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As well as being a time of celebration, Christmas can also be pretty stressful for business owners. So to stand you in good stead for the weeks ahead, read our tips for surviving and benefiting from this year's festive season.
- Reward your staff with a Christmas celebration or party. Even if your budget does not stretch to an expensive meal or party, a small office gathering can help finish the year off with positive team morale.
- Remember to think about the best way to secure your office during the festive quiet time. Any business operating premises that are shut down over the festive period should make sure the building is secured with all doors and windows locked and alarms are switched on. With most people at home enjoying the celebrations, the Christmas period is a prime time for criminals to target unstaffed buildings.
- Spend time sending festive greetings to customers and clients. Send an email, card or if business is good, a small present with your company name on it.
- Don’t forget to thank your suppliers for their business over the last year. A box of chocolates for the staff in the bank, post office or supplier’s office can be greatly appreciated.
- Decisions and Christmas tend not to go together, so postpone your appointments for closing sales until the New Year.
- Think of your local charity by making a small donation and give something back to your community. You could also consider collecting money or presents from employees and deliver them to a local children's hospital.
- Remember that some Christmas gifts for your employees can be tax-free. In recent years, the allowance has been increased to allow employers to give certain gifts to employees without paying FBT. Speak to your accountant to get the exact figures.
- Why not give your employees an extra day off? For example, while you are under no obligation to allow your staff to stay at home on Christmas Eve, it could be a way of raising morale and boosting motivation. If you can't afford for your staff to be off the whole day why not let them go home at lunchtime.
- A little something extra in your employees' wage packets can go a long way to boosting motivation during the festive season. Even just a small amount is a good way of making staff feel good about where they work.
- If you decide to send Christmas presents to individual clients, why not buy lots of the same thing in bulk? A case of wine for instance will work out a lot cheaper than buying single bottles.
- Spruce up your website with a few Christmas graphics although don't go overboard. If your business normally slows around Christmas, consider offering a few seasonal promotions for example 10% off in the week before Christmas.
- Generally, the first day back after Christmas is not an enjoyable one even for the most motivated of staff. Consider bringing your staff out for lunch that day or if you can afford it, allow them to have a late start.
- If business is quiet, take some time off and leave your PC switched off. This will revive you for the New Year and you'll feel much more prepared for another great year in business.
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