At work and home, we continue to adapt to the new normal of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic including suddenly working from home. For many people, this has been a significant shift and we keep hearing from clients how they are missing the incidental / water cooler conversations which happen when in the office and so many other spontaneous conversations which occur when working side-by-side.
When you have your team physically around, you may feel more energized and a sense of belonging to the organisation you work hard for. And what about the office events that help build interpersonal relationships which contribute to great team dynamics.
During 2020, we have assisted many organisations to implement software swiftly to recreate the ‘physical’ environment as much as possible in an ‘online environment’ to foster ongoing connections whether it is for the purposes of stakeholder engagement, including employee engagement.
By staying connected, we don’t just mean well-designed stakeholder engagement strategies but injecting a little bit of fun, especially now after a very challenging year and with the festive season fast approaching.
A few tips to help you get started on spreading the merriment and virtual celebration to employees working remotely.
5 virtual team celebration ideas
- Make a Team Timeline
As a team leader, you may be trying your best to engage your team but since now is the time to take employee engagement to another level, you should opt for methods like making a team timeline. Timelines offer a great way to celebrate milestones remotely. Using community engagement software, you can add achievements to timelines. If you wish to give access to employees they too can add any personal accomplishment, be it buying a house, adopting a pet, child’s achievement or something as silly as brewing a perfect cup of coffee.
- Host Friendly Competitions/Events Online
Community engagement software come with features that allow for hosting events. You can organize competitions where participants can upload pictures/videos of their creativity. One such idea is to let your employees compete for the best Christmas tree decoration. So, get everyone in the spirit and allow them to show their talents.
- Send Them Online Gifts or Rewards and Make Them Feel Ecstatic
If receiving a physical gift brought a smile on your employee’s face, receiving an online gift would do the same now, when working remotely. What are the gift options, you ask? Well, you can send them an electronic gift card, ticket to an online event or send them something like a house plant, fun stationary, snack subscription boxes, etc.
- Organize a Cocktail Shake Party
When it’s party time, there has to be champagne. Working remotely is no excuse to skip the fun. You and your team can celebrate together by sharing your respective versions of making a tasty drink. The team leader or the appointed guest can select the best recipe and share it across with all others who can then make it and share the photo or video of the drink. This virtual event is good for all occasions, be it birthday, promotion or project completion.
There is a range of great providers who can manage adding sparkle to these styles of online events on the east coast of Australia – contact us for their details.
- Give Them a Day Off and Let Them Have a Party of Their Own
Working remotely must have turned into something really monotonous. As a reward for a ‘job well done’, gift your remote team members a day off without deducting their annual leave credits and let them chill with their families.
So these were a few virtual team celebration ideas and tips on how you can have a party with your teams working from home. Many of these tips require you to have good employee engagement software, and Engagement Hub is one such digital toolbox. This is fully customizable to your corporate and project branding needs. It offers everything that you need for organizing a great virtual party. To know more about Engagement Hub, visit the website or book a no-obligation virtual demo.
