Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By Matt Hulett
While waiting for a table the other night at a Seattle restaurant, I could overhear a group next to me at the bar lamenting over their cancelled company holiday party. From what I gathered, this was a large public company and the event was cancelled just a week or two before it was supposed to happen. It didn’t take too long to recognize the conversation, largely because it matches much of the same sentiment I’ve been hearing the last few weeks from friends and executives at area companies, both public and private.
My immediate reaction when hearing of canceled holiday events is that these companies are thinking far too short-term. I strongly believe that companies need to manage their morale and goodwill; otherwise, they’ll be damaging your culture long-term.
If a company is in the midst of laying off employees due to macro economic conditions and/or troubles with their own business, I am not saying that a company party is required. What I am saying is that the leadership of these companies can and should do a better job of managing from the top. It was clear that the exec teams at the companies were not explaining the reasoning around cutting their holiday parties.
Here are some tips that could help:
1. Communicate more – When times are bad, it’s important to communicate more versus less. If you are not clear about why you are doing something, then your employees will make up their own scenarios. What simply was an accountant-related decision (spending six figures on a holiday party), starts to look and feel like a trend around cutting costs even more deeply — aka more layoffs coming and no merit increases. Nature abhors a vacuum and yes your employees will start to devise conspiracy theories. By the same token, if the party must still happen, perhaps reducing the scope can show an awareness of the the conditions but an appreciation of the employees that helped get you there.
If have been thoughtful about your decisions and they make sense, your employees will appreciate these actions as long as they are consistent. Managing through this time in a way that actually provides long-term commitment from your employees is an opportunity that should not be missed. Scrooge finds his redemption at the end of the Christmas Carol, and you can, too.
