Some companies won’t kill holiday parties

Eve Tahmincioglu • Profile • E-mail

Many companies in the United States are putting the kibosh on a lavish party this holiday season because the economy is in the dumps.

Nearly 20 percent of companies polled by search firm Battalia Winston Amrop said they wouldn’t be hosting a holiday party this year — the highest number in the history of the survey. And a separate survey by Towers Perrin, a consulting firm, found that 58 percent of businesses planned to scale back the annual soiree in order to save money.

But take heart: Not every employer is a party pooper.

MyWedding.com, an online advertising service for wedding professionals based in Bainbridge Island, Wash., is pulling out all the stops.

The company plans on partying like it’s 1999, renting a loft in a trendy Seattle neighborhood, spending $10,000 on food and booze, $4,000 on decorations and even handing out Wii Fits to all of its 30 employees. (They gave all workers a Wii gaming console last year.) There will be a band, a DJ, karaoke, and a raffle drawing with a grand prize of a 60-inch flat screen TV.

It’s not like MyWedding.com hasn’t felt the sting of tough economic times. The company saw its sales rise only 6 percent this year, well below the expected increase of 25 percent, says company co-founder Rob Johnsen.

So why is MyWedding.com celebrating big while so many firms are scaling back or canceling holiday parties?

“The holiday party is the last thing that should be cut,” says Johnsen. “It’s about celebrating our accomplishments and recognizing that without employees, we wouldn’t have a company. We made it through another year. This year should be the year we throw the biggest party.

“Even though the economy is in rough shape, we absolutely think it’s critical to never skimp when it comes to employees and treating them like family.”

Spreading a little holiday cheer
Indeed, workplace experts say a bit of merry making would help the sour mood that’s pervasive in so many offices and factories throughout the country.

Rob Wilson, president of human resource outsourcing firm Employco Group, has been getting a lot of calls from his clients asking if they should cancel this year’s festivities. His answer: “The party must go on.”

“A fair amount of employees at large and small companies are wondering how financially sound their companies are. They wonder, ‘Will I have a job tomorrow?’ Canceling the holiday party further creates doubt and worry,” he says.

And without the shindig, it’s all work and no play for an increasingly asocial U.S. workplace.

“The holiday party is the last vestige of socialization left in corporate America,” says Dale Winston, CEO of Battalia. With everyone so busy these days, events like summer company picnics or cocktails after work are a rarity.

People crave some socializing and the camaraderie that comes with it, and this desire becomes even more critical during tough times, she says.

“Should you be spending money on champagne and caviar right now? Probably not. But you want to create some goodwill,” she says, because it leads to a happier, more productive workforce.

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