A not-so silent night

Corporate Christmases are a-changing. The days when the boss doled out those tattered brown envelopes containing a few extra pounds to keep workers smiling over the season of goodwill are coming to an end. In today's Ireland, of multi-nationals, performance-related bonuses and new prosperity, the company Christmas is a much more sophisticated affair.

This being the last Christmas in the millennium things are being taken to extremes. Event co-ordinators are being hired by the dozen, quirky themes are being devised and logistical operations resembling some sort of invasion plan are swinging into gear. Lucky employees this December could find their corporate stockings filled with nights of elaborate entertainment, foreign holidays, helicopter trips, a night at the dogs or even a rumble in the jungle in Co Wicklow. So what's behind this outpouring of corporate goodwill?

"The recognition of the individual has become very important in recent years," explains Mick McDonnell, director of the Institute of Personnel and Development. "Most organisations know it's people who make the difference to a company not the products. Christmas is the ideal time to give something back to employees."

But let's not be fooled by all this talk of corporate generosity; business philosophies are never far from the surface in Corporate Ireland. Our new-found wealth has done much to create a strong perk culture but it's the serious skills shortage that is driving many companies towards providing the biggest Christmas bashes ever.

"There's a real onus on organisations to recognise the sort of contribution staff are making. Job candidates don't just look at salary and car anymore when considering their place of work," says McDonnell. "Perks are now innovative ways to entice people to a job and create a sense of loyalty to the company."

Sure, Christmas bonuses have been around since the time of Charles Dickens but this year money is no object in the pursuit of a contented workforce. The multi-nationals are top of the big spenders. Photocopier giant Xerox has budgeted more than £100,000 for its Christmas events in Ireland while Microsoft has restricted itself to a mere £50,000.

"Xerox is a young company and no expense is being spared this year," says human resources manager Amanda Miller. "About 2,000 employees will attend our Christmas party at the Kennel Club in Swords, where they will get a four-course meal and champagne reception. Six bands will play at the event and buses will pick up all the employees from their houses and leave them home again afterwards," she adds.

The US multinational Xerox is bringing that American flavour to corporate life in Ireland - the concept that work can be a kind of surrogate family. Santa Day is scheduled for early December when more than 200 children and parents will be taking a trip to the Leisureplex in Blanchardstown.

And with non-Irish people making up more than 50 per cent of its workforce in Dublin, the company is keen to celebrate other European styles of Christmas to remove any traces of homesickness among its workers. For instance, human resources personnel are busy dreaming up ideas to mark January 6th - Three Kings day in Spain.

Not satisfied with one night of corporate extravagance, Aer Rianta has booked three days and nights at the National Show Centre in Swords to accommodate all its staff. "It's a party based around the theme of the Eve of the Millennium," says general manager Andrew Carroll. "To celebrate what we've been through together during the year and where we're going."

Like most larger companies these days Aer Rianta chose to leave Christmas to the professionals. That's where ICI Corporate Events steps into the picture.

"Christmas can be a logistical nightmare for human resources managers so most prefer to leave it all to us," explains events director of ICI Corporate Events, Rob Allidine.

"Over the last five years we have marketed this concept of the theme Christmas event. This year's theme is Christmas Under The Stars and involves hanging 3,200 square metres of starcloth with over 10,000 individual pea lights."

This kind of production costs upwards of £500,000 to put together but can be shared out between the different corporate clients who will avail of the concept this year. ICI's current client list includes Motorola, Citibank, IBM, Gateway, Dell Computer Corporation and Xerox.

However some executive thrillseekers aren't prepared to follow the crowd and spend their Christmas bash listening to music and scoffing a four-course dinner under starlight. An energetic bunch of employees at Cannon Ireland and a prominent foreign bank decided to spend their pre-Christmas bash shooting paintballs at each other in the jungle terrain of Co Wicklow.

Up to 130 people can slug it out over five different terrains at the Skirmish-Paintball Battlefield Company in Co Wicklow. A full day at the centre includes breakfast, barbecue lunch and 60 rounds of ammunition each. But what's the connection with Christmas?

"It would be stress relief," says owner Dave Wachuku. "But there's also the element of team building and seeking to build loyalty and trust between new staff members," he adds.

Certainly Christmas is a stressful time, but God help any employee afraid of flying if their employer takes up the Christmas package on offer from the Dublin Helicopter Centre.

The company's Dublin tours, originally marketed as a trip for tourists, are now almost exclusively being taken by companies offering perks to clients or employees. An aerial tour of the Dublin and Wicklow region is available for £65 per person. Eager to tap into the Christmas market, managing director Colm King has developed a deluxe tour costing £275 involving limousine pick-ups, a tour, and a soft landing on the Dublin mountains to enable the executives, who all expressed a wish to remain nameless, to sink a few pints of the black stuff at Johnny Foxes pub in Glencullen.

And for those that are afraid of flying? "They can join their colleagues in the pub," says King.

But not all the multinationals have joined the growing Christmas perk club. The Credit Card Company MBNA has chosen to cut costs and return to the real meaning of Christmas instead.

"We've done away with Christmas parties to move towards giving," says Amy Kogut, a member of the MBNA Charity Committee. "It would cost a lot of money to have a large Christmas party so we're trying to funnel money back into charities."

MBNA employees are taking part in the Children's Hour, where each employee gives his or her last hour's pay of the millennium to charity, as well as several other initiatives. One of these will see each floor of the building sponsor an underprivileged family and provide them with a wishlist of needs while another will help the Bray Women's Refuge .

Many similar initiatives are taking place at other companies across the country this Christmas. Could it be a sign that Christmas as a time of charity has not been lost? Perhaps. But don't let the management hear!