The final stretch of the year is upon us, and it’s a pivotal time for teams to rally together, finish strong, and set the tone for the following year. The end-of-year push can provide a unique challenge, as everyone looks forward to a well-deserved break, however, it’s also a time for reflection. Motivating your team during this period can lead to higher morale, increased productivity, and a strong sense of accomplishment.
From celebrating successes to setting inspiring goals for the upcoming year, we’ll explore various ways to ignite that year-end spirit and keep your team motivated to start 2024 on a high!
01. Get into the holiday spirit:
It’s time to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the office. Get creative with it, you could put up decorations around the office or have a decorate-your-desk competition. You could play Christmas music or get everyone to bring their favourite holiday treat in for everyone to share. When speaking of holiday spirit, it doesn’t have to solely focus on Christmas, incorporating other holidays such as Hanukkah etc. allows for more inclusive celebrations for all.
02. Have fun:
Organising team-building activities or social events is a great way for people to let their hair down and bond with their team outside of their usual work environment. Christmas parties are a fairly common event, however, if you’re looking for something a little different this year we are here to help! You could look to incorporate team-building activities as part of your end-of-year event, below are some of our popular activities:
03. Optimise staff scheduling:
If this is a busy time for you, ensure extra coverage to alleviate stress on your team. If it quietens down for your team, consider reducing hours or assigning additional tasks to keep the team fulfilled and engaged. Also, thoughtful scheduling of leave at this time of year enables everyone to enjoy quality time with loved ones and shows that you are prioritizing your team’s well-being and work-life balance.
04. Show appreciation:
Coming towards the end of the year, employees can feel burnt out and ready for a break. Show your appreciation, individually or collectively by recognizing and rewarding their contributions to the team. Check out our next post about celebrating success with your team to find out different ways you can do this.
05. Be flexible:
This can be a stressful time of year for many individuals with increased financial pressures and additional social responsibilities, just to name a few. So, from a team perspective, increasing flexibility between now and the end of the year may lead to more motivated employees as they feel appreciated and understood. Flexibility could look like altering the pay runs in the lead-up to Christmas, it could be an early finish on a certain day for individuals to get their Christmas shopping done, or even more work-from-home flexibility to juggle family or other responsibilities. If you can show your employees you care by being flexible where you can, they will be more motivated to be productive members of your team.
06. Offer incentives:
Of course, you have the classic Christmas bonus, but there are other ways of incentivising your team that offer additional value. Incentivising achieving a goal or hitting a specific milestone could also be in the form of additional paid leave, which could go a long way at this time of year!
So, wrap up the year on a high note and ensure that your team is not just surviving but thriving! At Team Bonding, we are experts at creating and facilitating outcome-focused team-building events that can help to increase motivation and improve team culture. With a range of activities from Mini Olympics and Game Shows to Amazing Races and Murder Mysteries, we can provide an event to engage and motivate your team between now and the end of the year.
