You’ve worked hard all year to make every dollar of your departmental budget count. You negotiated with vendors, flew coach instead of business – heck, you even played hardball with the venue for your team’s holiday party. And your team still hit its goals.
Now that the fiscal year is coming to an end, you have money left over.
Your CEO is thrilled with your team’s results, and when you see your CFO in the hall, she gives you a fistbump and solemn nod of approval.
Sounds like a win-win, right?
Not quite.
If your company is like most, your departmental budget is a use-it-or-lose-it situation. The assumption is that if you have money left over, it’s because you had too much money, to begin with. Come January 1st, your new budget will be that much smaller.
Of course, this hardly seems fair. Why should you be penalized for saving the company money? Faced with this situation, it can be tempting to spend the remaining budget on something frivolous – but that’s the last thing you want to do.
Wasting your end-of-year budget is as bad as holding onto it. When your finance team sees the karaoke machine or the life-sized Justin Bieber Fathead that you purchased, they’ll take that budget away from you anyway.
The smart thing to do is invest your extra budget invaluable things – and that you can justify when Finance takes a look at your 11th-hour spending.
Here are five great ways to spend that end-of-year budget.
1. Healthy Office Snacks
Give your team a perk that you know they’ll love (fact: everyone loves snacks) and that will improve their performance.
Consider that what we eat has a direct impact on cognitive performance, mood, and energy. A bad decision at the lunch truck or vending machine can derail an entire afternoon’s worth of productivity.
SnackNation is the easiest way to provide your team with the best-tasting healthy snacks available anywhere. Our team of Snack Scientists works with emerging brands to expertly curate and deliver a monthly box that will keep your team firing on all cylinders.
2. Standing Desks
For too many of us, our jobs require us to sit at a desk for hours at a time. But the sedentary nature of modern work is hurting our health – so much so that sitting has been deemed “the new smoking.”
One solution is to use a standing desk, which requires you to engage your muscles and burn more calories throughout the day. Varidesk makes a popular height-adjustable desk that converts any workspace into a standing desk.
If you don’t have the budget to outfit your whole team, consider purchasing a communal standing desk where team members can rotate in and out throughout the day.
3. Stock Up on Work Anniversary Cards and Gifts
When it comes to employee engagement, sometimes the little things make the biggest impact. Employee recognition helps forge the emotional bond that’s so critical for inspiring your team to go the extra mile when it counts.
The simple act of remembering when someone on your team has hit a work milestone is a great way to do that. A handwritten note and a gift card can go a long way towards making your team members feel appreciated – and therefore engaged.
4. Create a Recognition Program
Go a step further in the recognition game and create a formal recognition program for your team. For tips on how to launch your recognition program, check out our article on the subject.
5. Build a Team Meditation Station
There is a reason workplaces today experience higher turnover and more cases of burnout. Our always-on, results-first work cultures often put undue stress on even the most resolute employees.
Mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga have been proven to reduce stress and improve employee engagement. Create a space where your team can spend a few minutes being mindful. Here are 13 ways to create a Zen office on a budget.
