11 Creative Ways to use the Intranet to Spread Holiday Cheer
The holiday season is around the corner to fill us with joy and excitement. But for business leaders and HR professionals, this season also means distracted employees and low productivity. With all the shopping, planning, and partying, it is common for employees to disengage at the workplace. But you can use the intranet to lift the spirits and bring teams together! In this post, let’s look at how you could leverage the intranet to engage staffs this season.
Spruce up the Intranet for the Festivities
We decorate homes and office hallways during this season. So why not give the intranet a festive look? With some planning, you could get employees hooked to the intranet with seasonal designs. Here are a few design elements that you could change:
1. Use a Different Color Scheme
Colors can influence a person’s mood, thoughts, or behavior. Changing the color of your intranet’s header or the menu bar is a sure way to grab your employees’ attention. You could bring out the holiday spirits by using the traditional colors associated with a holiday or try a different look to keep staffs guessing about what’s next.
2. Holiday-themed Background
Excite your employees by changing the intranet’s background. For example, you could use a static turkey design for Thanksgiving or ‘winterize’ the intranet home page by using a gif background of falling snowflakes. A Holiday-themed intranet background is sure to drive some conversations at the workplace.
3. Update the Logo
A simple way to connect with your team this holiday is to update your intranet logo during this season. You could add a Christmas hat to your intranet logo or add a holiday greeting underneath the logo.
4. Create a Festive Banner or Pop-up
If you don’t have the time to change the other intranet design elements, you could add a festive banner or a pop-up to send a cheerful holiday greeting. Banners and pop-ups are also helpful in redirecting users to a holiday page where you can engage users with exciting activities.
Intranet Activity Ideas to Engage Your Workforce This Holiday Season
Consider publishing a calendar to create anticipation in the weeks leading to the holidays. You could also encourage users to register for an offline event within the intranet to promote employee engagement.
5. Recall What You Did Last Year
Teams are more disconnected than ever with hybrid-remote models. Without the occasional water cooler conversations, employees can get detached and disconnected. You can make them nostalgic by sharing holiday pictures of pleasant things from the past on the intranet. A trip down memory lane can even shift the attitude of the most disengaged staff.
6. Use Polls & Surveys
The holiday season offers an excellent opportunity to get the opinions of your employees. Surveys can help you understand your employees’ grievances or the benefits they want. For example, you can run polls on your Intranet to decide where to host the holiday party or learn whether they’d like to participate in Secret Santa or have a potluck this year. The polls feature on PeopleOne is a significant feature for our clients and they’ve seen great improvement in the engagement levels.
7. Create a Community Page
Create a space for your employees to discuss interesting non-work-related topics. For example, is someone hosting a Christmas party? Did someone return from a vacation or find an excellent hangout place? Opening the intranet for informal communication boosts employee morale, especially during the holiday season.
8. Organize a Virtual Treasure Hunt
Sending employees on an adventure with virtual treasure hunts is a fun way to increase employee engagement. For example, you can ask employees to find a specific resource or search the intranet to discover who recently joined the sales team.
9. Bring Employees Together for a Good Cause
Holidays are also a time to help out those in need. Whether it is an awareness campaign or a donation to a charity, you can use the intranet to get employees to play a positive role in the community this season. Watch how LGA Accountancy uses PeopleOne to promote the culture of DE&I and encourage employees to contribute to a social or environmental cause.
10. Celebrate Employees
The year-end is the perfect time to shine a spotlight on those who make your organization successful. A survey shows that 63% of employees don’t look for a new job when they feel recognized. You could use the intranet to highlight an employee’s accomplishments, responsibilities, and what motivates them or share what they like to do outside of work. From the staff who make things happen behind the scenes to the customer service executive who goes the extra mile, celebrating employees increases satisfaction and loyalty this season.
11. Holiday Greetings from Leadership
The holidays are a good time for leaders to thank employees for their contributions. With everyone wrapping up the year and looking forward to a fresh start, strategic messages from the leadership can keep employees motivated. For example, the leadership team could use the intranet to recap the year’s accomplishments and discuss future opportunities and roadmap.
Daily business operations leave little room for team-building activities. However, the holiday season offers an excellent opportunity to lighten up, create a sense of community, and promote organizational values. The intranet is a great tool to connect with employees during the holiday season to ensure they return to work happy, refreshed, and ready to contribute after the holidays. PeopleOne is a powerful, modern intranet platform that enables you to keep employees engaged throughout the year. Request a demo today!
