‘Save the Date’ and Save Your Business With a Festive and Safe Holiday Party
By Priscilla Kohl, HRTools Staff Writer
When It’s Mingle Bells Time
It is tough when you run a business — particularly when it’s time to host a holiday party for your employees, customers, vendors and clients. You have end-of-the-year duties and paperwork to catch up on; not to mention all your other seasonal errands, events and priorities.
Your mind races through the pros and cons of hosting a company holiday party. Although it may sound calculating, you remember you are in business. You decide that the business advantages of sponsoring a holiday party outweigh the disadvantages. Holiday parties can be “one-hit-wonder-show” opportunities for:
- Mingling with clients, potential clients, staff and employees
- Personally thanking and recognizing clients and employees
- Deepening relationships
- Gearing everyone up for the new year
The holidays are a short and fleeting time of year. Even so, one regrettable act during a company holiday party can make employers wish they could turn back the clock.
Consider and Plan for the Safety Risks, Too
You want everyone to enjoy mingling at your festive event. You plan the menu and order plenty of eggnog and hors d'oeuvres. While no holiday party host wants to come off like "Ebenezer Scrooge," employers need to also plan ahead and consider some potential safety risks.
It’s a sobering fact. Employers must consider the risks associated with company parties such as legal liabilities and workers’ compensation issues. Unfortunately, company holiday parties can result in unintended consequences such as personal injuries (slips and falls), unwanted sexual advances, automobile accidents and aggressive behaviors. These and other undesirable mishaps, especially due to alcohol-related behaviors, can ruin your event, hurt you financially and possibly damage your reputation.
What OSHA Says About Serving Alcohol
According to OSHA, “Improper use of alcohol may expose employers to liability under tort, workers' compensation or other laws. For example, an employer may be held liable if a person consumes alcoholic beverages at a company-sponsored party and subsequently causes a crash. Some employers have been held liable because negligent acts by employees under the influence of alcohol consumed at employer-sponsored events were found to be within the scope of their employment. In other cases, individuals have been held liable merely because they provided alcohol to social guests.”
Serving Alcohol? Prepare to Plan Ahead and Communicate
While it is impossible to control all behaviors of attendees, here are a few tips for planning and hosting a festive and safe “after-hours” company party. If employers decide to serve alcohol, the following suggestions will help in planning ahead:
- Offer non-alcoholic beverages, as well.
- Review your insurance policy for alcohol-related exclusions.
- Consider giving employees a limited number of drink tickets.
- Remind employees to drink responsibly and to plan for safe transportation home.
- Provide plenty of food. Also, protein-rich foods naturally absorb alcohol (greasy or salty foods can encourage more consumption).
- Make sure the bartender does not over-pour drinks or serve liquor to intoxicated guests.
- Never serve alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age.
- Plan to close the bar at least an hour before the event ends.
- Hire a security officer or an off-duty police officer.
- Plan to arrange for taxi service should a guest become too intoxicated to drive home safely.
- Negotiate for discounted-hotel rates and publicize beforehand.
Measures That Other Organizations Are Taking
According to a Dec. 5, 2007, press release issued by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (BNA) a leading business news publisher, their holiday survey results include the following:
“Organizations that will be serving alcohol are taking steps to limit excessive drinking and protect guests. Among the measures organizations are putting in place is using bartenders or other personnel to monitor consumption (72 percent), limiting the times alcohol can be served (54 percent), offering cab service for employees or guests who may be too drunk to drive (45 percent), and providing discounted hotel rates (28 percent).”
BNA also reported that since 2006, there has been an increase (from 45 percent to 54 percent) in organizations that set time limits on serving alcohol to guests.
As a final note, while this insight shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone, it is worth closing with: In a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) “Online Chat” with Dianna Johnston of the EEOC’s Office of Legal Counsel, Johnston said, “There is some anecdotal evidence that excessive alcohol consumption at parties can lead to inappropriate behavior or harassment.”
Additional OSHA Resource:
“A Safe and Sober Message About Workplace Parties and Drinking.”
<p>The holidays are a short and fleeting time of year. Even so, one regrettable act during a company holiday party can make employers wish they could turn back the clock. </p>
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