What a difference a year makes! At this point last year, you knew that there were going to be more lockdowns, travel would be curtailed and there would be no holiday celebrations. This year mostly everything has opened, you have returned to your regular activities (although still masked) and most importantly everyone (almost) has been vaccinated. There is so much to celebrate!
Most offices have planned holiday get-togethers, it may not be the same as it was in the past, yet it is still important for team morale to move ahead with whatever your team feels comfortable with. Making a social connection with your team will enhance your work connection.
Some offices have creatively come up with ideas of giving back to their community with an office activity like a coat drive or a food drive. Some are holding their office get-togethers in January or February when their team members are less stressed by the other commitments that the holidays bring. Take the pulse of your team and see what will suit their needs best, they will appreciate this gesture.
Holiday bonuses or gifts for team members come in many forms and sizes. Before you automatically do whatever, you have done in the past you may want to consider some of these options:
- Decide what the bonus actually stands for in your practice and then communicate that to your team. For example, if the bonus to celebrate the holiday and it is a token gift then wish your team a happy holiday.
- If the bonus is based on how well the office did for the year then be sure to thank your team for their part in the office’s success. You may want to share with the team an idea of the goal that they were working towards for the year as well as your goal for next year.
- The difficult decision lies when you have a team member who is behaving poorly, you don’t want to be sending the wrong message. Deal with their poor behaviour in November so that it has been cleared up by holiday time.
- When providing a monetary bonus keep in mind that tax is applied to amount that is given, if you want your team members to have $200 to spend on themselves you will want to take into account the tax deductions when deciding the total.
- Some dentists like to provide their team with a gift or experience, this may take some extra work on the offices part to come up with a group idea or an individualized idea.
- If you decide that you really can’t afford a bonus for your team this year include an extra paid day off to any time being taken off during the holidays. Your team will appreciate the gift of “time.”
- Whatever you choose as the bonus, ensure that you personally write out the card expressing the sentiment behind the bonus.
Whatever you choose to do or not do for your team they will remember exactly what you have done from year to year and the sentiment attached to it. Be sure always that the message you are sending is genuine and in line with your sentiments.
