Christmas mirth, corporate style

Companies find ways to party during holidays

By SARA GANUS
The Oklahoman

Despite the housing slump, lower consumer spending and a struggling economy, most businesses are still willing to fork over a portion of their budget to ring in the holiday with a company-sponsored party, according to an annual holiday office party survey.

Among 100 human resources executives, 90 percent are planning to hold some kind of holiday party this year - up from 79 percent last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based global outplacement company.

Oddly enough, that same survey says 38 percent of those companies are actually boosting their budgets for this year’s celebrations while 50 percent are sticking with last year’s budget. “They’re not backing off from last year,” said Cindy Pippin, private events director at The Greens Country Club in Oklahoma City. “They’re still doing the plated dinners or full buffets ... I haven’t had anyone say we don’t want to spend as much this year. They’re still doing a lot - if not more.”

That’s great news for caterers, hotels and event planners, but for human resources managers, it’s a different story. For them, the holiday office party has become a hub of potential liability on the company,
and when things go wrong - and they usually do - it almost always falls on their shoulders.

“There are horror stories every year,” said Carolyn Pendley, a human resources consultant with Total Compliance Connection LLC in Oklahoma City. “They’re not myths. Whenever somebody gets drunk, when they drink too much, they tend to touch; they tend to grope; and they tend to say things they wouldn’t
otherwise say and make people feel very uncomfortable.

“You end up with employees having one-night stands, and they wake up in the morning and have to go
to work with that person.”

None of those things are ideal situations for anybody, but with some careful planning, employers still can throw a party that’s memorable for the right reasons, human resources consultants say.

“Companies are becoming more and more aware of trying to control the liability that they have with the parties,” Pendley said. “The alcohol is the big thing. I think we’re seeing more and more companies go away from serving alcohol, and if they do, they tend to not serve it on company premises.”

Only 46 percent of companies will serve alcohol - down from 60 percent last year, according to the holiday office party survey. For Norman, Okla.-based Nextep Inc., a human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, not serving alcohol at holiday functions is included in company policy, said Melissa Grimes, the company’s director of operations.

When consulting their clients, they often say the same thing. “We definitely get asked that from time to time, and it just really depends,” she said. “Typically a company will know going into it whether they want to serve alcohol or not, but we definitely tell companies to prohibit people from leaving intoxicated if they’re going to be serving alcohol or if they’re going to limit consumption, that they expect employees to handle
themselves appropriately.

“For the most part, we encourage companies to not serve alcohol. That’s obviously the best-case scenario.” Pendley said if company management chooses to serve alcohol, they should immediately look at ways to limit consumption. “That’s the first thing a company can do,” she said.

“Hire a bartender; assign people a certain number of tickets - and let them know they can’t take other people’s tickets for themselves - and make sure that they let the employees know that company policy still applies.” Other measures include allowing employees to bring significant others to cut down on flirting
between co-workers, establish a cash bar and provide a cab service. Or if the party is held at a hotel, make arrangements so that employees can rent rooms at a discounted rate if they’ve had too much to drink.

Pendley suggests using funds from a cash bar to donate to a local charity. But for the companies that don’t want to disappoint their employees with a liquorless party, it’s becoming more acceptable to hold a luncheon instead of the usual evening festivities.

Pippin said she has booked more luncheons at The Greens in Oklahoma City this year. “Quite a few companies are holding luncheons where the employer pays for the expense of things like the meat and then the employees bring potluck,” Pendley said.

“Especially for companies that are having layoffs and are really struggling, they still get to have a party. It allows everyone to enjoy each others’ food and enjoy each others’ company without having to spend thousands of dollars on a party.”