You may already know why so many different cultures’ holiday celebrations fall in the depths of winter (in the northern hemisphere): The shortest days of the year come at this time. These holiday celebrations were devised to lift people’s spirits during literally the darkest days.
In addition to giving employees time off to lift their own spirits, employers can (and should) use the opportunity to build team spirit. However, with the rise of remote and hybrid workstyles, companies need to find new ways of bonding that honor the traditions but are practical for a distributed workforce.
While there are many activities that fit the bill, here are five of our favorites:
Virtual Gift Exchange
The holidays are definitely a season of gift-giving. And a random drawing of names for an exchange is a time-honored favorite.
Set a reasonable gift value price limit. Since this will be an exchange between employees, the company may want to add a kicker to the maximum price to ensure the gifts are of meaningful value. This will also connect the company more closely to the event and the employees.
Beyond virtualizing the event to include remote personnel, this offers several ways to make it special. Online random drawing apps like Netify or drawnames.com let everyone participate from wherever they are. In fact, it’s even easier to organize this way and keep the participants’ names secret.
In addition to stipulating the maximum value, require that the gift be purchased online and the link be provided to the organizers – not the recipients. The gift opening party can then be hosted as a video call with the organizers sharing each recipient’s link for them to “open” and show everyone what they got.
If you plan an in-office gathering with the exchange as the centerpiece, have snacks or meals delivered to your remote employees and keep the in-person participation on-screen. This actually makes it easier for everyone to appreciate the unveiling of the presents no matter where they are.
Handwritten Notes and Gift Cards
This is a classic for a reason: It shows thoughtfulness and connects people to their company’s management. The virtual twist here is the use of gift cards. While not novel, it does work especially well with remote staff. It also provides the same experience for remote staff and in-office workers.
If the team is too large for fully handwritten notes, the signatures should definitely be handwritten. The more members of management who sign the cards, the better. This is certainly one where the thought is what counts.
In that spirit, make sure the sentiment of the card represents the company. It can be light-hearted or deeply sincere. It just needs to be authentic.
Contribute Donations to Employee-Selected Charities
‘Tis better to give than to receive, as the saying goes. And the holidays are always an occasion to remember the less fortunate and look for ways to improve the world. By offering to supplement charitable donations by employees to the causes they support, you can bond with each of them in a meaningful way.
Obviously, making donations is easily accomplished in the online environment. But to really make this a company-wide team-building activity, use your company’s chat platform to let each employee promote the charity of their choice. It’s hard to overstate the inspirational power of getting to share a cause that matters to you and seeing what is closest to the hearts of your fellow employees.
For practical financial reasons, you’ll want to cap the donation amount the company will contribute. But that will not diminish the good will it generates… or the good it will do in the world.
Home-Delivered Sweets
This is another classic, and a perennial winner. Whether it’s a cake, candies, fresh fruit, or some other sweet treat, this represents the company coming out of the office to bring joy to employees in their homes.
In fact, this is such a staple of the season, there is now a huge range of possibilities to choose from. Whether you’re sending something original and unexpected, or a venerated traditional staple, you will be sharing the spirit of the company with each employee.
If practical, you can bring additional meaning to this gesture by sourcing the sweet from a merchant local to the employee… wherever they live. Employees in the headquarters city may recognize a local institution and appreciate that. Remote employees will definitely note the fact that you thought of them in their home community and made the effort to connect.
A Streaming Holiday Music Playlist
This is a great activity on its own, or a nice supplement to other holiday celebrations. Employees submit a song they would like on a collective playlist. Ideally, the requests will be holiday songs. But people listen to a range of music, even at the holidays, so all requests should be welcome.
The organizers build the list with the requester’s name alongside their song choice. Then they distribute the link for everyone to enjoy as they choose… at their desk as they work (through headphones or earbuds, of course), in the car, or at home. In effect, all the employees can enjoy this one remotely, even if they come into the office every day.
The song choices also provide a peek into the lives of colleagues. For this reason, managers and executives should add to the mix. Getting to know co-workers as people is the most powerful team-building technique there is, and a gift that keeps giving all year long.
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