On a personal level, milestones matter.
Birthdays, especially the big ones like turning 30, 50, or 80 are important to us personally. The same goes for anniversaries, as these represent major accomplishments in our lives. Graduating college, having a child, seeing that child go on to graduate college; all of these milestones are worth celebrating.
But what about the milestones of a company or non-profit organization? In many ways, we should extend the same enthusiasm to our work; celebrating milestones can boost morale, improve department relations, and enhance a group’s overall culture. But you don’t want to over do it with these corporate events; too many milestone celebrations will make the entire lot feel watered-down, hollow, and inconsequential. If every little milestone is celebrated with a catered party, they feel less significant, less special.
With that in mind, we’d like to give some advice on when to throw a milestone celebration and when to just keep working. As one of the leading catering companies in San Francisco, we have seen many milestone parties, and we can provide valuable insight for your decision…
5, 10, 25, or 50 Years in Business
Birthdays and anniversaries matter, and while a person can celebrate every year, a business or organization should stick to the important years. 5 years in business, for example, is a major accomplishment, indicating that this company could be built to last. 6 years? Well, that might seem too (for lack of a better word) random; if 6 years justifies a party, why not 7, 8, and 9? Eventually you are having too many milestone parties for them to feel significant.
After 5, every multiple of ten (20, 30, 40, etc), as well as 25 and 75 are worth celebrating. A party for “X-amount” of years in business is worthwhile, but it really only signifies that a company has kept themselves afloat. As we’ll discuss in the following sections, it’s often more important to have events for specific accomplishments and major successes…
At the beginning of a fiscal year, your company or organization likely set specific goals for the next 12 months. Through hard work, dedication, and a share of luck, you may have surpassed these goals. If you have, it’s worth celebrating.
Of course, the size and significance of the party may depend on the size of the results compared to the goals. For example, if you just barely went over the sales quota for the season, a small celebration, perhaps during the last few hours of a Friday, may be the right choice. However, if you crushed your fundraising goals by a factor of three, a large Saturday night event may be in order. Let the significance of the accomplishment guide your decision on the size and scope of the celebration.
Have you recently completed a project? Did your software company release a new app, an app that took years of toil, long nights, and endless coffee runs? Has your non-profit completed a new outreach effort, one that will bring a lot of good to the local or regional community? If your project is finally complete after months, years, maybe even a decade, it’s probably time to celebrate.
You know your company best, but a party celebrating the completion of a project should focus on the people who made it happen. Be sure that at least a portion of the party honors the employees who brought the project to life.
No matter what your organization or business, safety is important. To emphasize just how important, you might consider hosting a party dedicated specifically to a safety milestone. One million work hours without a major injury? Have a party! Six months without a significant emergency? Time to celebrate! A full year of fleet deliveries without an accident? That’s a milestone worthy of honor!
Safety is one of the most important aspects of your business, so let your team know you appreciate their safety efforts by celebrating their accomplishments!
There are, without a doubt, times that should be celebrated. But there are also time that, while important, perhaps don’t deserve a massive party. Many of these are milestones that are important to leadership, stockholders, and owners, but are not as important to ground-level employees.
Do your employees really care about the stock price of your company? Other than indicating a steady business, they likely aren’t that interest in the stock price, so it’s probably not worthy of a significant catered event. Even if you provide stock sharing as part of your benefits package, meaning employees are stock holders, the price of your stock is rarely worth a company-wide party.
Have you made a major acquisition that will place your company is a spot of market leadership for the next decade? That’s fantastic, but many employees may not see this as a time to celebrate. In many ways, a major purchase will create more work for your employees, or it could be seen (right or wrong) as a threat to their jobs, so they may not be in the mood to celebrate.
Do you throw a milestone party when a lower manager is turning 50? Probably not, so why would you host a major party when the CEO has a birthday. This type of party is more likely to create resentment than goodwill, so while a small gathering could be justified, a large, company-wide milestone celebration may not be useful.
If you want more advice on hosting a milestone celebration for your company, contact Left Coast Catering today. We’ll help you choose the right foods, drinks, and decor to match your accomplishment, so contact us today to learn more!
