(Published December 8, 2008)
Due to the economy, many companies are cutting back when it comes to year-end holiday parties, if not cutting them completely. The silver lining is that at least you don't have to worry about employees overindulging at the open bar. Those of you who are holding such celebrations, do you grapple with the question of whether or not to serve alcohol?
I know the "right" thing for me to do would be to unequivocally advise all employers to refrain from serving alcohol because of the potential safety and liability risks. I won't deny that is the best advice to give. However, I also know the reality is that some employers are going to have alcohol at their parties, regardless. For those employers, some food for thought on controlling employees' alcohol consumption.
PLAY HARD TO GET
I will unequivocally say this: Do not have an open bar. If employees grumble about a cash bar, tell them the truth, whether the truth is that the economy requires the company to cut costs or that the company doesn't want a repeat of last year's fistfight, mooning incident, lap dance, etc.
To further steam employees — but also cut down on alcohol consumption — hire only one bartender. The longer employees have to wait on line, the less they can drink. And don't let anyone order drinks "for the table." Because you know the party animals really mean "all for me at the table." At most, let people order two at a time — one for themselves and one for their guest.
Consider limiting alcoholic drinks to a short cocktail hour. Or cut out the cocktail hour, and serve only beer and wine during dinner. The bottom line is that, if you're going to have alcohol available, restrict what and when it is available.
Limiting alcohol consumption by handing out a limited number of drink tickets is not foolproof, either. Those who don't use all of their tickets will give them away. And there's always at least one or two people who are more than happy to collect them. In that case, you may have to designate a few trusted managers (don't let it all fall on HR's shoulders!) to keep an eye out for those who belly up to the bar more times than the number of tickets they were allotted.
I SPY
Some may suggest putting the bar in an out of the way corner or another room to make it inconvenient to get drinks. This won't deter some people. And if you do this, you won't be able to monitor how often employees belly up — or park themselves at the bar. From what I've seen and heard, it seems that the bigger the party, the more scandalous behavior that occurs. It could be due to the fact that the more people you have, the more people you have to potentially misbehave. But I think part of it is also due to the fact that, when the party is small, there's nowhere to hide the round of double tequila shots, and raucous drunken laughter and impromptu sing-alongs are all the more amplified when the rest of the party is engaged in quiet conversation. So don't put the bar in an out of the way location where employees can "hide."
Even at social events, you can never replace your HR hat with your party hat. There's no getting out of it: You will be part of the team that keeps an eye out for intoxicated and obnoxious employees and guests. And you will certainly be expected not to become one of those employees. Now, I know I should say that HR should not indulge while "on duty," but I know some of you will, and that's okay. You know your limits. So I don't need to say anything more about that except have fun, but not too much fun!
Gloria Ju
Editor in Chief
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