The new year is a great time to reflect, reset and recognize team accomplishments over the last 12 months.  Looking for ways to engage with your team during these transitional times? Here are eight ideas you can use for your remote, hybrid, or in-office team to celebrate New Year’s at work. 

1. Host a party for New Year’s at work

A New Year’s party is a tried and true way to celebrate, but how you structure that party makes all the difference.

The three most important components of a great New Year’s party are food, entertainment, and atmosphere. Which cuisines do your team gravitate towards? A quick survey or poll is an effective way to gather team input. With Grubhub’s diverse range of local restaurant offerings, you can easily see which catering options are available and in line with your team’s preferences. Once you have decided on the catering for your New Year’s party at work , you can shift your focus onto the entertainment and event delivery (did someone say team trivia?). 

2. Set SMART resolutions with your team

A new year is often seen as a fresh start and an opportunity to set new personal and professional goals. While you may have individual resolutions, such as exercising more or learning how to bake sourdough bread, you can also use this time to set collective goals for your team. To help your team meet their goals, make sure those goals are SMART:

  • Specific: Always choose a specific goal, such as “Boost profitability by 10%,” rather than just saying you want to bring in more revenue.
  • Measurable: Choose goals you can quantify so you can track progress.
  • Attainable: Goals should be realistic to avoid certain failure and keep up employee morale.
  • Relevant: Make sure your team’s New Year’s goals are relevant to each department as well as your organization’s overall mission and values.
  • Time-based: Put a deadline on your goals — you might launch a year-long initiative or just a month-long endeavor to start the new year off on the right foot.

3. Kickoff a company-wide joint mission

A company-wide kickoff is the perfect way to get everyone excited about those team resolutions. Pair a virtual kickoff for remote workers with in-office meetings. Start by stating your mission, sharing any rewards or recognition programs that are in place, and letting staff know the reasons behind this goal so they feel included in the team vision. 

4. Host a joint fitness challenge

Exercise and overall physical fitness are not just good for your personal well-being — they’re also good for the well-being of your organization. Studies show that working out can make you feel more awake once you’re at your desk while also increasing stamina, improving mental health (thanks, serotonin!), and boosting immunity.

Challenge employees to a fitness goal, such as measuring daily or monthly steps per employee or department — and yes, there are plenty of apps for that.

Suggestions for more active daily living might include:

  • Choosing a more distant parking spot in the employee lot
  • Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
  • Getting up for a brisk walk around the office once every hour (also ideal for those working from home)

You can even sponsor a healthy breakfast or team lunch once a week, catered by Grubhub, and consider offering a corporate membership to a local gym.

5. Adopt a culture of compassion

Make this the year your organization gives back more than ever with a work celebration that emphasizes charitable giving or volunteer work.

This can be a one-time event — say, a coat drive or volunteer event at the local food bank — or you can establish a long-term relationship with local nonprofits and connect employees to ongoing volunteer opportunities.

To encourage employee engagement, ask them to submit their own ideas for nonprofits with missions they feel particularly attached to, and choose from those suggestions.

6. Schedule a workplace spring cleaning

New Year’s at work, as in life, means new beginnings and renewal — so how about a new space? Start this year off with a clean, welcoming environment primed for productivity by hosting a cleaning party and encouraging “out with the old, in with the new.” This can be a time to file important paperwork, add some plants, or reorganize your coffee and snack station. 

7. Foster some friendly competition

Celebrate the new year with a friendly in-house contest or virtual game night to get your team’s competitive juices flowing.

Challenging another department to a ping-pong tournament or ordering in pizza and playing board games is not only fun, but it can also boost morale and forge relationships that pay off personally and professionally.

8. Salute the past year’s accomplishments

A party to welcome in the new year  is fun, but let’s not forget everything that happened over the last 365 days, too. Take this time to reflect on the past year, you have a success story waiting to be celebrated. 

Send out a company-wide email asking for submissions on your team’s favorite wins from the last year. Maybe it’s the time you all helped out at the nearby animal shelter. Perhaps it was a sales call that helped a startup client level up. You could have launched a new division that exceeded expectations. Then share the wins with everyone.

Grubhub is here to help you feed your employees for your New Year’s at work celebration and beyond. Meal perks are one way to show you appreciate the hard work your employees put in year round. Whether you’re looking to host a team lunch and learn or offer weekly meal perks, a Grubhub Corporate Account is a simple and cost-effective way to do so.  Contact us to learn more.