We’ll be taking a break from blogging over the holidays and enjoying a bit of down time. We encourage you in the event and planning business to do the same.
The Meeting Planner’s Best Resource will be back in the New Year with more helpful tips and opinions from our partners and guest bloggers. Until then have a happy and safe holiday.
Over the years I’ve helped organize many corporate Christmas parties. Christmas parties can great. Or they can be not so great. It often depends on the behavior of the invitees — be they staff, management or clients.
Even in our fast paced world, etiquette is still important. But that doesn’t mean you have to act like Miss Manners. A common-sense approach to managing your behavior is often all you need to have an enjoyable and stress free time. If there are corporate parties on your agenda this holiday season, here are some business etiquette do’s and don’ts to keep in mind.
Party Do’s:
* Mingle with everyone first. Don’t head directly to the bar or buffet table as soon as you arrive.
* Any clients you invite are your responsibility; make sure you introduce them to others. Keep your right hand free to shake hands.
* Try to speak to every person in the room, if only to wish them happy holidays. Keep in mind that some people don’t celebrate Christmas.
* Make conversation with your boss’ spouse. In fact, be friendly with everyone’s significant other. They’ll remember your kindness and courtesy and may prove influential in your future career.
* Avoid talking shop with co-workers.
* Watch your language. Avoid foul language, vulgar terms and inappropriate topics. Limit jokes to people you already know. Test a few on your friends beforehand.
* The corporate party may offer a chance to chat with the CEO or other senior managers you don’t speak with often. Consider what you will say if the opportunity arises.
* Mind your manners
* Have fun and be a good sport.
Party Don’ts:
* The blow-off: The biggest error is not going to a party that is a “must-attend” event. If you do that, you show disrespect for your company, your supervisors and your colleagues. That’s a career-killer.
* Forgetting the boss is watching: senior managers pay attention to how people handle themselves at corporate events. They might not know your name, but they will remember your face.
* T-shirts and sandals: inappropriate dress at an office party draws attention, but the wrong kind. The goal is to display professional qualities, not show how funky or daring you are. Avoid clothing that’s too tight or revealing; it’s a party, but they’re still your co-workers.
* The business-talking bore: Some young professionals let ambition drive them. They don’t know how to enjoy conversation unless it is about business. They become bores whom bosses avoid.
* Me, me, me: Self-centred professionals will have trouble working in teams with others and co-workers and bosses pick up on this.
* Who’s the boss?: It is amazing, but some professionals do not introduce themselves to senior managers at a company party. They are afraid of what a boss might think or they don’t realise the importance of a face-to-face meeting. They should not be surprised when bosses ignore them when it comes time for advancement.
* Hanky-panky: No longer is an office party an excuse for employees to become intimate. Now it means sexual harassment charges and dismissal for one or both individuals.
* Drinking to excess at a company party will kill a career instantly. Don’t have more than two alcoholic beverages or better yet, don’t drink at all.
So your clients want to “green up” their conference. And, they’ve left it to you, the planner, to show them the way.
The organizers of this month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) have taken some big steps (and a lot of little ones, too) to decrease the carbon footprint that comes with bringing together over 16,000 delegates from around the world.
COP15 organizers have been quite creative in their approach.
Delegates are being met at the airport with transit passes and bikes instead of the usual limousines and multi-passenger vans. And, when cars are necessary, organizers have opted for fuel-efficient hybrids.
The conference centre is being powered, in part, by wind turbines. The carpets are made from biodegradable materials, pens from recycled water bottles, and there will be no “official” conference gifts given to delegates. Water bottles have been eliminated and delegates required to get their water from water stations set up throughout the facility. Delegates who do not bring their own water containers can drink from biodegradable cornstarch cups that have been provided.
Food suppliers and local hoteliers in Copenhagen have jumped on the green bandwagon, too. Over 65 percent of the food served will be organic and all coffee and tea will be “fair trade.” Over half of the hotels are providing at least some eco-certified green rooms, a 48 percent jump from just two years ago.
In spite of all of their best efforts, organizers recognize transporting, housing and feeding tens of thousands of people over 11 days will result in substantial carbon emissions. To offset these, organizers have replaced 20 inefficient brick factories in Bangladesh with more energy efficient ones. They’ve calculated that in doing this they’ll reduce the use of coal in the brick making ovens by 90 percent.
Janet Latremouille is a sales associate at WTTC.com - The Meeting Planner’s Best Resource. She can be reached at 1-888-224-3178 or by e-mailing amjl@wttc.com
“Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.”
– Colleen C. Barrett
I’ve been working in the “temp world” for the past few months, and much to my surprise, I find that I have been enjoying myself enormously.
I didn’t believe that I could temp for an extended period. I don’t enjoy the stress of not having a regular paycheck. But, I certainly have been enjoying myself in the short term – new people, new experiences, new skills to learn, opportunities to see how other industries and organizations work.
Right from the get go — the agency interview process and even the testing — the process has been stimulating and fun. I found out a lot about myself and my skills — what I have that is marketable, and where I need to upgrade.
It’s a very tough market, so I registered with lots of placement agencies, both for temporary work and for permanent placements. But, I did limit my selection to those that I already knew and those that were recommended to me by friends and associates. Even with being selective, I registered with 23 agencies. That means I had 23 interviews, 23 testing sessions and 23 opportunities to polish my story. And, every agency has information, tips, and tricks that they are more than happy to share.
I am now very confident I can “ace” an interview and have overcome any stage fright that I might have had. Some agencies insist on multiple interviews — a telephone screening, the agency interview and testing, and then the interview with the agency relationship manager, who confirms that you are a “good fit” for their client — and this is for temporary assignments, not a permanent job.
Companies now insist on interviewing you, too. For one three week temporary assignment, I ended up interviewing with seven people! It sure has changed since the last time I was in the market.
Another thing that has changed is that there are far fewer actual temp jobs — short term assignments where you fill in for sick or vacationing staff. Companies are not hiring temps for these things anymore. Temp assignments are for much longer terms now, as companies are using temps to avoid having to hire, especially during tough economic times. Most of the assignments I am offered are presented as “temp to perm” and you can expect to be there for at least a month or as long as a year.
The longer term assignments have allowed me plenty of opportunity to give the company a good look. I really wish I could have had this opportunity to check out some of my previous employers, before accepting the job offer. It is so hard to tell from just an interview. I have found that sometimes I just don’t fit — perhaps it’s the boss or my co-workers or even the company culture. By learning what I don’t want, I have been able to narrow my focus and concentrate on the type of firm, position, and boss that I do want. The job I want is not going to fall into my lap. I am only going to find it with diligent research, patience and unstinting effort.
Temping is a good way to keep yourself in the market, a wonderful way to display your skills to a prospective employer, and the money keeps the wolf from the door. Quite frankly, it is nice to be able to walk away from my desk at the end of the day. When you know you are only there for a short time, you tend not to bring the usual stresses and worries home.
Bonnie Wooding is a Guest Blogger with WTTC.com - The Meeting Planner’s Best Resource and the former President of the Toronto Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), a not-for-profit professional association for admins, with more than 30,000 members worldwide. She is currently co-cordinator of the upcoming IAAP International Conference, which is being held in Montreal in 2011.
