Is someone in your office getting married or expecting a baby in the near future? Though giving them a card with a few bucks is a nice gesture, you can let your employee know they’re appreciated by organizing a shower. This lets them know that you care about their personal lives. It also helps to foster a family environment amongst your staff which can go a long way to reducing workplace stress and improving productivity.
If you’ve never planned a shower in the office before, however, you may be wondering how to get it all done in an organized, tasteful, fun, yet professional manner. Here are a few tips:
Enlist Help
You’ll need some help on getting things ironed out, so make sure that you enlist help. Try to ask employees that are close with their coworker so it makes it easier for you to make decisions on the venue, decorations, food choices, gift options, and more. Be sure to take heed to their advice. Whether it’s gender reveal ideas for a baby shower or gift wishes for a bridal shower, the idea is to plan an event that your employee will appreciate. When planning a gender reveal party you will want to coordinate specific games and ideas.
Choose a Venue
Decide whether you’ll be hosting the event in the office during office hours or at a local restaurant or other location during lunch or after hours. If you’re planning it outside of the office, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve reserved the venue well in advance.
Decide on Food
For showers hosted in the office, your food options are limitless. You can have it catered, ask attending employees to bring in dishes, or you can head to a deli or bakery and order a tray of sandwiches, veggies, bagels, fruit, and beverages. When hosting it at a restaurant, it’s often easier to choose three meal options (beef, chicken, and vegetarian) and allow guests to pick from those so it’s easier to budget for.
Ask About Decor
In the office, it might not be a big deal to purchase wedding sparklers to add to a few bottles of sparkling cider to celebrate, but at an offsite location, restrictions could apply. If you were interested in using colored smoke bombs for gender reveals, you may have to do this outside instead of at the venue. Adding Gender Reveal Smoke Bombs are a wonderful way to capture some amazing photos and moments at the party. When asking about decor, you should also ask about the setup. You’ll need time to prepare the space before the guest of honor arrives and this could require you to pay extra.
Group Gift or Individual Gifts
There are a few ways you can handle getting gifts. The first option would be a group gift. This could be a large-ticket item like a crib or pot and pan set or it could be something like a gift card or basket filled with baby necessities or items for an employee getting hitched. You could also allow everyone the option to purchase their own gifts. Keep in mind that because this a company-hosted event, gift-giving should not be made to seem mandatory to staff.
Keeping your staff happy means going above and beyond to let them know that they matter to you. More than a paycheck or benefits, hosting a shower during an important milestone in their lives is a great way to do this. The time, money, and energy you invest in hosting such an event will certainly come back tenfold.