2024 is drawing to a close. Hopefully, this year has been a good one for your business. Perhaps you’ve hit or exceeded your sales goals. Maybe you expanded your product line, hired additional staff, or added a new location. There are many ways in which to succeed. If it’s been a bad year for sales or you experienced a natural disaster, then just hanging on is surely a success. Here’s why celebrating is important and some ideas on how to do it.
Importance of celebrating
Celebrating can be a very good thing to do for your company. For your staff, celebrating can produce even greater success. Indeed lists 10 reasons:
- Promote team building
- Encourage positivity
- Improve company culture
- Make employees feel appreciated
- Boost productivity
- Improve communication
- Enhance employee retention and job satisfaction
- Inspire intrinsic motivation
- Build a positive reputation for the company
- Encourage creativity and innovation
I would add one more reason to celebrate…pausing to reflect and appreciate the fruits of your labor. Express gratitude for everything you’ve experienced this past year.
How to celebrate
Celebrations can take many forms. They can be formal events or informal activities. Here are some ideas:
- Hold an event for your staff. This can be a formal affair offsite (e.g., a dinner; happy hour at a local brewery) or a casual one during or after business hours. It could be an activity, such as bowling (not everyone has to bowl). If you have remote workers, think about how they can be part of your activity.
- Give gifts to employees. Annual bonuses and holiday gifts have already been distributed. But a year-end celebration may call for another gift, big or small. Paid time off is great if you can afford it. Tokens—t-shirts, water bottles, backpacks, or swag bags with your business logo—are also nice. If you offer pricier items, let employees choose their gift from a menu you create and then can purchase for their gift—a gym bag, headsets or earbuds, tickets to the theater or a sporting event.
- Provide rewards to customers. A “thank you” sale or personalized discounts may be warranted. If you have a loyalty program, you can upgrade their status. Name something after a special customer (one local restaurant I know named a salad after a loyal patron).
Celebrations can also be ways in which you show gratitude for what’s happened in the past year. Harvard Business Review lists ways to show gratitude at work.
Final thought
“Success is survival.” – Leonard Cohen, Canadian songwriter, poet, and novelist
You’ve made it through the year. Yay!! Take time to recognize the accomplishments—big and small—of the past 366 days (2024 is a leap year). Be grateful for the people you interact with through your business. Look forward to the future because who knows what wonderful things lay ahead.
Happy New Year!!
For resources on celebrations in the workplace, see this list of blogs.
