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How to Start an Office Birthday Club

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Workplaces serve as second homes to their employees. Colleagues build bonds while following guidelines, completing paperwork and assisting clients. Adding refreshments and presents to the routine can break up monotony and boost morale. An active birthday club can benefit new or established offices as all work families can benefit from spending quality time together.

Write a Plan

Choose a celebration format that matches your office vibe. Is your office more cupcake tower, balloons and cards or sheet cake and gag gifts? Decide whether to recognize individual birthdays or hold monthly group celebrations. Decide whether to order party supplies and decorations online or to use local vendors. Recommend a suitable location and time for birthday club celebrations. Be sure to factor in the number of employees and anticipated budget when planning. Office birthday parties don't have to be expensive.

Design Bait

It may be easy to reel in gregarious co-workers while the shy, skeptical and apathetic may prove tougher catches. Think up arguments that will motivate naysayers to consent to group fun. Play up the opportunity to contribute to positive workplace culture. Entice food lovers with the chance to taste 12 different cakes per calendar year. Setting an RSVP date for the upcoming event can help you to gauge initial interest and estimate a budget. Create attractive fliers that promote the club.

Alert the Office

Devote a week for birthday club recruitment. Limiting the sign-up process to a lone email announcement is ineffective. On Monday morning, send a mass email proposing the club. Include a bulleted list of compelling reasons to join the club. Stress that the goal of the club is to uplift co-workers on their birthdays. Ask interested colleagues to reply to the email with their birthdays and suggestions for running the club. Keep a spreadsheet of replies and suggestions to make updating the office birthday calendar easier. Post fliers about the birthday club in highly visible areas such as the break room or cafeteria. Send reminder emails about joining the club on Wednesday and Friday. Some co-workers may need more coaxing to join the birthday club. Discuss ways for colleagues to contribute without paying a recurring monthly fee, which may include supplying utensils, baking the birthday cakes or hand-making the birthday cards. Avoid offending co-workers who cannot participate for religious reasons.

Finalize the Plan

Finalize procedures for collecting money, including the monthly donation amount. Vote for a treasurer to collect, record and store donations. Appoint party planners to choose themes, decorations, cake flavors and cards. Appoint personnel to pass out gifts and cards and to set up and clean up party food and decorations. Discuss ways to make your office club unique. For example, potluck style celebrations may suit a close-knit office. Seek management approval and let the birthday club commence.

References
Writer

Mika Lo has been producing online content since 2005. The majority of her work has been published in areas such as parenting, lifestyle and health. Lo has also assisted with the development of community and hospital-based patient education programs, including creative discharge classes for new mothers and assisting underprivileged patients with medication assistance and information.

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