Have you had your
company ‘Holiday’ party yet? It is that time of year for company parties and
year-end sales events. Events that leaders spend lots of money and time
planning with the intent to show their employees how much they appreciate their
hard work as well as recognize their top performers.
Festivities aside, you
can bet your bottom dollar many of them will ask that famous question the next
morning, “Hey did you see that guy or girl last night at the company event?”
That question can have many answers and some may sound like, “Oh yeah,
everybody did when his drunk self got on the microphone and slurred profanity
for everybody to hear. Did you happen to see that girl; she was so drunk she
was saying all kinds of inappropriate things to her boss”.
Here is one thing I can
guarantee-his or her boss remembers it and the boss’s boss remembers it and
they are for sure talking about it, but it is not a funny story at the coffee
station; no they are talking to HR or legal on how they are going to handle the
situation. Great careers have been ended at company events by someone being
that guy or that girl.
Simple company or
business event rules:
-
Use the 2 drink max rule or if you have
a low tolerance then soda is probably what you want.
-
Remember no matter your surroundings (a
hotel, a restaurant, etc.) you are still at work.
-
Don’t be the last one at the bar,
because you probably broke the 1st and 2nd rule.
-
Have fun.
What is a company to
do?
Many leaders are doing
fewer events and some are eliminating them all together to help avoid the human
resource and legal issues that happen so often during these events. I believe
that is a costly mistake that can cost companies in morale. Keep doing the
events, and focus on educating the teams on the appropriate behavior for the
event. Know that at every event there will be that guy or that girl and you can
deal with them, but the good news is there are those remaining great employees
talking about that guy and how thankful they are to be working for a company
that shows how much they appreciate them. Events can be expensive and a pain
for many leaders, but they are cheap compared to unmotivated and unhappy
employees and clients.