Whether you’re planning an in-house office Christmas party this year or taking the festivities out on the town, you need to plan for success. Your recruitment agency Christmas party isn’t just a party – it’s an exercise in company bonding too!
Here's 10 handy hints to ensure your recruitment office Christmas party goes without a hitch...
The logistics
- Get everyone excited – Keep ‘em keen by dropping teasers in emails about what you’ll all be getting up to on the day. Give your team the opportunity to get involved or make suggestions too – this will make people feel more involved and it’ll take some of the pressure off you!
- Remind everyone when they need to turn up! A few days before the big event, send an email round letting people know what time things will be kicking off and what to expect. Use this opportunity to remind your team to get their out of office status on so they can get into the Christmas party groove and not be thinking about emails for once!
- Mix everyone up (but not too much). It’s great to put people together who don’t normally have the chance to mingle in the office, but be aware of any office politics, particularly if a kerfuffle is recent.
- Get the (appropriate!) highlights on social media - As Homer Simpson said, ‘Alcohol is the solution to – and cause of – all of life’s problems’. So make sure nothing goes up on your social channels that you wouldn’t show to Grandma, and make sure someone always has access to the 'delete tweet' button!
The entertainment
- Organised fun - Don't you just love it? But actually, a lip sync battle is always a winner, or a company end-of-the-year quiz always goes down a treat (but don’t forget to involve prizes!).
- Pump up the jams - Music is a given, but good music, not always. If you don’t have a budding DJ recruiter or the budget to hire one, Spotify is your solution. There are Christmas and party playlists abound, and it’s easy to create your own – here’s our perfect Christmas playlist for recruiters to feast your ears on!
- Provide drinks – Make sure there are enough beverages go round – nothing kills a party quicker than running out of drink, specially when recruiters are involved! The best possible advice when getting the alcohol in for a recruitment Christmas party would be this: whatever you estimate you’ll need – double it.
With this in mind, remember to provide plenty of snacks to soak up the booze as well as water, soft drinks etc. You’ll likely have a lot left over, but you can distribute them freely to those who make it in the next day – they’ll thank you for it. - Recognise your stars - dish out some award to recognise the achievements of your recruiters, but make them a mixture of joke awards and serious ones to keep things light so everyone feels involved. And remember your top billers aren't always necessarily your star performers - we've got a tool to prove it.
The aftermath
- Stay (relatively!) sober - make sure you (or another designated organizer) stays sober enough to check bathrooms and closets at the end of the night, and is able to pour the final partygoers into a cab (tell the driver where to drop them and tip in advance). It can be a good idea to have Uber codes or taxi vouchers ready for your team.
- Offer post-party respite - If you’re having a mid-week celebration, why not offer a late start the following day, or even make it a work-from-home day. As long as it doesn’t impact on business, there’s not much to lose (it was never going to be the most productive morning anyway!). If you are running a business-as-usual policy, it can be a nice idea to arrange post-party goodie bags with Berocca, paracetamol etc. too.
This should give you a good start to make your recruiter party the best recruiter party ever, but we’re always delighted to hear about your ideas – and about your party afterwards! Just use the hashtag #Recruitmas!
Identify and reward the real top performers on your team this Christmas by using our recruiter conversion rate calculator. Click to download below!
