already thinking of the cost involved in the coming end-of-year festivities.

And, whether it will earn you any brownie points with your staff.

Done right, your end-of-year festivities can inject some life into your exhausted employees and have them look at you with newfound admiration.

But the Christmas party is overdone. Buying a few snacks and streamers just won’t cut it if you’re trying to put your employees in the holiday spirit. This doesn’t mean you have to break your emergency piggy bank and splurge on a massive holiday rager.

On the contrary, you only need to put some thought into making your end-of-year celebrations more memorable than the previous years.

Handwritten Thank You Letters

Everyone deserves to feel appreciated. As a busy small business owner, it’s easy to forget this when you’re ordering your employees around all day. The holidays are a perfect time for you to let them know that you see all the good work they do and you appreciate it.

Take a day and write personal thank you letters to each of your staff members. Try to mention the unique attributes they bring to the team and how they help to make your small business a success. Of course, personal letters are easier to write when you have a staff of 10 people as opposed to 100. Although, writing 100 personal thank you letters will probably be something they remember until next holiday season.

Collaborate

Not everyone has the funds to provide expensive gifts or a fancy holiday party.

If things are a little tight, you’ll have to think outside the box. As a small business owner, chances are you’ve met other business owners who provide a wide variety of products and services.

If you’re trying to provide perks while holding on to your bottom dollar, why not reach out to your fellow business owners to see if you can collectively provide perks your employees will appreciate?

From discounts on meals, to spa services and products, you and your business-owning acquaintances can treat these collaborations as a business deal. You scratch my employees’ backs, they’ll scratch yours, backs and so on.

A Charitable End of Year

Why not make it a more meaningful holiday by having your business give back to your community? Instead of hosting a big office party, turn the event into a volunteer day at a charity nearby.

While this may be disappointing for employees hoping for a rager, most people will think very favorably about donating their time to helping the less fortunate in the community where your small business is located. Reminding yourself that there is no greater satisfaction than helping others is a great way to end the year.

Ugly Sweater Contest Reloaded

Ramp up the anticipation to the end-of-year celebration by unveiling all sorts of wacky holiday-themed contests. The Ugly Sweater contest is so last year. This doesn’t mean you should do away with it though. Instead, add a little more fun to the event and encourage competitiveness amongst your staff.

What about a best work area decoration? Or offering a small prize to whoever creates the best Christmas meme? Not only will this get people excited for the holiday, it will also improve staff morale and encourage them to see the office as a place for work and fun.

Shut It Down

You know what the best gift of all is? Time. Time off, to be specific. Forget the Christmas party. Giving your employees a week or two off at the end of the year is the number one way to earn their loyalty and admiration forever.

While some companies do close their doors over the holidays, the trend isn’t picking up as quickly as it should. For many small business owners, business is so slow over the holidays that you may ending up actually losing money by staying open.

Consider the industry you’re in. If it makes financial sense, give yourself and your staff a proper Christmas holiday. With a gift like that, talented individuals will be clamoring to work with you every year.

Sending money to your business contacts at the end of the year can be a headache, with banks charging a pretty penny to send wires outside the country. In addition to this, they are often slow and unreliable as a single missing detail can mean losing your money.

Give yourself the perfect gift. Use Veem.

Veem is the next generation global payment platform that allows you to send and request international transfers safely, quickly, and effortlessly. With low costs regardless of the destination, it’s the best choice for sending and receiving payments from your overseas contractors, vendors, and partners.

Sign up for a Veem account today and watch your small business grow.

This content was originally published on the Veem blog. For more information and exclusive content, click here