Holiday Parties... Are they worth the trouble?

When I ask other business owners what they are doing for their staff during the holiday season, many say they order lunch for everyone in the office, have a small dinner or do nothing.

I've been in business for nearly 16 years. Each year, I always throw an elaborate Holiday party. One year, I hired a limo and took everyone into the city to see the tree and have a nice dinner. Another year, we went rock climbing had a nice diner and then went dancing. And still another year, I hired a helicopter to take everyone over the city. Last year, we went on a dinner/dancing cruise around Manhattan and this year, I had a party at the Glen Cove Mansion. We had dinner, dancing, karaoke and a lot of fun. We slept there overnight and we had breakfast the next morning. We all had a great time and I thought really bonded as a staff.

This past summer, I rented a house in Southhold and decided to take the entire staff for the weekend for a day of vineyard tours and a day of golf. I thought if we bonded as a staff we would work better as a team and people would stay on a while.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Three out of the 14 people who went on the summer retreat left within two weeks of the trip. The sad part was they loved the people and fit in perfectly with the staff. So, why did they leave? It seems like employers who don't do anything for their staff keeps them longer. Does doing elaborate stuff for your staff get them to stay?

At the holiday party that I just threw, a woman who was hired a week prior came to the party, even took pictures and a few days later came into my office to tell me that PR wasn't for her and that she wanted to go into accounting! This got me so angry! Is it the work? Is the work too hard and not what people expect? Don't people know that when you work hard you move forward?

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to listening! Have a happy and healthy New Year....

Hello....

I started a PR/marketing firm nearly 16 years ago out of my small one bedroom apartment. Sixteen years later, we have two locations -- one in Westbury, LI and one in Manhattan on 57th and Madison Avenue. We employ more than 15 staff members and represent dozens of clients from various industries.

I'm starting this blog to share experiences in growing and developing a small business. My staff and I are committed to taking this agency to the next level and becoming a mid-sized PR firm. However, there are always situations that we have to deal with every day. Sometimes these situations are staff related, other times, just growing pains and still other times, the trials and tribulations of owning a business.

So this blog will discuss it all and more. We're open to discussing PR strategies and techniques as well so that you get a better understanding of our business.