Cutting back and building morale

We are still in lean economic times so companies are still watching every penny. In case you missed this article, here are a few Christmas on a budget tips for 2009 that can actually help your office.{{more}}

The goodwill that is generated at Christmas could be enough to get employees to look at morale and team building in an environment where it seems natural and not forced. Here are a few simple activities.

Hold an employee reception. If you do not have one already planned for this year, it’s not too late. Maybe your budget cannot afford a full meal but light finger food, a few games and a few music CDs will be an indication to your employees that you do still care.

Go green with office decorating. Decorations can be expensive so why not “go green” (go green means being environmentally friendly by reducing waste and reusing or recycling items) Encourage the staff to use natural decorations and recycled items and create a fun office decorating competition and offer small prizes for the best “green” decorated office, cubicle or desk. Employees get excited about competing, and for the creative types, this could be their opportunity to showcase a hidden talent and strike up conversation with someone they do not usually interact with.

Get Involved with Community Service. Your employees have so much to offer the community. Let them think of how they would like to spread some holiday cheer this Christmas. Some ideas might be to visit the hospital and give gifts to sick children or team up with a church or the Salvation Army to give bags of groceries to needy families.

The New Secret Santa. Instead of asking employees to buy gifts for each other, ask them to donate their time to another person in the office. Let the time be the gift.

Get full participation. Activities are even more successful when the CEO of the company takes part as a regular employee. Employees like to see that if only for one day their CEO/ President is able to put aside their title and be one of the workers. The CEO should not try to run the show but take orders and do as told to make the event an even greater success.

Karen Hinds is the “Workplace Success Expert” For a FREE SPECIAL REPORT on 7 Ways to Develop your Competitive Edge, send an email to info@workplacesuccess.com Visit online at www.workplacesuccess.com.