Employees and bosses are looking forward to the Christmas lunch more than ever. The pandemic dampened the previous edition, and both are looking forward to this time of year with pent-up anticipation. Perhaps that is why this time the event presents greater risks than it does every year, especially for the organisers. However, as always, where some see danger, others see opportunity.
To be among the latter, the gala has to be worked on in advance. It is necessary for the organiser to anticipate the dangers that may arise during the meal and to identify opportunities for the celebration to move forward in a positive way. Good planning will, for example, allow for strengthen the sense of team spirit, generate optimism, transmit confidence and humanise the company.. The absence of a clear idea, however, can have the opposite effect: pessimism, mistrust, suspicion and alienation of staff. To avoid the latter and achieve the former, two essential aspects must be addressed in particular. On the one hand, the setting. On the other, the message.
A good choice of restaurant, menu and even table and seating arrangements send signals to employees and can be used to bring managers and subordinates closer together, facilitate inter-departmental understanding, make one group feel more comfortable or integrate another that has, for example, been absorbed this year. A wrong decision, on the other hand, can cause alienation, increase suspicion or envy among staff, alienate groups that were already at loggerheads and even humiliate an entire department.
To make accurate determinations, it is important to reflect before the appointment on who we are as a company, what our day-to-day business is like, what our values and mission are and to what extent these are shared by our staff.whether there are displaced, distant or less involved groups or what has happened during the year (whether there have been staff adjustments, losses, relocations).
Ignoring reality and understanding the Christmas event as a kit kat, a parenthesis, a stopgap or even a compensation can only have adverse effects. It is essential that employees feel the coherence between the months leading up to the celebration. An ostentatious dinner in a luxurious setting for employees who have been involved in work stoppages and have 'lost' colleagues does not seem the right message, for example.
But it is not only the stage that conveys
Explicit messages are extremely relevant in such a milestone.. It is therefore dangerous for the chairman's, CEO's or whoever's speech to be improvised in a context of fleeting joy. The opportunity to strengthen the sense of belonging can easily turn into a blunder and even reputational damage for a manager who risks taking the microphone without having prepared for it. The discourse must also be worked on for this moment.
It is time to make a sober assessment, to thank those who deserve it, to reinforce those who need it (without leaving anyone out) and, if possible, to advance some general lines for the next season. Without being too specific, because this is not the time to make overly ambitious or unrealistic commitments. Entering the risky territory of unnecessary promises is best left to others. Failure to deliver damages the credibility of someone who should be the organisation's compass, and there is no need to make that mistake.
Finally, during the celebration, it is good to reach out to employees who do not usually have contact with the top managers. It is an excellent time for staff to see humanity in them, to strengthen ties, to detect common interests, to motivate the workers who need it most and, of course, to learn.