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‘Tis the season

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  • 17/11/2008
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Businesses should think twice before eliminating staff holiday parties in an effort to cut costs, warns John Fitzsimons

The majority of organisations (60%) will provide a Christmas party for their staff this year despite the impending recession, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) Annual Reward Management Survey 2008.

The survey highlighted the importance of rewarding employees during difficult times.

The findings showed that private sector companies are the keenest to embrace the Christmas festivities, with the majority (77%) likely to continue providing a traditional Christmas party or lunch this year – a small shift from 84% in 2007.

The situation is not so positive in the voluntary and public sectors. Only a quarter (24%) of firms in the public sector plan a Christmas party, while the number of voluntary firms organising a night out has fallen by 12% to little more than half (51%).

And within the private sector the manufacturing and production industry has also shown a marked drop in Christmas party offerings this year, with 67% of the organisations providing this type of reward, compared with 77% in 2007.

The size of an organisation appears to matter when it comes to Christmas parties, with smaller organisations most likely to embrace Christmas festivities.

The survey found that more than 82% of firms employing up to 49 employees will provide a Christmas party or lunch this year, compared with only 37% of organisations with 5000 people and more.

Charles Cotton, reward adviser at the CIPD, said that employers needed to think about why they are providing a party in the first place.

He said: “If it is to recognise the collective contribution of their employees, then what are the alternatives and are they more effective?

“If holding a Christmas party is the most effective way of achieving this, then employers should be wary about scrapping them in response to the economic downturn because the long-term effect could be damaging on employee engagement and organisational performance.

“As reward becomes ever more individual, the Christmas party is one way of reminding staff that they are part of a common endeavour.”n

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