Christmas time is cookie time and therefore a great motivational factor. But what does Christmas have to do with employee management?
I can still remember it so well. When I was a little girl, my father's employer invited the whole family to the company Christmas party. There were so many people there. We children were given big gift boxes with lots of sweets, tinsel and decorations for the Christmas tree.
I particularly remember the panettone. This fluffy Italian Christmas cake! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
The smell is deeply engraved in my olfactory memory.
And once again, Christmas is just around the corner. The contact restrictions of the past three years due to the coronavirus have been eased. Large-scale events have been permitted again for some time. The Christmas markets are opening their doors. At last!
Nothing stands in the way of a warming punch or a delicious mulled wine after work. Preferably enjoyed in the company of nice colleagues.
A company Christmas party is already on the calendar. But will it be like before? No. Different.
The past few months have changed people. The world of work has changed.
Rising energy prices - a catastrophe in the electroplating industry in particular - may make some company managers think twice about whether they can and want to bear the costs of a Christmas party at all.
And yet:
It's not always the big gestures that count. It's the small ones that make the difference.
As a caring manager, it makes perfect sense to provide your employees - and yourself, of course - with a plate of Christmas cookies in the office every now and then during the Advent season.
Thanks to their numerous positive properties, vanilla, cinnamon, aniseed, cardamom and cloves are important companions during the dark and cold season. Because these spices have a mood-lifting, calming, antispasmodic, antiseptic and antibacterial effect.
So if you provide your team with (perhaps even home-baked) Christmas cookies from time to time, you are doing something holistically good for your team. It strengthens body, mind and soul.
Because with a plate of Christmas biscuits
- increase the motivation of your team
- strengthen the team spirit
- lift the general mood
- boost the immune system of your employees
- you can also avoid one or two sick days.
With small gestures like this, you increase productivity in the long term and reduce staff turnover within your team.
And if you want to further enhance the motivating effect of a vanilla croissant or a piece of gingerbread, then I have a few more tips for you.
Here are 5 effective tools for you as a manager. They cost you very little of your working time, but have a huge impact on the productivity of your employees:
The 5 tools of listening:
- Make time for small talk and have a little joke.
- Ask how your employee is doing, especially if you notice that something is different than usual.
- Listen attentively and patiently without interrupting.
- Listen to your employees' concerns without offering a solution.
- Ask for your employees' opinions.
You do not need to use these tools every day with every employee. But block out an hour a week in your diary, for example, and consciously make time for these motivational tools.
And if you are still looking for a great recipe for irresistible Christmas cookies for a relaxed afternoon of baking - perhaps even as a team-building measure as an alternative to the Christmas party - I will now share my favorite recipe for Viennese vanilla crescents with you:
Quickly knead the following ingredients into a shortcrust pastry and leave to rest in the fridge for at least
2 hours in the fridge:
- 60 g finely grated almonds without skin
- 40 g finely grated hazelnuts
- 280 g flour
- 65 g sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 200 g butter
- 2 egg yolks
Then preheat the oven to 190°.
Shape the dough into small crescents in batches and bake for approx. 10 minutes until golden brown.
After baking, carefully turn the warm croissants in a mixture of 5 sachets of vanilla sugar and ½ cup of powdered sugar. And then enjoy...
Yes, it's hard to believe:
So a little something - like Christmas cookies - can have such a positive effect on the working atmosphere, on the motivation of your team.Would you like to discuss this topic over a business coffee together?
My free offer for the last time for you:Q+A session via Zoom with a cup of coffee or teaon Thursday, 22.12.2022 / 13:00 - 14:00 to exchange experiences with your questions and my answers. All topics from your everyday management life are welcome.
Registration via my homepage
