Holiday time means party time at the office

Central Penn Business Journal, Dec 18, 1998

The holiday season is a great time to show your employees you care. say companies big and small. But how they get that message across can range from a fancy lunch in the cafeteria to a big blowout in a grand hotel.

"There are many ways you can create the magic," says Jeff Rudder, social events manager for the Hotel Hershey.

What's on the menu is always a top consideration, of course, for office Christmas parties. So is the decision of whether the party will happen during a weekend evening or a workday lunchtime and whether the occasion will be wet or dry.

Most important, says John Zick, director of human resources in the preventive care division at York-based Dentsply International Inc., is finding an enjoyable way to celebrate the holidays. "Our fiscal year ends on New Year's Eve. So it's for a job well done, as well as the things the season represents," he says.

Dentsply plans a Dec. 18 catered lunch in the company cafeteria with four seatings for approximately 210 employees. The menu includes sandwiches, baked lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, fruit, homemade cookies and a sparkling holiday punch of cranberry juice and ginger ale. Drinking or smoking is not allowed in the building, plus employees go back to work after lunch, so alcohol will not be served, Zick says.

"It's not upscale, but it's not the lunch pail that we usually have in the factory setting. It's nice. It gets people together in a different milieu," he says.

Likewise, another York-based manufacturer, Yesco, plans a catered sit-down luncheon at long tables in the training room at both its York and Lancaster facilities. The company's 100 employees will take their one-hour lunch during one of three hours available, according to Shannon Malone, special events coordinator for the wholesale distributor of electrical components and devices.

The company is shelling out about $500 for a menu of ham, scalloped potatoes and nonalcoholic punch as well as door prizes that include gift certificates, party baskets and Christmas ornaments. Also that day, Yesco's secret Santas will exchange gifts at lunch and everyone will bring in a dessert.

"We've had the holiday party out on weekends in hotels, but this year we changed our minds because a lot of people have children, and they don't want to pay for a baby sitter," Malone says. "We decided to do something different this year, and we'll see how it goes. Plus the cost is so incredible outside of our buildings."

Cost is an issue even at the lavish Hotel Hershey and Hershey Resorts, according to Rudder.

"Costs vary," he says. "We try to have a minimum starting from $50 per person and up from there. I work within a company's budget. But it's not all dollars and cents It's creating happiness."

Big corporations still want to spread that happiness primarily on Friday and Saturday nights, Rudder notes. This year, just under 100 companies have booked holiday parties at the Hotel Hershey, which means about four a night. The parties are held in private banquet rooms or, in the case of smaller parties of 10 to 20, at the restaurants of the hotel.

The most popular Christmas party is a cocktail hour followed by dinner and dancing, Rudder says. To keep the drinking under control, many companies choose to have a limited liquor bar that closes earlier and is replaced by a coffee bar later in the evening.

The hotel's repeat business certainly indicates customers are satisfied. For holiday parties from early December through the beginning of January, companies generally book about a year in advance. "Often, with some of the bigger parties that come here year after year, they'll contact us right after this year's party and go ahead and book for next year," Rudder says.

Hershey's satisfied customers include staff members themselves, who will celebrate at their workplace--albeit at a later date than most.

"This year, the Hotel Hershey and the Hershey Lodge will celebrate Christmas together at the Hershey Lodge on Jan. 24," says Tricia Garber, a spokeswoman for Hershey Resorts.

"We tend to have our parties a little bit later so we can accommodate all of the other local businesses and companies during the prime season. Also, because we are in the service industry and we do accommodate a lot of guests, we have a bigger attendance if we hold it later."

Another fan of big hotel shindigs is Christopher Markley, vice president of corporate communications at Penn National Insurance. Luckily for Markley and his colleagues, their headquarters are located in downtown Harrisburg, directly across the street from the Hilton Harrisburg and Towers. And because Penn National Insurance picked the Hilton, attendance at the Dec. 11 company Christmas party is expected to top 500 this year, Markley said.

"It's up significantly from over past years. I think that's attributable to one thing: it's at the Harrisburg Hilton," Markley says. "People know everything they do there is first class. We're expecting a better turnout than anyone can remember in recent history."

Festivities will include a sit-down dinner from 6:30 p.m. until after midnight, a comedian and a live band. Door prizes range from two $100 airline certificates to a color television, as well as restaurant and department store certificates.