New Year corporate party

   Every year all companies organize New Year events for their employees. In this article I would like to describe the perception of this event in the eyes of the ordinary employee. Article is related to the DnB NORD New Year event, but can be suited for other companies as well.

Human resource department claims that these events help to build strong team spirit, increase employees happiness level and reminds them that they work in a company that cares. Probably it's true, but these words fly high in the clouds, let's land on the ground and see what these events from the inside are.

Everything starts with awards ceremony. I think that it’s a great honor to go on the stage in front of hundreds and receive a diploma and a bottle of champagne.  But only for someone who receives this award, for all others it's very boring, you need to look on the people whom you mostly even don't know and wait while they receive awards for nominations, like "Best seller of the product R332 in department I561". After an hour or more this ends and starts the good part - eating.

Employees get access to free food and drinks. Sadly, but often drinks are nor for free, and are sold separately in the bar with very high prices. Meals are the same from year to year, menu doesn't change.

After everyone is fed up, it's time to check what organizers have prepared for entertainment. Every event has the main theme: “mafia”, “carnival”, “best of”, “Hawaii” or some other. Good idea, to make every event different, but it doesn't work very well. Only few things are changed depending on this theme, like clothes of organizers and decorations of some rooms, last year it was a chill out room with songs from 1920s, but now it's a chill out room with 1990s video clips. Occasionally there are some interesting ideas, like organizing a room with sport playing automates or hookah room, but these bright ideas are rare. Also have to mention the concert part on the main stage. Most of the time it’s good, all depends on actors.

Don't forget to make 1000000 photos of your wife or girlfriend on this event. Otherwise she will be offended and won’t talk with you for the entire event. She will not listen to your arguments that lights are bad, background is terrible and she already has made 50000 photos of herself in this month.

Usually in an hour you can visit all the rooms and see everything. So all you can do is to go and dance. Situation on the dance floor is interesting there are party girls, who spend weekends in the clubs, and very drunk persons, who don't understand anything. The mix of these two types looks really fun.

If you don't want to dance, then this event is over, but you stay there, walk from one corner to another, talk to people and think - "Is it polite to go away now, or better to wait?". After an hour of these walks you finally go away, tired and bored.

 

Improvement ideas:

• More free drinks, add juice and wine.
• Unusual meals, like Chinese, French, American or some other countries kitchens.
• More theme related events. If it's a "best of" theme, than before the event- ask employees that they need to prepare small presentation, why their department is the best. If theme is "Childhood", prepare a room with old toys that all grownups remember. If it's "mafia" event, why not to have a room with tango dance moves lessons, it would be very interesting and many will gladly join or watch.
• Have a photo room or special corner where a professional photographer will make photos of all the ladies, so they will be satisfied and will not bother their partners.
• Move all minor awards inside department events; create more popular nominees for public voting. Increase the value of the presents, bottle of cheap champagne is just terrible.