6 Corporate Virtual Event Ideas To Help Connect With Employees

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With the threats and risks of the pandemic brought about by the Coronivarus, most industries embraced the attractive offer of working from home. A lot of people forcibly turned to this kind of work setup the first time and, in fact, lauded it. With many appreciating and reaping its benefits, telecommuting has proved to be the potential future work setup. According to a study in Digital In The Round (2020), 76% of employees have actually assisted their job functions by the use of employee monitoring software and video conferencing apps to complement the gruel of day-to-day remote work. It also improved the productivity rate of employees by an impressive 50%. These, however, are not a surprise since the majority of the employees practice using video calls for meetings more than 50% ever since the pandemic began, Owl Labs (2020). Moreover, 70% of employees are working remotely and 92% expect future hybrid work with at least 3 days from home every week after the pandemic. A huge majority of 81% believe that their employers are going to push through and continue the implementation and practice of the virtual office setup even when the outbreak ceases.

It is quite a feast to the eyes seeing employees’ appreciation of the new trend in work setup quantifiably. A lot of surveys were done which were all positive results vouching for the fact that employees are productive despite being and functioning remotely. In all jobs, there will always be challenges that may go our way. The daily routine may sometimes be very taxing and monotonous and because of this, employee engagement can become a problem. Luckily, this list of corporate virtual event ideas are to the rescue so you can increase all your employees’ productivity, boost their motivation, renew their working spirit and energy and provide them a conducive and positive work environment:

1. Host events pandemic style.

Webinars and other events have accompanied the virtual office operations. As a remote employee, you may have already received an invitation to at least one of them. Teleconferencing applications like Google Meet, Zoom, and Skype provide a great platform where you can hold these events. Make a short and quick needs assessment on what your employees might currently be experiencing that has to be addressed or are interested in. For example, if your needs assessment revealed that employees in your company resort to different cases of stress-eating or stress-drinking, maybe a virtual workout or a tutorial on how to make healthy meals can persuade them to change their lifestyle. You can also consider doing a talk about better leave allowance management so that your employees can have an idea of how to plan and enjoy their vacation leaves. Do note that mental health and overall wellness should be an integral part of the entire program since the working situation right now is different and could be detrimental to their physical and emotional health.

2. Allot a room for check-ins.

Check-ins are a perfect way to practice and incorporate positive speech, empathy, and establish an open employee communication environment. In a nutshell, it is important to support your employees wellness, it is an open table discussion where your employees can simply share how and what they are feeling at the moment. Through check-ins, they can also talk of their recent realization, a funny story, technical know-how, innovative ways to do things, a new hobby or recipe they want to try, or a simple fun fact. The main objective of this activity is to create an open discourse where your employees can share and be heard. Through this, you will get a feel of how they might be facing or see a different side to their personalities. Check-ins can reduce feelings of loneliness, stress load, or cabin fever since knowing someone listens already feels like a warm hug.

3. Love online games.

There used to be a trend in the physical office where companies make an effort to put games like billiards, softball, or Playstation in pursuit to foster a friendly working space that provides a work-life balance. In the virtual office, however, you should too by providing your employees with a library of online games which can decrease their stress and break free from mental strain even for a while.

4. Have fun making your emoji.

In your daily job functions, you are probably exposed to various collaboration platforms that you use to communicate with your colleagues and in this digital age, emojis speak for you and your feelings when both your hands are occupied or just tired from round the clock keyboarding. Ask colleagues to make their own emojis using the Google Jamboard so that they can have a sense of identity, uniqueness and make them feel that you value them individually.

5. Award small wins for motivation.

In one Saturday, make a small recognition night where you can bestow awards, electronic badges, or certificates as a token of appreciation for everyone’s hard work, effort, and dedication. In these very challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, appreciation should be given in multiple generous amounts because we should know that everyone is trying their best. This event can motivate your employees and lift their working spirits. It can also be a way to encourage positive feedback in your organization. It might also help to make cute party favors that you can send them over days before the event. Ask them to open it on the night of the event. Party favor ideas can include a bottle of wine or an organization shirt, it is the thought that comes with these favors that is important anyway.

6. Build virtual hangout places.

Organize a Zoom coffee and tea party or a wine o’clock where employees can talk, gossip, or share experiences as they would in the office pantry of the physical office. This can imitate a real office workplace conversation which they pretty sure miss doing already.

These corporate virtual events, as you noticed, focused more on health and mental issues that most employees are usually confronted with. Remember that these virtual events may also take a portion of your employees’ time so ensure you plan ahead and make every minute engaging and productive. Whatever you decide on, just ensure that you can get everyone to participate so that more people in your virtual workspace can take advantage of any virtual event you come up with.