Tag Archives: holiday

Holiday Cards and the Workplace

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writing greeting cards

Workplace question: Should I send a holiday card to my boss or other members of management? Reference-checking firm Allison & Taylor answers in the affirmative.

It offers reasons why and tips for doing it correctly.

Why a traditional greeting card is a good idea:

  • Connecting with your bosses (or a former boss) will help keep you top-of-mind in their awareness, translating to possible future support or opportunity.
  • Staying in touch with bosses and colleagues via a holiday card is a subtle yet highly effective form of networking.
  • Sending your bosses (also former bosses, colleagues, suppliers, etc.) a card demonstrates a personal touch to accompany your business relationship.
  • Staying in the favor of your prospective employment references (particularly former bosses) is critical to your future employment success.
  • Developing and maintaining positive relationships with your management team, co-workers and former bosses will ultimately be a cornerstone of success in your career.

Sending the right holiday greeting card:

While sending out holiday cards is almost certainly a good idea, even this generous gesture can backfire if the proper protocols aren’t observed. 

  • Choose a high-quality holiday card that allows no possibility of offending its recipient. Remember that not everyone celebrates Christmas – be mindful of religious and cultural nuances.
  • Choose a design that is appropriate for your business associates.
  • Keep your contact list accurate and up-to-date. Make sure you’re not sending a card to someone who has left the department or the company.
  • Check the spelling of your contacts and their corporate name. Any good points you’ll score with a holiday card will be lost if you misspell your contact’s name or corporate information.
  • Include one of your business cards inside the greeting card. This small insertion ensures that your recipients have your most current contact information and will reinforce your name with the card’s recipient.
  • Sign each card personally. It only takes a moment to sign your name and write a short greeting, and your business associates will notice and appreciate this more personal gesture.

How to Keep Holiday Stress Away

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Screeech! That’s me putting on the breaks as we enter – fast and furiously – the holiday season. Sure, there are presents to buy, goodies to bake and get-togethers to attend. But if I don’t slow down, the “magic” in the air will be overshadowed by lengthy to-do lists and an unflattering transformation into Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge himself.

A recent article from The Huffington Post provides tips on surviving “holiday hype.” One suggestion cautions against comparing past holidays with the current one. It’s good advice.

Growing up, my family always spent Christmas Eve at my grandmother’s house. If I close my eyes, I can almost smell the rigatoni, roast and rolls she made for dinner. Waiting until 8 p.m. to open presents seemed like an eternity! I miss those days and will always cherish them. The good news is that the traditions I’ve started with my own family bring great joy and are just as treasured.

What’s your secret to beating the holiday blues?
 

Holiday Shopping: How to be Nice — Not Naughty — this Season

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With Black Friday quickly approaching, gift giving is on my mind. As visions of loved ones opening their presents dance in my head, a less heartwarming thought creeps in: how to deal with poor customer service.

I’m not talking about retailers’ professionalism – I’m referring to impolite (and often downright rude) – customers.

I’ll never forget the year that a new employee was working the day after Thanksgiving at one of my favorite stores. As I stood in a long line for what felt like an eternity, I enviously watched shoppers in the other lines pay for their items and leave. Was I frustrated? Yes. Was I envisioning cookies from the food court as lunchtime approached and my stomach started growling? Of course. But some of my fellow shoppers were acting like they wanted to take a bite out of the rookie!

I’ve never seen so many people angrily rolling their eyes or folding their arms at once. I wanted to shout, “’Bah humbug!” at the top of my lungs. Fortunately, I refrained.

As the holiday season gets underway, the following tips on how to be a good customer may enhance your shopping experience and make an employee’s workday a bit more merry:

  • Do your homework and ask questions. Check out consumer recalls before purchasing toys and gifts for children. Know what the warranty covers, learn the store’s return policy, make sure you will be able to pay off a cartful of merchandise you put on layaway and check out online reviews.
  • Practice patience. Holidays and resulting crowds can put even the most patient on edge. Rather than attack a store employee because a product is not in stock or because the checkout line is a mile long, remember what your mother taught you about always being polite. "Please," "thank you" and "have a nice day" are words that can never be said too much.
  • Be courteous. Those long checkout lines often arise because customers are not prepared to present items for check out or have their credit card or check ready when it’s time to make payment. Do not get mad if the store will not honor competitors’ coupons; check before you go to the store.
  • Do your part: Standing at the cash register is not the time to suddenly realize you have neither wallet nor checkbook. It is definitely not the time for a conversation on your cell phone.

Fall Festivities for the Kid in All of Us

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Standing in line at Starbucks last week waiting to order my beloved iced tea, a colorful barista board caught my eye. Written upon it was a short, but sweet message – “Indulge in the comforts of fall” – and it struck something in me.

Have I been squandering opportunities to experience Autumn’s simple pleasures this year? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. But, the good news is that there’s plenty of time left to enjoy them.

Eating caramel apples (hold the nuts); roasting marshmallows; raking (and playing in) crisp, crunchy leaves – these are among my cherished childhood memories. I don’t know about you, but I’ll never outgrow these cherished childhood traditions.

Fall also reminds me of Halloween, scary movies and exhibits, spooky tales and haunted houses (just don’t invite me to go with you. The last time I went to a haunted house, I nearly had a heart attack I was so terrified).

Another way to savor fall is to take advantage of outdoor activities. Hay rides, hikes, scenic road trips and visits to apple orchards or pumpkin patches, for instance, hold a special allure before winter descends (perish the thought).

There’s an especially sweet “treat” that comes with your pursuit of fall activities: a boost for Indiana’s businesses.

An October Present for Hoosiers

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I walked into a store earlier this week and the first thing to catch my eye was a vast display of Christmas merchandise. It’s not the retailers’ fault, but for whatever reason that bothers me. Call me a Grinch, but I’m just not in the holiday mood two months ahead of time.

But Indiana companies and employees received, in one sense, an early present this week — one that is most welcome. Senate Republicans announced their intention to seek a one-year delay in the uemployment insurance tax increases that were passed in April. The governor’s office is supporting the move, and it is hoped that Democrats will agree that the last thing needed in these still slow economic times is more Hoosier job losses.

This has been a top issue for the Chamber throughout the year. And while those involved in the lawmaking process thought at the time that they were offering a reasonable answer to a difficult problem, employer feedback and new analysis showed that wasn’t going to be the case.

After the legislative session, the Chamber documented the tax increases that nearly all Indiana businesses would face over the next two years – thousands of dollars on average, nearly $1.7 million for one company that used our online calculator and nearly $500 million for Hoosier companies in total. We shared the clear message that additional employee layoffs would unfortunately be the only way most could pay for the tax hike. We brought in new, independent analysis to demonstrate that despite more money being taken from businesses and more employee jobs being threatened that the unemployment trust fund deficit would actually increase.

The Chamber will continue to lead the way. No, this delay doesn’t solve the problem of a bankrupt UI trust fund, but that is a challenge that an estimated 40-plus states will soon be facing. There will need to be a federal solution. Now is not the time to take $500 million more from Hoosier companies and their employees without fixing the system.