Corporate Events that Support your Culture

We’ve all read countless articles about how employees who transitioned to working from home during the pandemic want to continue working remotely, at least part of the time.

We’ve also heard a lot about “The Great Resignation” and how employees are leaving their jobs in droves. There’s surely not an employer in business today who isn’t fearful they could lose their most valuable employees. Having a strong workplace culture can become the guiding light that will get them through the difficult times.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a company’s culture is manifested in how its leaders behave, how the company treats its employees, and how it communicates, both internally and externally.

SHRM also reports, “The employee experience is becoming the new customers experience.” That means it’s more important than ever for companies to engage their employees and create opportunities for everyone to interact with each other in positive ways.

As experienced Corporate Meeting Planners, you’ve likely produced a number of corporate events over the years that were intended to…

• boost employee morale,
• increase employee loyalty,
• encourage employees to be more productive,
• strengthen employee collaboration, and
• help an employer’s culture thrive.

So … given the pandemic that continues to linger … how can you support a client’s goal to ensure their culture remains strong, while still dealing with a remote or hybrid employee base?

Create an engaging employee event.

Create an exciting corporate event focused on your employees is something you need to do NOW. Don’t wait for the pandemic to end. Make it a hybrid or even a completely remote event, if you must, before employees become even more isolated from their co-workers. Help them feel appreciated and provide the encouragement they need to continue being valued members of your team.

Here are a few suggestions to consider when hosting a remote or hybrid employee event:

• Develop a theme for the event that sets the stage for what the employees will experience.
• Get feedback from key team members prior to the event to ensure buy-in by those involved.
• Consider bringing in a respected speaker from your industry … someone who understands what your employees are involved in every day, and can “speak their language.”
• Appoint the right facilitator … ideally someone from your leadership team who knows your employees and is comfortable being the “virtual emcee.”
• Provide your employees with an outline for the day, so they can follow along.
• Consider sending a package in advance to the homes of employees who will attend remotely; include some components that can be accessed during the event, even if it’s simply a Snickers bar so everyone can enjoy a snack midway through the event.
• Make sure your technology is in place and working flawlessly:
  • Confirm internet connections are reliable;
  • Test your audio equipment to make sure it’s working appropriately;
  • Ensure your cameras are set correctly; and
  • Do a “dry run” to check everything in advance.

• Ask for feedback throughout the event, and publish questions as well as answers to polls.
• Stay on schedule … don’t let the event drag.
• End the event on a positive note:
  • In addition to components – like the Snickers bar – that are sent in advance to be opened midway through the event, consider also sending a memento they can open at the end, to keep as a reminder of their participation in a fun and productive employee event.

Follow these steps as you plan your remote or hybrid employee event and you will likely see a marked improvement in employee morale, productivity, loyalty and collaboration. All in all, you’ll be taking the right steps to support your employee culture.