5 tips on how to make your employer branding shine at Christmas time

Is your Outlook calendar already full to the brim until the Christmas break? And now, in the final sprint of the year, you’re supposed to think about employer branding too? Yes, because the Christmas season offers so many opportunities for you to score points as an employer. With your current employees and with those you want to attract in the future.

1. Show your heart with a fundraising campaign

You may take part in “Christmas in a Shoebox” or organise an employee raffle with unused promotional items, the proceeds of which are donated. Every fundraising campaign shows that your company takes its social responsibility seriously.

Of course, if you do good, you have to talk about it. You can do that with a company post on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
Maybe you’ll even make it into the local newspaper?

2. Make use of Christmas traditions

Advent offers a wealth of rituals that can also be used in groups to strengthen team spirit. Here are some examples:

Baking cookies together in the coffee kitchen or canteen?
A company Advent calendar from the team to the team?
A Christmas bauble painting competition for the company Christmas tree?
Or how about a Christmas beer blind taste test after work, where everyone has to guess the brands – including a company taxi home?

You decide what will go down best with your people. And just like that, you have another story for social media.

3. Say “thank you”

End-of-year thank-you speeches are nothing new, but have you ever taken the opportunity to write a personal and individual thank- you card to your direct colleagues? In it, you can write what you specifically appreciate about the person and which successfully completed tasks and projects they have been a great support to you with this year.

Honest words instead of empty phrases on a pretty card rarely end up in the recycling bin after the festivities. These cards are often kept for years and proudly mentioned among friends. They are therefore also a small marketing bonus for your company.

A gift to accompany your card is also a nice gesture. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but the recipient will associate the value of the gift within its product category with their own value. That’s why branded goods are recommended here instead of discount products.

4. Take time for Christmas mail

Do you have a pool of applicants with interesting candidates for whom there has not yet been a suitable position? Then why not remind them of you now with a Christmas greeting and a little preview of your plans for the new year!

The same applies to contacts from trade fairs, conferences, etc. who you could well imagine joining your team. Even if there are no positions to fill at the moment, this can change very quickly over the course of the next year. Then you will be glad you thought about replacements in good time.

If you already have a new employee under contract who will be starting with you in the new year, your Christmas card to him or her should ideally include an invitation to the Christmas party. This relaxed introduction gives a good insight into the company and takes the pressure off the first day at work. Remember to inform your team about the invitation so that they can take care of the newcomer and ensure that they settle in.

5. Be a creator rather than a consumer at your company Christmas party

Life is about experiencing things – not as a spectator, but as a participant. So get active with your team, which means:

Go on a scavenger hunt at the Christmas market instead of just drinking mulled wine,
Rehearse a male ballet with your colleagues to entertain guests at the Christmas party instead of hiring an external magician,
Book a joint cooking class instead of a served Christmas dinner,
Brew beer instead of drinking beer, etc.

These shared experiences are not only more fun, they also strengthen team spirit and identification with the employer. And you can look forward to good word-of-mouth advertising, because your employees will tell their friends and family about their great experiences. Naturally, you can also tell these stories yourself – especially across your online channels.