Have you been re-watching The Office for the tenth time just to reminisce about the days of in-person office events, a la Party Planning Committee specials? Or is that just me?
It’s hard to express how much I miss interacting with my co-workers every day in an office and how different it is to get to know them in today’s virtual world.
And while we might not be looking to plan a Goodbye Toby Carnival or in-person business ethics seminar anytime soon, there are ways to create engaging and interactive internal events through a screen.
Here are three easy things you can do today to transform your internal events to pack just as much of a punch virtually as they would in the conference room.
The days you spent hours searching for a caterer, picking out swag, and testing (and re-testing) audio/visual equipment are gone (at least for now). And with all that extra time and money on your hands, you have the opportunity to invest your energy into creating an unforgettable virtual venue.
What is a virtual venue exactly?
We’re glad you asked. A virtual venue is a branded and gated website for your virtual events, and trust us when we say, creating a virtual venue is nothing short of boring.
Remember when you spent months planning your annual sales kickoff events? You booked a space at a beautiful new hotel, secured a well-known keynote speaker, and planned creative after-hours activities … only to have it all come to a screeching halt when the pandemic hit.
You thought to yourself: How can I recreate that venue in a virtual environment?
It was a task that seemed impossible. But we learned it’s not.
Here’s how we did it at Splash for our Revenue Kickoff this year. We built a branded virtual venue through our own platform. It captured our company’s culture and our values, most notably “Find the Fun.” Our virtual venue housed information ranging from the agenda to registration to our after-hours activity. The bright colors, simple design, and easy-to-follow agenda got our team excited about the event and ultimately the year ahead.
Creating a virtual venue allows your employees to get fired up about your internal events and gives them something to look forward to. Take a peek at our virtual venue for Splash’s Revenue Kickoff and how we transformed the internal event experience.
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Digital doesn’t have to mean touchless. After all, who doesn’t love free swag? Whether it’s a coffee mug or a gel-tip pen (my personal favorites), having something I can physically hold automatically makes any experience better.
There are two types of enhancements I like to recommend for internal events:
Sending your employees something branded is a great way to connect and show appreciation, especially with people working remotely. (Aside from my personal favorites named above, other ideas include insulated water bottles, branded blankets, portable blenders, zip-up jackets, or blue light glasses.)
If your budget is limited, no sweat. An easy, low-cost branded option is a virtual background employees can use during your internal event. When you give everyone a common background to upload to their Zoom, it encourages camaraderie and co-creation with teammates remotely.
If branded swag isn’t your company’s thing (no judgment here), another option is sending your employees an experience — something for you all to do together.
For example, let’s say you want to host a mixology class for your employees as a post-event activity. A couple days before the event, send a gift box to them filled with a shaker, margarita mix (or another drink of choice), and salt. It'll instantly give your employees something to look forward to.
It’s so important now to be considerate of timing at your internal events. In a survey we conducted last year, event professionals and attendees said the sweet spot for virtual events is 30 – 45 minutes. And you’ve got to make the most of that time.
To do so, treat your internal events like any other virtual event you’d host. Keep it moving with lots of opportunities for interaction, like embedded polls, trivia games, ice-breakers, or breakout sessions.
If you’re in the mood to get really creative, you can take a page from Splash’s internal events playbook. During our Revenue Kickoff at the beginning of this year, we had an after-hours virtual Escape the Breakout Room event.
Splash employees began in a main Zoom room, and then were separated into their respective groups via breakout rooms. Once there, each team had to solve six different access codes within the designated time frame. When they solved each of the six access codes, they could escape the breakout room.
Creating engaging content during your internal events keeps the event fresh and interesting. And it’ll transform your internal event from just another happy hour or training on Zoom to an unforgettable experience.
