An important part of workplace culture is business celebrations. From retirement gatherings to birthday parties, these events can help make employees feel special, cared for and reduce turnover because they feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves.

But maintaining party supplies as an enterprise to be ready for all these celebrations can be complex. Here are some tips for better business parties that help build a culture that people want to be a part of.

Business Party Benefits

Paying for parties might seem like a waste of resources. And encouraging employees to leave behind their work for a while on company time might seem counterintuitive. But it can be a crucial element in company culture. Your organization will experience these benefits from organizing business parties.

• Better workplace engagement
• Experiences that employees will remember
• Workplace culture that encourages inclusion, community and purpose
• Helping employees feel accomplished when meeting milestones or closing projects
• Reinforcing company values and long-term vision
• Improved productivity
• Positive workplace culture
• Greater employee retention

Business Celebrations that Build a Desirable Workplace Culture

Your celebrations might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But they play a crucial role in building a workplace culture that applicants seek and that retain current employees.

Learn how to organize the best workplace parties to celebrate accomplishments, milestones and build community within your organization.

1. Monthly Birthday Gatherings

The larger your organization, the more challenging it is to celebrate each employee’s birthday. The easiest way to overcome that challenge is to host a monthly birthday celebration that celebrates the employees whose birthdays are that month. Smaller organizations can host individual parties to recognize each employee.

Late afternoons tend to be when employees are less productive as their energy starts to slump. Consider coffee, small snacks and a treat to help employees regain energy and take advantage of getting employees away from their desks during a time of day that isn’t especially productive anyway.

If you have flexible work, consider looking at the day of the week when most employees are in the office to help make the celebration as enjoyable for as many employees as possible.

2. Employee Wellness Events

Help employees care for themselves. Host regular wellness events. These might include exhibitors from local gyms, massage companies, online exercise programs, meditation apps, and other organizations that can help employees care for themselves.

You might host nutrition seminars, mindfulness workshops or pop-up group exercise classes. Make the office look the part with decorations and essentials, such as tablecloths.

3. Project Milestones

Employees involved in large projects might work long hours and undergo extreme stress. Recognizing these efforts can help employees celebrate their accomplishments along the way.

Share with your employees that if they meet certain deadlines, they’ll get a party or lunch catering. It’s a small thing to help keep everyone’s spirits high despite the large tasks.

If you don’t have large projects that your team is working on, you can host monthly success spotlight events where you celebrate achievements. 

4. Annual Employee Appreciation Week

Take part in employee appreciation week – often celebrated the first week of March – or create your own. During this week, you might have one day with breakfast or donuts for employees. Another day, you might have a taco bar for lunch. Celebrate one late afternoon or evening with a happy hour with hors d’oeuvres. 

5. Summer Picnic

Get the whole family involved and allow employees to bond on a deeper level with a summer picnic or other gathering, such as a BBQ or cookout. Celebrate late afternoon, evening or on a weekend so that employees can bring their whole family.

Giving employees a chance to celebrate with their families can increase their sense of belonging at your organization. Plus, if you have the funds to do so, it can be a nice perk to help families enjoy some time away together. For example, host your summer celebration at the local amusement park, zoo or other experiential location that the employee might not pay to take their family to on their own.

6. Companywide Sports Teams

Sports teams can help build camaraderie and healthy competition among employees. If your company team makes it to the playoffs or accomplishes a great deal during the season, celebrate those accomplishments with them. Or even if it is a mediocre season, celebrate participation in the sport and the team building that they did together with a small gathering.

7. Retirement

When an employee retires, celebrate their contributions to your organization. This milestone is an important one in your employee’s life as well as the life of their family. Invite their extended family to join you as you send off the employee from their working days to enjoy a relaxing retirement.

8. Baby Showers

When an employee is welcoming a new baby, a little office baby shower is a fun way to celebrate. You don’t have to make employees feel burdened to bring gifts. Instead, make your company gift a few large boxes of diapers and wipes to support the new parent. Then just serve some cake and enjoy fellowship to reduce the social pressures for each employee or team to put together a gathering of their own.

9. Employee Graduation

Many companies support their employees in continuing their education with a bachelor’s or master’s degree. During late spring, celebrate those employees who have earned a degree with a special gathering. Getting a degree takes countless hours of work and your employees will appreciate the recognition of their efforts.

10. Holiday Party

An annual holiday party can give employees something to look forward to. Plus, that way managers don’t have to worry about purchasing holiday gifts for their employees. Instead, the experience can be a gift to your employees. Hosting it in the late afternoon where employees get to leave work a little early and still get paid the full amount for the day can make it an extra special perk.

Stocking Party Supplies for Workplace Celebrations

Keeping essentials on hand for workplace celebrations reduces stress in planning and makes the process far simpler for managers looking to celebrate their employees. 

SoNice Party offers wholesale prices on essentials that every workplace needs to recognize its employees. Here are a few items you might consider stocking to make your workplace parties seamless and festive.

• Disposable silverware
• Tablecloth rolls
• Honeycombs
• Cups
• Signs

Sign up for a wholesale account now to get access to high-quality materials at a reasonable price.

Further reading:

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• Wholesale Balloons Online: Find the Best Deals for Your Business