Did you know that 21 June is the shortest day of sunlight this year. It is what’s known as the Winter Solstice and there is a corresponding Summer Solstice in December. The day varies slightly (20th, 21st or 22nd) depending on the calendar. Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most have held a recognition of rebirth, involving festivals and rituals or other celebrations around that time.

In ancient times the solstice signified the beginning or end of a growth period for crops and people believed that they needed to honour the earth gods to ensure a healthy crop. At www.nscf.org.au we are having a major day of celebration on Saturday 25 June with music, food and more.

In the business world we are also about to celebrate a significant period . . . the end of financial year. Most organizations in Australia set their end of financial year at 30 June. This can be a busy period as people try to finalise deals before then to be included in the figures. Once the date has passed the accounting types swing into action to do their calculations and reports. It is also a time when leaders thoughts turn to forward planning so I find lots of clients are requesting my services to facilitate team planning sessions which are half looking ahead and half celebrating achievements for the period just ended.

What are you going to do to recognise the end of another financial year? How an organisation deals with this event can be a sign of their culture. Those companies that ignore the event are sending a subconscious message to their staff that maybe they don’t care about the efforts they have put in all financial year. Your celebrating doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. It is definitely a case of the thought that counts. So don’t let 30 June go by without saying thank you to your team in some way. If you don’t have anything organised there is still time! If you do, I’d love to hear about what you do to celebrate.

Tags: Employee Communication, Employee morale, End of financial year celebration, Organisational culture, www.nscf.org.au