I remember one job I had was with a company that was owned by gentleman of Slavic descent and his demeanor was very serious and business-like all the time. He was a huge man of stature and he never smiled and when he spoke to us he never had anything good to say. In my first year with his company he announced at one of the weekly employee meetings that sales were down so there would be no Christmas party that year. He said it very matter of factly and offered no apologies. The people in the company that shared the owner’s ethnic heritage just shrugged their shoulders and went back to work. But the prospect of no corporate Christmas party seemed horrible to the Americans in the company. It was seen as so horrible that the sales manager, who was American, started his own Christmas party sign up list and told everyone that if enough people signed up and agreed to pay $50 each then we could still have a great Christmas party. People started to sign up until the owner of the company also put his name on the list. The hypocrisy was not lost on anyone and soon the party idea died. There were no more corporate parties at that company and there was also no more respect for the owner from the American employees. All of that may seem a bit extreme of a reaction just because there was no party but, in reality, corporate parties are inexpensive ways of helping build morale among your employees and keeping everyone happy in their job.

I guess my first tip on corporate parties would be to make sure you have them from time to time. That company I mentioned in the opening of this piece was housed in a huge office space that included an enormous warehouse with a lot of open area. A creative, and caring, company owner could have put together something for the 40 employees of the company that was not very expensive but yet would be fun. I think that the importance of corporate parties is lost on most managers and executives because, for some reason, when you reach the higher points of the corporate ladder you seem to lose some focus on what made you appreciate the company when you weren’t management. Not everyone in the company is pulling down your huge management paycheck and the guy in the warehouse wants to feel just as appreciated as the guy or girl in the mailroom. The company I worked for that stopped having corporate parties closed within 2 years of stopping parties. I do not think it was a coincidence as the only motivator an employee has, besides their paycheck, is morale and low morale means low production.

So if you have any kind of open space you can have a corporate party. Some people may not like the idea of coming back to the office for corporate parties but if it does correctly it can be an enjoyable time. Make sure to create separation from the icons of the work day when you plan your party. Cover the cubicles if you can. Throw a sheet over the forklifts and put some paper decorations on them. Spend a couple of bucks and make it look like a party. Party food can be relatively inexpensive. If your company cannot afford a lot of food then set up a committee and make some employees responsible for bringing food. Employees can get creative about parties if they are given the chance. Make sure there is music at the party and try and give some door prizes away. If you set it up right then it won’t matter where the party is just as long as you have one.

If you can get away with not serving alcohol at your corporate parties then adopt that policy. If there is an insistence on alcohol then do not allow alcohol at corporate parties without a designated driver program in place as well. Improved morale for your employees is useless if the employees do not survive the party to enjoy their new found morale.