Houston expert: How to keep your employees engaged during the holidays

Guest Column

Maintaining employee engagement can be tough this time of year even pre-pandemic. Here are some tips and considerations from a local expert. Photo via Getty Images

When you combine standard holiday distractions with a year of prolonged and intensified stress, it can result in an exhausted team and real employee engagement (and productivity) problems for your business.

So, what can you do to minimize the impact of this year's holiday slump? It starts with understanding why employees tend to disengage during the holidays.

Reasons your employees are less engaged around the holidays

While employee engagement is something to be focused on throughout the year, the holiday season can be a particularly challenging time. Pre-pandemic, common distractions included holiday parties, upcoming travel plans, and the pressure to find the perfect gift.

This year, travel and large holiday gatherings will likely take a back seat to burnout, pressure to keep family safe, and a different kind of shopping stress (like factoring in delivery times), which could pull employees away from work commitments.

Plus, the business gets busier. While not every business is seasonal, the end of the year tends to be a busier time for many companies, especially for those whose fiscal year matches the calendar. For these companies, the arrival of the holiday season can be an abrupt reminder that they only have a few days left to accomplish the year's goals, meet their annual quotas, or close out requests they've been meaning to get to throughout the year.

We also have the arrival of flu season. When you combine cold and flu season with a very contagious coronavirus, you can be looking at sidelining even the most dedicated employee for days or even weeks. And, unlike vacations, employers have a much harder time planning for illness.

There's also the end of the school session. Working parents are looking forward to spending quality time with their family, and prior to time off from work, they may still need to make childcare arrangements during the workday, the cost of which can be burdensome at the holidays.

Ideas for boosting employee engagement around the holidays

Even though the holidays can compound workplace stress, there are effective strategies you can put in place to minimize the impact of any holiday-related slumps:

Plan ahead. The single most important thing employers can do to prepare for the holiday season is to plan ahead. If you haven't already, make sure you have all PTO requests in. Forecasting for a lighter staff or arranging additional coverage and adjusting timelines for projects during the holidays can help you meet year-end objectives without intensifying the strain on your already stressed team.

Be flexible and understanding. It's important to try to be as accommodating as you can (within reason). Between potential illnesses, family responsibilities, and added financial burdens, employees will appreciate a little more flexibility and understanding during the holidays. Allowing employees to adjust their schedules or even work overtime to complete projects can build morale and have a positive impact on your bottom line. If you can't accommodate employees' requests, communicate early, and keep an open dialogue to help them understand why. Loyal employees want the company to succeed as much as you do.

Encourage employees to stay healthy. We've all come to understand that more than ever this year. Keeping any wellness programs in place (online or otherwise) can make a big difference. To help keep your staff healthy, happy, and productive during the holidays, you can:

  • Host a flu-shot clinic or encourage employees to get one from their healthcare provider
  • Provide general tips and education about the importance of getting enough rest
  • Make sure common areas are cleaned thoroughly for those present in workplace facilities

Embrace the holiday spirit. While it may not be appropriate for every employer to focus on a specific holiday tradition, ignoring the holiday season isn't going to improve engagement. In fact, a little holiday cheer is exactly what most of us need this year. Even if your team is fully remote you can host intentional, inclusive activities to help employees decompress and encourage camaraderie and collaboration.

Show appreciation for your employees. A little extra employee appreciation or recognition is always needed and welcomed. Your team has worked through some very difficult times in 2020. Celebrate their successes with (if possible) an end-of-year bonus, a complimentary meal, a meaningful gift, or simply a kind email or handwritten note. The holiday season is a great opportunity to show your appreciation for all of your team's hard work. It can be a much-needed reset for what we all hope is a much-improved 2021.

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Susan Crowder, senior HR adviser at Houston-based G&A Partners.

GotSpot's Holiday SOS tool will help you plan a seamless holiday event for your company. Getty Images

Houston startup launches 1-stop shop for corporate holiday event planning

holiday hero

A Houston startup that specializes in finding short-term real estate space for various purposes is putting its coordination skills to good work this holiday season.

GotSpot's Holiday SOS aims to be companies' one-stop shop for planning corporate holiday celebrations, from luncheons to happy hours and no matter the size of the event.

"I worked at a law firm for over a decade, and I remember the giant hassle it was at the last minute to figure out who was responsible for the holiday party," says Reda Hicks founder and CEO of GotSpot Inc.

The opportunity allows for the burden to be taken off that person within the company — who has a real, non party-planning job — while also allowing for new avenues of daytime business for party service providers.

"The idea is that I'm pairing spots with local service providers to make it really easy for somebody to have a corporate holiday luncheon or happy hour," Hicks says.

And, on the GotSpot end, Hicks is able to make connections with venues and service providers, while also testing GotSpot's business plan.

"It's a little bit of a pilot for us," Hicks says.

Down the road, GotSpot will have the technology for the process to be completely automated, but for now it's manual. Interested companies can head to GotSpot's website to view options for various venues and service providers, including menus, available bartenders, etc. Within a day, Hicks will get in touch to confirm details and explain next steps.

Hicks says she's gotten several requests already — including one for an event in San Antonio, which is interesting to Hicks since that's a market she has her eye on for launching GotSpot. In fact, when GotSpot launches its booking technology in the second quarter, a few "spots" of hers will be in central Texas.

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Texas voters OK $3 billion for new dementia research institute

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Texas voters on Nov. 4 overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that provides $3 billion in state funding over a 10-year span for the newly established Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT).

Thanks to the passage of Proposition 14, Texas now boasts the country’s largest state-funded initiative dedicated to dementia research and prevention, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Up to $300 million in grants will be awarded during the 10-year funding period.

“This is a transformative moment for Texas and for the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementia,” said Joanne Pike, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Texans have chosen to invest in hope, innovation, and solutions for the millions of families affected by these devastating diseases. With the passage of Proposition 14, Texas is now poised to lead the nation in dementia research and prevention.”

The association says DPRIT will drive scientific breakthroughs, attract top-notch dementia researchers to Texas, and generate thousands of jobs statewide.

An estimated 460,000 Texans are living with dementia, the association says, and more than one million caregivers support them.

DPRIT is modeled after the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Since 2008, the state agency has awarded nearly $4 billion in grants to research organizations for cancer-related academic research, prevention programs, and product development.

An analysis by the McKinsey Health Institute found that investing in brain health initiatives like DPRIT could boost Texas’ GDP by $260 billion. Much of that GDP bump could benefit the Houston area, which is home to dementia-focused organizations such as UTHealth Houston Neurosciences, Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston’s Collaborative Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Program, and the Houston Methodist Research Institute’s John M. O’Quinn Foundation Neurodegenerative Disorders Laboratory.

The Greater Houston Partnership says DPRIT holds the potential “to elevate Texas — particularly Houston — as a hub for brain health research.”

State Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican, is one of DPRIT’s champions. She sponsored legislation this year to create the institute and ask Texas voters to approve the $3 billion in funding.

“By establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, we are positioning our state to lead the charge against one of the most devastating health challenges of our time,” Huffman said in May. “With $3 billion in funding over the next decade, we will drive critical research, develop new strategies for prevention and treatment, and support our health care community.”

Get your tickets to the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards today

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We're just one week away from the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, and it's time to secure your seat for the annual event.

Join us on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs for an intimate evening of networking and celebrating Houston's extensive innovation community. We'll honor the trailblazers and visionaries who are shaping the future of our city, and you'll connect with like-minded individuals, industry leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs.

From burgeoning startups to fast-growing scaleups, we'll celebrate outstanding nominees across 10 prestigious categories and unveil this year's winners during our live awards ceremony. Be in the room to see who is named 2025 Startup of the Year, 2025 Mentor of the Year, and more.

Individual tickets are available for $45 and include complimentary light bites, drinks, and non-reserved seating. A limited number of Founder Tickets are available for startup founders at a special discounted price of $35.

Bringing a group? Corporate 10-packs include light bites and drinks, as well as a full row of reserved seating for 10 guests, complete with company branding.

The event is just a week away, so secure your seats today. Then, get to know the finalists in each category via our editorial spotlights.

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston City College, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

Houston Innovation Awards to honor Wade Pinder as 2025 Trailblazer

And the award goes to...

On Nov. 13, we'll gather for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards to celebrate the best and brightest in Houston innovation right now. And, as is tradition with the annual program, we'll honor one longstanding Houston innovator with the Trailblazer Award.

The award was established to recognize an individual who has left a profound impact on Houston's business and innovation ecosystem and is dedicated to continuing to support Houston and its entrepreneurs. The recipient is selected by our esteemed panel of judges from a pool of internal and external recommendations.

The 2025 Trailblazer Award recipient is Wade Pinder of Product Houston. A familiar face to those active in Houston's innovation sector, Pinder identifies as an "Ecosystem Wayseeker" and is the founder of Product Houston.

Pinder, a former product manager at Blinds.com, arrived in Houston in 2008 and has been deeply engaged in Houston’s startup and innovation scene since 2012. Over the years, he has supported hundreds of founders, product leaders, and community builders across the Houston area.

In 2023, he was honored as Mentor of the Year in the Houston Innovation Awards. Today, he fosters collaboration, clarity, and connection through his work at Product Houston, and he helps innovators find their place in the local sector via his monthly "Houston Ecosystem Mapping" sessions.

Read below for Pinder's insightful takes on the Houston innovation scene and what it means to blaze a new trail. Then, join us as we celebrate Pinder and all of our nominees and winners at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs. Tickets are available now.

InnovationMap: Describe the growth of the Houston innovation ecosystem from your arrival in 2008 to now.

Wade Pinder: When I first arrived in Houston in 2008, the innovation ecosystem was more fragmented than it is today. Connecting with other innovators often meant attending a lot of hit-or-miss events. Over the years, it’s been incredible to see the network take shape and grow into a true community. I’ve had the privilege of being involved with several coworking spaces and accelerator programs along the way, and it’s been especially exciting to see Station Houston evolve into what is now the Ion District. What makes the Ion unique is how it blends openness and opportunity… ideas spill into and out of the space, and anyone can walk in, participate in programming, and find themselves in proximity to people who might help them take the next steps.

Additionally, the expansion of spaces like Texas Medical Center Innovation, Helix Park, The Cannon, and many others, have broadened Houston’s innovation landscape in powerful ways.

Today, when someone new moves to Houston and wants to plug into the startup and innovation scene, it’s much easier for them to find their way than when I moved here in 2008. I think that’s something Houston can really be proud of.

IM: As someone who engages with the broader Houston innovation community on a regular basis, what are the shared characteristics and traits that you see among its members?

WP: One of the things that makes Houston’s innovation community unique is how deeply it’s rooted in industry. So many of the innovators I meet come from within Houston’s major sectors, and they’ve seen firsthand where opportunities lie, which gives their innovation a certain practicality. They’re developing solutions that solve real, often complex, business and industry problems, not chasing trends or trying to create the next flashy consumer app.

What I admire most is that this community is growing in its understanding of the value of collaboration. They work with the systems and expertise that already exist, and find better ways to make them work together. Another shared trait I see across Houston’s innovators is a deep sense of curiosity and a drive to question the status quo while looking for better ways to build, improve, and solve.

IM: You’ve said, "Houston has Houston problems, and Houston needs Houston solutions." How do you see this taking shape in the innovation sector right now?

WP: When I first started getting connected to Houston’s startup and innovation scene in 2012, I noticed folks had a tendency to look at other cities and ask, "How can we do what they did?" Back then, we saw phrases like "Silicon Bayou" pop up, and while that enthusiasm was hopeful, it often discounted the things that make Houston unique. Over time, I’ve come to believe that the better question is: "What are we already great at, and how can we innovate from there?" The flip side of that question is to reflect on the things that hold us back as an ecosystem… identifying the friction points and finding practical ways to smooth them out.

From my time wandering around our ecosystem, I’ve come to understand Houston is great at infrastructure at scale, solving life-and-death challenges in the global spotlight, and "boldly going where no one’s gone before." These three things, in my opinion, capture the essence of Houston does best: We do hard things here.

What excites me today is that we’re applying innovation to those core strengths in ways that feel authentically Houston. One area I’m especially excited about is the emergence of the “New Space Economy,” captured beautifully in Wogbe Ofori’s thought piece “The Astropreneur’s Startup Journey Map.” It's a great example of how the next wave of space-related innovation might connect to Houston’s long-standing strengths in manufacturing, logistics, and problem-solving at scale.

Another challenge Houston faces is what I call a "proximity problem." Even when events are only a few miles apart, traffic can make it difficult for people to stay connected across the city. That’s why I’m so encouraged by the rise of what I think of as "intent-based gatherings" around the city: events designed with purpose, where people know they’ll find real connection and value once they arrive.

IM: Finally, what does being a "Trailblazer" mean to you?
WP: To me, trailblazing in the Houston innovation ecosystem means being willing to wander through the many different corners of the community and look for value in places we often overlook. It’s about showing up at events, community meetings, and pitch competitions — not just to participate, but to notice how each of these "nodes" in the ecosystem connects and adds value to the others.

Sometimes the trailblazer only walks a trail once: as they are discovering it. If you can help others see a newfound trail’s purpose and potential, it becomes a path others can follow more easily in the future. That’s the real work of a trailblazer: mapping connections, framing their value, and helping people recognize how those pathways strengthen the ecosystem as a whole.

In a broader sense, trailblazing is about seeing things not just as they are, but as they could be. Then taking the steps, however small, that make that vision real.

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston City College, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

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