Plan for a successful bash

By MARK STORY

The key to a successful Christmas bash is lots of staff involvement, early planning - and an eye for the unexpected.

Last May, you drew the short straw to play Santa at this year's office Christmas bash and were also charged with organising the event.

It was late October when the boss asked how plans were going when you realised it had fallen off your "to do" list.

Now you're faced with the logistics of putting together a function at the last minute and you're scratching your head, wondering where to begin.

Your staff naturally expect you to make sure it's a fun event. But if it's a flop, your reputation could be reduced to that of Scrooge. So where do you start?

Based on her experience of running Telecom's "festive cheer programme" Lynne Abbott, internal communications (NZ) executive, says execs should ideally start organising their Christmas bash around July to ensure they get the right venue.

But before you start organising a venue, food and entertainment, she suggests finding out from staff what sort of event they want.

The more you involve staff, the more successful the event is likely to be.

For example, theme-based parties are popular and, as it's the lead up to the summer holiday season, Telecom's staff will be attending this year's function in their beach gear.

Abbott says costumes diffuse the "status thing", especially within a hierarchical organisation.

"In my experience, people who aren't so self-assured tend to become a lot more confident when they're in costume," says Abbott.

Even though the accent should be on merriment, Abbott says it is important staff maintain appropriate codes of behaviour. The last thing you want is to add to the surge in sexual harassment complaints received by the Human Rights Commission during office party season.

Abbott says the disastrous beach-theme Christmas function hosted by broker Merrill Lynch a few years ago serves as a cruel reminder of what can go wrong. The event turned lethal when one of the broker's employees died of burns after a colleague set fire, in the toilets, to the grass skirt he was wearing.

On a less sinister note, she says the flak Vodafone received for engaging strippers during a "One Night in Bangkok" party a few years ago should also remind execs that some theme-based functions are bad taste.

So, should you host the Christmas bash on- or off-site? Abbott says what typically dictates this decision is staff numbers. For example, hosting an event for around 1000 Auckland Telecom staff makes self-catering logistically impossible.

"Off-site functions help people to get into the festive mood. But they are responsible for getting themselves to and from the event," says Abbott.

If you are hosting it on-site, Craig Horrocks, former partner with law firm Clendon Feeney, recommends the following guidelines.

If you're hosting the event late in the afternoon, close the office to the public. There's nothing wrong with serving alcohol but it needs to be controlled and limited.

"It's not a bad idea to keep the alcohol to beer and wine and always offer non-alcoholic beverages," says Horrocks. "We ask people not to drive but if they are driving, then we ask them not to drink. It's also wise to let staff know what time the office do ends," says Horrocks.

But what if you're planning a more casual outdoor event that combines merriment with recreation? Horrocks says you must be aware of the potential pit-falls and liabilities facing you and the company if something goes wrong. For example, last year Occupational Safety and Health fined a company $35,000 after an employee died during its Christmas function where he fell 5.5m off a flying fox while holding a can of beer.

Many of Telecom's staff hail from non-Christian countries and many Kiwi-born staff are indifferent to the religious aspects of the season, so the accent on Telecom's end-of-year function is more festive than Christmassy.

The company takes great effort not to use the word Christmas. But if you do decide on a more traditional Christmas theme, should staff play the present game and buy each other gifts? While most staff don't, Abbott says everyone in Telecom's corporate team buys a $10 gift for a colleague whose name is drawn from a hat.

But what if someone's appalling behaviour during the secret-Santa-present game - like the antics of Gareth on the last special episode of The Office - turns the mutual exchange of gifts into an opportunity for ridicule? The last thing you want is an innocent gift exchange making someone feel discriminated against on grounds of race, sex or religion.

It is incidents like this that forced Clendon Feeney to re-think the present ritual. Years ago, the firm had so many complaints about secret-Santa presents it reorganised the programme.

"These days a staff member buys a secret $10 present with the emphasis on fun and laughter," says Horrocks.

So how do you decide what food to provide? Owing to the New Zealand penchant for informality, Horrocks suggests execs opt for buffet-style dining over more formal sit-down affairs. Not only will it help staff mingle with other departments, he says all cultural food tastes can be catered for cost-effectively.

In an effort to cater for all tastes and cultures, Vodafone's bash this year has five different food areas from sushi and Indian through to late-night greasies. Vodafone still likes to party hard. But not wanting to repeat the flurry of complaints from female employees about the infamous "One Night in Bangkok" party, the company's Christmas bashes have been more conservative. This year Vodafone's theme is Boogie Wonderland meets Alice in Wonderland.

And because many people don't like sitting near a noisy dance floor, this year's event is divided into different zones, including jazz and rock. The idea, explains HR director, Jan Mottram, is that people will move around and end up in the zone in which they're most comfortable. .

She claims good entertainment and great food should go a long way to reducing the Christmas bash from being the booze-feasts of the 1970s when attitudes to drink driving were different. She says the presence of senior management tends to moderate staff behaviour rather than dampen their enjoyment.

"While we want to be a responsible host, staff should know they're responsible for their own actions."


TEN TIPS FOR ORGANISING THE CHRISTMAS BASH

* Book the venue.

* Work out your budget early.

* Check your health and safety responsibilities.

* Ensure staff know how to behave.

* Consider a cost-effective buffet.

* Organise entertainment with universal appeal.

* Organise designated drivers.

* Provide non-alcoholic beverages.

* Control the flow of alcohol.

* If people are drinking, insist they don't drive.