Current Article

How To Make Sure Your Office Christmas Do is a Success

By Jim Symcox on Dec 8, 2007 in business networking, Manchester

Table of contents for The Office Party

Office Christmas Party – How Much To Pay?
How To Make Sure Your Office Christmas Do is a Success
Which Office Christmas Party And Who To Invite?

Office Party Objectives

Have an objective. yes it’s that simple!

Surely the objective is for all the staff to have a good time at Christmas?

Quite right. However, what about other objectives a Christmas party could fulfil for you?

For example:

1. Staff Objectives

a. Maintain staff retention

b. Improve staff communications

c. Reward staff

d. Thank spouses for support

2. Customer Objectives

a. Thank customers

b. Reward customers

c. Network with past and present customers

d. Retain customers

e. Recapture old customers

3. Supplier Objectives

a. Thanks suppliers

b. Reward suppliers

c. Maintain good supplier relationships

As you can see all those objectives can make a difference to how you organise a Christmas party.

Should We Sell Tickets?

Selling tickets to the Christmas party can certainly be done. However, you should decide whether that helps your party meet your objectives.

Remember if you plan a Christmas party in Tenerife expecting your staff to pay for their own flights, accommodation and board is a bit much. And would effectively be seen as the ticket price of the party. Whereas planning a party in central Manchester with a hotel for the night and only asking your staff to make their own way there could be considered fair. So balance the need to keep costs reasonable with the desire to meet your chosen objectives.

Party In The Office Or Not?

Christmas parties are big business and venues around the Northwest run them. Event companies run them and even web site businesses run parties in popular venues for you. Or they can set it up so that a party is shared with a few, or many, other office parties.

In Manchester shared party prices range from £50 per person (for Jongeleurs Posh Christmas Comedy Party at The Jarvis Piccadilly ) to as little as £20. Sites where you can find places to hold Christmas and New Year parties include:

The first two sites run the shared, or exclusive, parties for you and the third one allows you to go directly to a venue that’s running Christmas parties. The downside with these sites is that in their Northwest sections they focus almost entirely on central Manchester and Cheshire.

Typically party organisers generally provide good events that staff are quite satisfied with.

And without an objective none of these decisions can be made.

So getting setting your objectives now. Although for this year it may already be too late.

Flickr tags: Office Christmas Party, Christmas Party Venue