By now, most year-end celebrations are planned. The venue is booked, the caterer is confirmed, and the invitations are sent out. If that’s you, that’s great. One piece is often still missing, though: the part that brings your whole team together once they arrive.
If you’re still planning, you have an advantage: you can build the celebration around that piece from the very beginning.
Either way, TBMOQ designs and facilitates that piece. Resolving the venue, catering, music and gifts stays with you or your event planner.
“Our program fits into whatever you arrange and turns part of your celebration into a moment that reinforces your culture and your corporate values.”
Marc Merulla
WHAT PEOPLE VALUE MOST IN DECEMBER
Strip away the decor and the playlist, and most people want the same few things from a year-end celebration:
- Time with colleagues they rarely interact with outside of work
- Feeling seen for the year they just had
- A chance to give back
- An experience that reflects that they are adults, not kids at a high school dance
A celebration that delivers on these four will be remembered warmly. One that misses them can be forgotten by Monday or remembered for a long time– just for the wrong reasons.
THE USUAL FORMULA, AND WHAT IT ASKS OF PEOPLE
Almost anything goes for holiday celebrations, so long as it is entertaining. An open bar, a karaoke mic and a dim dance floor. A magician, or a round of rapid-fire holiday-themed challenges. These formats have carried many holiday parties, and many teams enjoy them.
They also ask a lot of some people. An evening built around alcohol leaves non-drinkers on the sidelines. A microphone puts the spotlight on people who would rather not have it. Head-to-head competition, built without care, can turn a room of adults into a schoolyard. A celebration meant to lift morale can leave resentment behind.
DESIGNED FOR ADULTS
If you want your team to behave like adults, treat them like adults. That means an experience with real substance: something to figure out together, something to create, or something to give.
DIVERSITY AND YOUR CORPORATE VALUES
Diversity is one of a team’s greatest strengths. Patience, understanding, tolerance, and compassion are worth practising every day, not just during the holidays. Your year-end celebration is a chance to show your team what those values look like when everyone is in the room.
A festive mood leaves your corporate values fully in place. If anything, it puts them on display. Inclusion goes beyond a holiday-neutral name on the invitation. It shows up in who can take part, who feels comfortable, and who leaves feeling like part of something bigger.
WHEN IT IS DONE WELL
Corporate events, done well, encourage employee engagement while highlighting your values and shared purpose. With that formula, the connections form on their own. Some teams find that sweet spot by giving back together, such as assembling something as a group and donating it to someone who needs it. Others find it by exploring the city together, then meeting up wherever the celebration is slated to continue.
WHERE IT STARTS
Every program we design starts with one question: why? What does this celebration need to say to your team? The answer shapes the program, so the team experience reflects what your organization stands for and builds morale, not resentment.
About TBMOQ
Team Building Montréal, Ottawa & Québec (TBMOQ) has designed and delivered corporate team experiences since 1998. Our Transformational Fun methodology moves organizations through three stages, Team Bonding, Team Building, and Team Development, strengthening connection, effectiveness, and capability. TBMOQ has worked with organizations including the Canadian Olympic Committee, Desjardins, Hydro-Québec, Google, Air Canada, RBC, and Bell to create memorable, results-driven programs.
Learn more at tbmoq.ca or follow us on LinkedIn for more insights.