Growing company culture during the holidays

RCS Influencer Mandy McIntyre says it's important to recognize that you probably have employees that celebrate other holidays.

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of a conversation between Multimedia Manager Megan Ellsworth and Mandy McIntyre, owner of Level Up Consultants. You can listen to the interview or read the transcript below.

Megan Ellsworth: Welcome back, everyone. My name's Megan Ellsworth here at rooferscoffeeshop.com, and we are here for the December 2023, last month of the year, influencer response with Mandy McIntyre. Hi, Mandy.

Mandy McIntyre: Hi, Megan. Thank you for having me.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. So excited to chat about holiday culture. This month's question is how are companies working with diverse cultures to grow their own company culture during the holidays?

Mandy McIntyre: So, I am so appreciative of this question and I'm glad we're having this conversation because I think it's something we need to talk about more. And I think that people get a little uncomfortable talking about diversity, equity and inclusion in general. And it really doesn't have to be because really, ultimately the goal is to make people feel comfortable and to attract more people into your workforce. So when it comes to holiday culture, obviously, you think of the holidays, you think of Christmas, what the majority of people celebrate. However, it's important to recognize, especially a larger company, you probably are going to have employees that celebrate other holidays, Hanukkah, such as Kwanzaa. And Hanukkah in particular, often, it pretty much just goes dismissed. And I have seen companies start to incorporate that a little bit more. And one thing to consider with employees that are Jewish is the holidays don't fall on a day off.

So you have to be mindful that they have to prepare for these big holiday get togethers typically on a workday. So giving some equity with that. Maybe let them leave early or come in late or realizing that they're going to have to take their PTO to celebrate [inaudible 00:02:04] others that celebrate Christmas. We get that day off. So it's things to consider from just like an equity standpoint, but also just celebrating and learning about it. So before I started my business when I was with a roofing contractor, that's what we started doing. We put up Hanukkah decorations because we had some Jewish employees and it [inaudible 00:02:24] learn about it and celebrate with them. Other holidays such as Ramadan or Kwanzaa, just put out some social media from a learning aspect so people can understand what these holidays mean and it's really just embracing and celebrating it altogether and not having Christmas the default.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. Yes, absolutely. And the winter solstice. It's the whole month of celebrations in all sorts of different cultures and that just means more partying and celebrations for you and your company.

Mandy McIntyre: Yeah. And it's actually so much fun. And there's also Chinese New Year. We did that. So, everyone, when I did it when I was with the roofing contractor, everyone really loved it because who doesn't like an opportunity to have fun, eat some different food and celebrate? So I really think you can utilize it as a team building type of thing to just learn and then you're also making people feel included and then use that on your social media platform because [inaudible 00:03:33]. And so you have to market what you are doing for your current employees, but most importantly for your potential employees.

Megan Ellsworth: Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh, absolutely. Are there any tips or tricks you would recommend in starting to celebrate all these different holidays?

Mandy McIntyre: So, if you just google a diversity calendar so that you know when they are and put something together. Some people have party planning committees or things like that. I've seen that. Or put some surveys out so that you know who celebrates what, and you can ask for their input because I can guarantee you they would love to be a [inaudible 00:04:19]. Just let them know. If someone asks your opinion on something that you care about and you celebrate, you want to share that with your teammates. So I think just getting their input will really help. And it really is a lot of fun. A lot of fun. I always had a blast doing that kind of stuff.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, and this is the time to celebrate. Even if it's not a holiday, maybe it's an employee's birthday. This is just the time to let people take a little time off, have more fun. It's like the one month of the year where everybody is just really in that holiday spirit, giving spirit.

Mandy McIntyre: Yes. And it really like the whole month of December, really. So lots of opportunity there. And one thing I will say, too, is depending on the size of your company, and depending on where you are geographically or regionally, you may have everyone celebrates Christmas or it's a Christian-focused company, and I've seen that and that I can totally understand. However, if you're in a company that's larger and you are still sending a Christmas card, which I've seen companies do, you may want to reconsider sending a holiday card because the larger the company, the broader and more diverse your workforce is just naturally going to be. So it's important to just be more inclusive. Happy holidays is good. You're including everybody. So that is one thing I would just consider when you're doing those parties and cards for larger companies.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Actually, my holiday party at our office here in Denver is having a Margaritaville themed party and its holidays themed margarita Hawaiian shirts.

Mandy McIntyre: Oh, I love it.

Megan Ellsworth: [inaudible 00:06:19]. Yeah. So you can even do something like that.

Mandy McIntyre: Yes. And I've seen companies do that where it's holidays around the world or even Christmas around the world and people that have different backgrounds, say they're Irish, they're Italian, bring their own little twist to the Christmas holiday. So many things that you can do to just get more people involved is more fun and more engaging.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Well, Mandy, happy holidays and hope you have...

Mandy McIntyre: Happy holidays.

Megan Ellsworth: ...a wonderful holiday season.

Mandy McIntyre: Thank you. You as well, Megan.

Megan Ellsworth: And we'll be seeing you in 2024. I can't believe it. It's the end of the year.

Mandy McIntyre: Yes. Yes, I know. Happy New Year to you.

Megan Ellsworth: Happy New Year. See you then.

Mandy McIntyre: See you.