A Season of Giving in the Workplace
Ah, December. It is truly the most wonderful time of the year. After a long twelve months, a lot of us are looking forward to some well-earned time off. There are still a few tasks to do before then, however, including: ensuring everyone has a great time at the company Christmas party, making an executive decision on which tasks truly can wait until January and deciding how to create a season of giving in the workplace.
Give to a Charity
The best way to give back to the community at Christmastime is by donating to a worthy charity. A company can donate a percentage of their profits or have an employee-led fundraising campaign to help those in need. Some companies also offer paid time off for employees who volunteer for charitable organizations, giving their employees time to give back while also maintaining their work/life balance.
This year, RecruitmentPlus has decided to donate to Focus Ireland. Each company will know what’s right for them and their company culture.
Give Your Time & Expertise
Things might be winding down for you, but not everyone’s workload eases off in December. If you notice a colleague is struggling with their workload, why not ask if you can give them a helping hand? Even if you’re not au fait with their main tasks, there is surely something you can do to tick off an item or two from their to-do list. This is a great way to encourage a season of giving in your workplace.
Another way you can help is to mentor a junior employee. If you both find you have some free time in the days leading up to your Christmas break, why not grab a coffee with them and have a chat. Let them pick your brain. Ask them about their most difficult tasks and see if you can offer a better solution using your own experience. They’ll feel great coming back in January, ready to hit the ground running. And you’ll feel amazing having helped them.
Give a Kris Kindle Gift
Kris Kindle is a fun tradition that has been around for decades. This gift exchange is often used as a way for employees to get to know one another better in an informal setting. It’s also a great way for people who work in teams or departments that don’t interact with one another on a regular basis to break the ice.
We all know that money can be tight for people especially at this time of year, but a Kris Kindle gift doesn’t have to cost a lot. You can set the limit to €5 or whatever is appropriate for your group. It’s fun to investigate what your gift recipient might like and again, maybe learn a little something about them.
Give Feedback
This tip is for managers. Giving feedback to an employee really helps them understand their role and how they’ve contributed throughout the year. The best process for giving feedback is through an annual performance review. Performance reviews are a very important part of an employee’s career. They help employees understand their strengths and weaknesses, set goals for themselves and keep them accountable and hopefully motivated.
But the benefits don’t stop there. Once all of the performance reviews have been done, a manager can use the data to see what their own strengths and weaknesses are leading a team. You can learn about areas in which you can improve and also figure out which of your employees might need some more support from you.
This time of year, you can see it’s definitely better to give than to receive.
During this season of giving, if your gift to yourself is a new job in 2023, click here.
Our offices are closing on Friday 23rd December and will re-open on Wednesday 04th January 2023. We’d like to thank all of our clients and candidates for their support this year. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. We look forward to working with you again in 2023.
