15 HR Projects Before Christmas

What could be more pleasant yet challenging than preparing HR teams for the holiday season? I must admit, I adore this time because when else but in December can one feel like not just an HR professional, but a kind fairy? Especially when HR projects contribute to this feeling.

Today, in this article, I've gathered 15 favorite work projects to make your employees' lives even happier, which in turn fosters greater loyalty and engagement in their work. I hope some of these ideas will be useful to you.

So, let's get started!

1. To avoid comments like "Can everything be solved with money?", I'll begin with the most obvious and important project – the Christmas or year-end bonus. If there's a practice of providing such bonuses, ensure the conditions for receiving them are transparent. Each company chooses its calculation principles. It could be a percentage of the annual salary, a percentage of profits, based on meeting annual goals, etc. The main thing is that every employee in the company understands what they can expect at the year's end.

2. The following projects will directly relate to internal communication and, therefore, non-monetary motivation. The first project is giving gifts to employees. Over the years, we've offered our employees various items such as hoodies, vests, backpacks, Christmas sweaters, and much more. Why is this important? Good merchandise is more than just clothes with a logo. It's uniting your team on a symbolic level, a reference, if you will, to archetypal tribal symbols that show what we have in common. I'm sure you've encountered, for example, backpacks from a certain company and had a rough idea of the people standing before you, sometimes even guessing the country they might be from. Once, a colleague said that EPAM backpacks in Warsaw like cornflowers: they reminded her of her homeland, Belarus. If your team is distributed, such a gift will be even more appreciated by the employee. Receiving a box assembled with care from the company is invaluable. And the most active individuals will share this on social media.

3. Gifts for employee's children. I hope you've long stopped just giving candies to kids. We always tried to make children's gifts meaningful and caring. Instead of candies, gingerbread cookies; instead of plastic toys, wooden ones, pleasant to the touch and safe for health. It's good if children's gifts also reflect the company's values; for instance, they can be environmentally oriented or help develop cognitive abilities (puzzles, brain teasers, etc.). It's ideal if the gifts also consider the child's age: what's interesting for a toddler might be boring for a school kid. And children also love company merchandise. Being like mom or dad for them in a T-shirt with the company logo is a very appealing idea.

4. Christmas party. I won't write much about this since it's one of the most classic tools. In this point, I want to draw your attention to adhering to the principles of Diversity and Inclusion. Your party should be comfortable for vegetarians, for those who don't drink alcohol due to religious reasons, for those who eat kosher food, for those who move in wheelchairs or on crutches. Organizing an event where you might have to consider a sea of compromises is difficult. But in 2023, it's the only way to truly show that you respect your team. If circumstances lead to having the corporate event online, make sure there are refreshments for everyone attending in front of their computers, and perhaps some New Year's props. Engaging a remote team in an online event is difficult but possible. Only knowledge of your team can help.

5. Children's X-mas Party. One of my favorite events. You won't see so much joy and sincere gratitude anywhere else. Especially children's events are relevant now when there are many families moving to new places. Their goal is to bring families with children together, to give a holiday to people adapting to a new country. The concept of the celebration can be anything. Again, it would be great if the company's values are demonstrated at the event. For example, at an IT company's event, programming a robot could be arranged. In companies with a large number of relocating employees, entertainment related to the local culture of the country where the employees moved could be suitable.

6. Secret Santa. There's no better tradition than giving each other gifts within your team. It works for a school class as well as for a managerial team. Caring for each other expressed in choosing a gift and its packaging can further unite your team. If you're not confident about your team, there should be someone ensuring all the gifts are prepared; otherwise, it could have a very sad ending. Elfster and SecretSanta can help organize this wonderful tradition.

7. Year-End Company Video. One of my favorite visual content tools. Has a lot or a little happened in your company over the past year? Gather all the photo and video materials and create a short film about the year's events. It's a great tool to ground yourself, thank yourself and colleagues for the year's work.

8. One more video tool - Video Greeting from the CEO. I know how leaders can be open or closed to such ideas. However, it's an ideal format to convey New Year's greetings to your employees and demonstrate your respect especially of you have distributed offices.

9. The best employee of the year – Internal contests for the best employees. If the approach to selecting the best employees is transparent, and the winners truly understand what they receive the corporate prize for, this can be one of the most motivational tools in the company. But if prizes are awarded for retention or appeasement purposes, it can be quickly recognized and might work against the company. Take care and do your best.

10. Recruiting and SMM teams can also get on Santa hats. Engage with your social media audience: conduct giveaways, change avatars and backgrounds to festive ones, launch Christmas referral programs, delight your candidates with fun Christmas content. Life is too short to be serious all the time.

11. Charity. We're strong when together. One dollar might not have much impact, but if there are a thousand of us, and each gives one dollar, that's already $1000, which can be significant help for someone who lost their home, is fighting an illness, recovering from an injury, someone who needs a prosthetic or a mobile wheelchair… By launching charity collections within the company, you're not just helping someone; you're unleashing a wave of tremendous kindness and love within the team, as well as a sense that something depends on you. It's an important feeling, forgotten in recent years, isn't it?"

12. For several years, our team implemented a project called "Advent of Good Deeds". Instead of candies, employees received an example of a good deed to perform each day. For instance, gather good but unnecessary clothes and take them to a help center, call parents, make a colleague smile, make a feeder for birds, etc. However, a 24-day quest might not suit every company, and once this project transformed into "Ten Good Deeds of December". The essence remained the same, but the execution became easier. I highly recommend creating your version of good deeds to better feel the Christmas spirit.

13. Annual Christmas Tree Decoration. Oh, this is my favorite story implemented in various companies. The essence lies in having a unique Christmas Tree Ornament designed solely for that year, either at the party or as a gift for the employees. This idea becomes especially valuable when, after many years, your colleague unpacks a box of Christmas decorations and finds their corporate collection.

14. Greeting Cards for Employees' Relatives. How often do you sign and send cards to your relatives? In your company, you can organize a 'Santa's Mail,' where each employee can order a card for their family, sign it, and send it. The company takes care of all the preparations for cards, branded envelopes, and postal services.

15. As part of your wellbeing activities, I would recommend holding an open meeting with a psychologist for all interested parties to teach employees how to consciously summarize their personal year, accept failures if there were any, and plan for the coming year by setting achievable goals.

I hope this article proves useful for you. Don't hesitate to like and share. Happy preparations for the jingle bells weeks!"