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Extravagant Christmas parties that employees looked forward to in the past might not hit the right mark this year, so employers should carefully consider what type of experience they're trying to curate, according to a corporate events expert.

In today's climate, employees are far less likely to expect showy events – and in fact be more likely to question them, says EP Agency general manager Lisa Golding.

What's appropriate in any given year will depend on the organisation, its culture, and its experience over the past 12 months, so it's important to "read the room", she tells HR Daily.

"What we don't want is the water-cooler talk on the Monday morning [to be]: Why was there a champagne tower when they just announced a hiring freeze?", Golding says. An expensive event can do more harm than good if employees leave it thinking, "I think that was a bit out of touch" or, "I would rather have had the money spent on something else"...