The one social event in every company we all look forward to, the one time of year where we all get to be friendly and see the more relaxed side of our co-workers. With the pandemic of 2020, we've dealt with little to no social opportunities and an almost non-existent social arena. But that time of year is coming up where we all want to get out whether it be for a work function or with some friends.
How do we approach Year End Functions in a pandemic?
A memorable event on a tiny budget.
2020 has brought us a lot of changes, stricter budgets and tighter financial belts. If you or your company has the financial ability to host a year-end function, should you do so? Well, there's no wrong or right answer to this question at this stage, it's up to you to make the decision. We can only guide you on this journey should you wish to host an event for your staff.
Creating an event on a small budget might be your first challenge, but there are ways to work around that. Trying to cut costs where possible is not an easy job. The best solution would be to create a list with your event requirements and assign a price to each item. From that point, you can get an overview of all your expenses; cut the unnecessary costs and keep the crucial elements.
Smaller grouped events vs One large event
While we have entered Lockdown Level 1, which means 250 people allowed to gather indoors and 500 people outdoors, this still poses a threat of the spreading of Covid-19. To keep ourselves and our employees safe, we must decide whether we host all of our employees at once or have divided groups over multiple events. The follow-up question is whether to invite their plus-ones or not. All of these questions depend on how many staff you employ and the event venue. We have seen multiple groups opt for smaller events to only host their employees. Some companies are planning staggered events over two weeks and some having a morning event and an evening event on the same day.
Food, drinks and social responsibility.
We all know that with year-end functions we get to snack and drink and say that it's a day off from my summer body diet, well how do you go about it safely. We can cross out self-help snack stations and finger food from the list, that leaves buffets, canapes and individually plated dining. Generally, seated dining is a bit more costly as you have to provide exact portions to each attendee. While this might be the safest way of serving food, it eats up a lot of your budget. Canapes are on the opposite side of this issue, it means multiple people interacting with one plate. Avoid wherever possible! Through the elimination process, we are left with buffets. This is safe middle ground, providing your chosen caterer follows all of the safety measures put in place. With modern menus, this can be an exciting option for your guests. Gone are the days of only having chicken, rice and beef. Catering companies have long been including upmarket meals like Smoked Salmon & Avo Mousse Served on Bruschetta and several other lip-lick worthy meals. It's all about serving the right food to the right people in a safe way.
There are a million things we can discuss on this topic, and I might just write a part 2 and part 3 to this article, but we've covered the basic starting points on how to safely entertain your employees.
Whatever you choose to do for the end of the business year, just remember to keep safe, social distance and to wear a mask at all possible times.