2020 has been a whirlwind of a year and even now that it’s the holiday season, the craziness of this year isn’t going to change. For many, this holiday season is gearing up to be the weirdest holiday season they have ever experienced.
The same goes for remote teams! Many businesses who were forced to move their teams online due to COVID restrictions early on in 2020. And this year, many businesses are having to forgo their annual company holiday parties.
With Christmas and the New Year right around the corner, it’s important that you are already keeping the holiday season in mind. Whether your employees love Christmas or struggle with celebrating the holidays, it is important that you keep them front and center in your business’ holiday plans.
If you’re unsure of how to approach the holiday season this year, we have made this guide to make things a little easier on you and your remote team!
Set Clear Working Parameters
Naturally, this time of year is a time when people want to take some time off work and spend it with their families. Every business has different policies when it comes to taking time off or closing up shop for the holidays.
No matter what you plan on doing, it is important that you clearly communicate this to your employees. Make sure they know exactly what days and times they are expected to work like normal.
Doing this not only helps your employee’s plan ahead, but it also takes a little bit of stress off of them on a day to day basis since they won’t have to worry about not knowing when to do work.
Send a Virtual Holiday Card
Virtual everything is the new normal, so why not incorporate it in your holiday cards? Not only will virtual cards save you money on printing and postage, but it also gives your employees immediate gratification!
Try to spice up the traditional holiday cards and instead of just sending a pretty graphic or a company photo with a sweet message, create something like a video with every employee’s heads photoshopped on elves! Get creative with it and try to make your employee’s laugh! We could all use a good laugh this year.
Give a Little
It may seem cliche, but it is the season of giving and it applies to your employees, as well. Whether you want to give them physical gifts or you decide to give them extra time off or a holiday bonus, it will be much appreciated.
This year has been stressful on all of us and virtual teams have been busting their butts to make this new normal work. Giving them a gift will show that you acknowledge them working hard and that you appreciate all that they do.
Have a Virtual Holiday Party
Just because you can’t have an in-person holiday party, doesn’t mean you can’t have a virtual one! Coordinate with your employees to get everyone online at the same time. You can even incorporate virtual versions of traditional holiday events such as ugly sweater contests or secret santa.
Plus, you could even have your employees coordinate and share holiday recipes, cocktails, and playlists ahead of time to make the event even more festive!
If you’re worried about how to coordinate a large virtual holiday party like this, check out Xeno! Xeno is a great tool for remote teams to communicate and collaborate. Whether it’s through our team inbox, file sharing, or meeting scheduling, Xeno has everything a remote team needs to coordinate.
Plus, our automated chatbox allows your business to run on autopilot while everyone joins in on the festive cheer!
