By Tori Sullivan
As we approach the end of the year and the associated onslaught of corporate holiday social media posts and well wishes, organizations feel increased pressure to join in the holiday recognition for their employees and consumers. In our experience working with organizations and brands across sectors, this conversation can bring questions and confusion, and expose companies to unintended scrutiny. Each year, organizations grapple with the concept and ask themselves: What do we say? What do we do? And increasingly, how do we remain inclusive and not leave anyone’s holidays or observances out? While a holiday post can seem like a positive no-brainer, it requires proper planning and can be an opportunity to define your brand and develop guidelines that can serve your organization year-round.
To best prepare for these discussions, we’ve gone ahead and shared some topics to consider.
What Do We Observe?
The first item to always consider is: What should be observed? What qualities of the event dictate levels of observance or not? It’s important to primarily keep in mind authenticity and transparency when determining the levels of observance at an organizational level. The feeling of belonging and acceptance should always be felt by staff across all levels. To foster this, start by identifying key internal and external audiences and determine the most applicable, appropriate, and inclusive days/weeks/months to celebrate in tandem with the company’s culture, offering forums for employees to share feedback. As organizations tout inclusiveness, strong organizations also prepare leaders, representatives, and spokespeople to sing from the same song book and ensure unity. Ultimately, if the organization wants to celebrate recognition days and months, other holidays need to be discussed as well.
How Do We Celebrate?
The next question to consider is: How? How do we celebrate this recognition with purpose and inclusivity? Outside of simply sharing on social media (which for some can be considered the bare minimum), it’s important to understand how to best recognize the values of the holiday both internally and externally. The key factor to consider is how your company aligns with the purpose behind the holiday. For example, if you plan on highlighting recognition months/days, these themes should be woven into your calendar all year long and not just on recognized holidays and days of awareness. Organization’s messaging across platforms and audiences should feel impactful, backed by action, and not like something that simply checks a box in making one segment of your audiences happy. Ask yourself: does the observation feel authentic? If not, others will see right through it. It’s also important to consider the scope of celebrations compared to one another and inclusiveness.
How Do We Plan for the Future?
The best strategy for maintaining a consistent, inclusive calendar of recognitions is developing set company guidelines that outline organization-wide observances. These guidelines should be created and reviewed by a diverse group representing all facets of your organization, working together to determine which observances are relevant to your brand. If a day doesn’t align with your mission, values, or strategic goals, think twice about incorporating it into your official observance calendar. Once your guidelines are established, it is important to revisit them on an annual basis to ensure they remain up-to-date and reflective of your company’s values. And remember, your organization-wide guidelines don’t always need to impact smaller celebrations within individual teams. Leaders and managers can be empowered to acknowledge holidays in different ways to show team members they care and respect their colleagues, even if the company isn’t officially celebrating.
The important thing to keep in mind is that holidays, recognitions, and observances each bring cause for celebration, but without planning and intent, they can cause unforeseen issues that exposes organizations to workforce issues and unintended external consequences.