1. SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities
December 4, 2013

2. These survey findings are divided into the following sections:
End-of-Year/Holiday Parties
End-of-Year Giving
Demographics
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

3. Key Findings
Do organizations plan to have a 2013 end-of-year/holiday party? About two-thirds (66%) of organizations will hold a 2013 end-of-year/holiday party for their employees, similar to 2011 and Smaller organizations (1 to 499 employees) are more likely than larger organizations (500 or more employees) to have an end-of-year or holiday party open to all employees.
Will organizations’ end-of-year/holiday parties be held on-site or off-site? Sixty percent of organizations indicated that their end-of-year/holiday party will be held off-site. Thirty-six percent of organizations said these parties will be held on-site.
Do organizations participate in gift exchanges during the end-of-year/holiday season? Nearly one-half (48%) of organizations do not participate in gift exchanges. The other one-half participate in a gift exchange within each department (45%), 5%, participate in a companywide exchange, and 2% participate in both departmental and companywide girt exchanges.
How common is it for organizations to participate in end-of-year charitable donations/drives? Seventy-eight percent of organizations reported participating in charitable donations/drives (e.g., Toys for Tots, winter coat drives) during the end-of-year/holiday season.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

4. End-of-Year/Holiday Parties
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

5. In 2013, will your organization have an end-of-year/holiday party open to all employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

6. In 2013, will your organization have an end-of-year/holiday party open to all employees?
Comparisons by organization staff size
Organizations with 1 to 499 employees are more likely than organizations with 500 or more employees to have an end-of-year or holiday party open to all employees.
Comparisons by organization staff size
1 to 99 employees (74%)
100 to 499 employees (76%)
>
500 to 2,499 employees (58%)
2,500 to 24,999 employees (50%)
25,000+ (51%)
Comparisons by organization sector
Privately owned for-profit organizations are more likely than publicly owned for-profit organizations to have an end-of-year or holiday party open to all employees.
Comparisons by organization sector
Privately owned for-profit (75%)
>
Publicly owned for-profit (51%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

7. In 2013, does your organization have a budget for the end-of-year or holiday party?
Note : n = 438. Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

8. Will this year’s end-of-year/holiday party be held on-site or off-site?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

9. When is the end-of-year/holiday party expected to be held?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

10. How many employees do you expect to attend the end-of-year/holiday party?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

11. Are employees allowed to bring guests to the end-of-year/holiday party?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

12. Are employees expected to pay for any additional guests attending the end-of-year/holiday party?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

13. Are employees expected to contribute in some way to the end-of-year/holiday party?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

14. Are prizes given to employees at the end-of-year/holiday party?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations were sponsoring an end-of-year/holiday party were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

15. End-of-Year Giving
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

16. Does your organization participate in charitable donations/drives (e.g., Toys for Tots, winter coat drives) during the end-of-year/holiday season?
n = 379
n = 788
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

17. Does your organization give nonperformance-based bonuses at the end of the year to employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. An asterisk (*) indicates this response option was not available in 2012.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

18. Does your organization give nonperformance-based gifts (e. g
Does your organization give nonperformance-based gifts (e.g., gift bags, gift cards, ham, turkey) at the end of the year to employees?
Note: n = 792. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

19. Do employees in your organization participate in gift exchanges during the end-of-year/holiday season?
Note: n = 760. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

20. Organization Demographics
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

21. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

22. Demographics: Organization Sector
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

23. Demographics: Other
Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally?
Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization?
Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same
31%
Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location
69%
U.S.-based operations only
73%
Multinational operations
27%
n = 814
n = 814
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both?
What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices
49%
Each work location determines HR policies and practices 5%
A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices
46%
Corporate (companywide)
66%
Business unit/division
17%
Facility/location
n = 575
n = 574
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

24. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Manufacturing
20%
Health care and social assistance
16%
Professional, scientific and technical services
14%
Finance and insurance
10%
Educational services 9%
Government agencies 6%
Retail trade 5%
Construction 4%
Information 3%
Transportation and warehousing
Utilities
Note: n = 774. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

25. Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)
Percentage
Accommodation and food services 3%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 2%
Real estate, rental and leasing
Wholesale trade
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations
Repair and maintenance
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1%
Personal and laundry services *
Other 9%
Note: n = 774. An asterisk (*) indicates < 1%. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

26. SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities
Survey Methodology
Response rate = 20%
817 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this survey
Margin of error +/-3%
Survey fielded October 17-30, 2013
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

27. About SHRM Research
For more survey/poll findings, visit shrm.org/surveys For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit shrm.org/customizedresearch Follow us on
Project leader:
Rob Boyd, Researcher
Project contributors:
Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM Research
Evren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research
Tanya Mulvey, researcher, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013

28. About SHRM
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates.
SHRM Survey Findings: 2013 Holiday/Year-End Activities ©SHRM 2013