The Last, Toughest 2024 Goal: The End-of-Year Note

Leaders certainly have their plates full in December. They need to motivate their teams to hit their goals over the few remaining workdays. Many must finalize their 2025 budgets and goals. In many cases, however, the most daunting task might be something that seems far simpler on its face: share an end-of-year message with their employees.

In years past, banging out a few words to employees before the holidays was fairly risk free. But in recent years too many such messages have been tone-deaf, experts say, and easy clickbait for social media. “It’s hard to figure out what to say and be genuine and authentic,” says Liz Schaefer, practice leader for Korn Ferry’s Professional Search division. For a past year’s holiday message, Schaefer considered consulting AI for help before fashioning one on her own.

The stakes are high for these end-of-year messages, experts say. Trust at the workplace, while still higher than that of many other institutions, is waning. Only 18% of employees are extremely satisfied with their jobs, the lowest level in nearly a decade, according to a new survey. In the same survey, half of US professionals—a higher percentage than during the Great Recession—say they’re watching for, or actively seeking, a new job. Most leaders don’t want to do anything that might push highly skilled workers to quit, and that includes sending a poorly received end-of-year note. The risk of personal embarrassment for leaders is high as well: Alienated employees will readily share cringey corporate communications on social media.

Experts say a leader’s end-of-year message should celebrate specific wins and challenges overcome. Importantly, it should express gratitude and appreciation to the teams and employees who helped accomplish those goals. “Don’t be so quick as to move on without praise and recognition,” says Richard Marshall, global managing director of Korn Ferry’s Corporate Affairs Center of Expertise.

The message also should be personal. Sharon Egilinsky, a partner in Korn Ferry’s Organizational Strategy team, suggests leaders consider highlighting both the best and the worst moments of the year before ending with a message of optimism. “Regardless of how we did this year, we’ll make next year better, which gives hope for the future,” Egilinsky says.

Certainly, there are minefields to be avoided. Experts say leaders shouldn’t remind workers that the pace of change is unyielding, that they’ve had to do a lot more with fewer resources, and that they’re exhausted. But the wrong tone can also alienate audiences, Marshall says. Plus, several topics will almost certainly cause blowback—for instance, an opinion on the recent US election or another global event. Leaders also should consider treading lightly on return-to-office policies, Marshall says, since these remain contentious.

It’s OK to take time to perfect an end-of-year message, even if that means sending it out in January. If a leader has nothing specific to say, just send an encouraging and optimistic note during the first week of 2025, says Francesca Holt, a Korn Ferry marketing and culture executive. “So much else is going on right now, anyway,” she says.

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