The year is drawing to a close and your employees are feeling the excitement as holidays draw near. This is the perfect time to talk with and engage your employees around the business’ accomplishments in 2023 and what could be achieved in 2024. Your employees are leaving for their various holiday destinations and you want to be sure that they leave feeling a sense of belonging and pride. Excite them for the year ahead and let them know they are appreciated. A thank you email won’t inspire them nor connect them, not when the most important elements of a year-end message are sincerity and authenticity. You can only develop a stronger bond with your employees if your year-end message feels honest and not just that you were “going through the motions” and sent out a mass mailer simply because you think you should.
Here are five tips for making a year-end message that is memorable and leaves an impression:
- Begin with the most important part of your message. The ‘Thank You’. Regardless of how you decide to deliver your year-end message, face-to-face or via tech platforms, begin your message with a heartfelt thanks to your team. Showing visible leadership and expressing thanks to the team who has worked so hard this year can mean a great deal to those who might never see, or engage with, the top leadership, it can mean they leave for the holidays feeling appreciated and noticed and will bring that energy into their work in the new year.
- Be proud! Has your business had a good year? Celebrate and mention some key achievements about your company’s performance over the year. Talk about initiatives or projects that your business implemented that involved your employees and celebrate your corporate culture and community. Let your employees know, regardless of their position, that everyone’s hard work has made the company a success.
- Look behind and ahead. Discuss and embrace past challenges, don’t try and gloss over the rough patches of 2023, mention them in passing and focus on the opportunities and lessons you gained from those setbacks. This brings you to looking ahead. Show your employees how 2024 will be different and instil hope and excitement in your employees by keeping your year-end message upbeat. “Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys” – Rita Schiano
- Allow everyone to breathe, or not. Remind them that the holidays are a time to wind down and enjoy family and friends. Make sure they understand it’s alright and encourage them to ‘take a breath and enjoy’ the holiday season. Share your wishes for their holiday happiness and encourage them to not think too much about work. If you’re in retail, this tip isn’t for you. This is one of your busiest seasons so focus your message on the fact that after the holidays, things will calm down. Acknowledge the hard work they are doing right now and thank them for being part of the brave few who serve, help and embrace the festive shoppers.
- Share your message with everyone. No one wants to feel left out and yet a mass mailer feels too cold and distant. What platform can you use to communicate with everyone and still keep the benefits of face to face? Why not look at broadcasting your year-end message using the power of technology. It’s fast, affordable and will reach even the most remote locations of your organisation. Record a video message share it via email, on the company website, or through internal communication channels. Videos can be more engaging and personal than written messages.
Make sure your year-end communication thanks your employees and is authentic. Your employees’ work hard all year and now is the time to show them you appreciate them and that they are making a difference within your business. If you are looking to communicate and engage your staff with a year-end message that will make a difference.
Contact our team of experts at Global Access and we can put together a free quote for a year-end message package. We offer access controlled and secure platforms to broadcast your communications. You decide who gets to watch your message. We can facilitate this with ease.