Working remotely has become the norm for many companies and organizations in the past two years. The opportunity to take calls and complete work tasks from the comfort of their home are some of the main reasons why many workers don’t want to return to the office.
However, the problem with working remotely is the lack of social activity among coworkers. Before the pandemic, people couldn’t wait for those after-work cocktails and other gatherings to celebrate someone’s milestones or birthday. Now, it seems like that’s impossible since everyone is at home and social interactions have decreased.
Fortunately, there are ways you can reconnect with your workers and one is to organize virtual team celebrations to recognize and celebrate all personal and professional achievements that are happening in your team.
To help you with your planning, check out these recommendations for reasons to party and get closer with your remote coworkers again.
Holiday parties
Organizing holiday parties should be on top of your list for virtual team celebrations. They are a great way to get into party mode and have a great time with your coworkers. Each season is characterized by a different holiday, so all you have to do is choose one everyone likes the most and turn it into a ritual.
If you want to make it more fun, you should consider adding a theme. The team over at Hoppier provides excellent virtual holiday party ideas you can choose from, as well as what elements you should consider adding to make the celebration extra special.
Milestones and work anniversaries
Another virtual team celebration you can engage in with your remote crew is celebrating workers’ milestones. This gives you the perfect opportunity to recognize success and achievements in your coworkers which will definitely be a booster for their professional careers later on. Also, it will serve as motivation for the rest of the team to push harder and perform better at their jobs.
You can organize such an event once a month in the form of a casual social gathering. As the company’s manager, you can say a few words of encouragement to the man of the hour and maybe reward them with a bonus or a day off.
Coworkers’ birthdays
A great way to show your workers you care about them from far away is to celebrate their birthdays virtually. Unfortunately, such personal celebrations can easily slip under the radar when there isn’t breakroom banter or the promise of office cake. So, organizing a virtual birthday celebration can be another excuse to reconnect with your team members remotely.
For example, you can talk to the person’s at-work friends and come up with a gift idea to surprise the birthday worker. Some popular options you can choose from include gift boxes you can send to their home, gift cards, or spa vouchers.
Company achievements
If you are considering acknowledging your workers’ milestones, it seems only right that you celebrate your company’s achievements as well. This includes anything from celebrating your organization’s birthday to any breakthroughs that were made while you were working remotely.
For example, if you and your team were working hard on a particular project that brought a lot of benefits to your entire company, then that is the perfect excuse to engage in a virtual team celebration. With the help of a virtual event management platform, you can organize a virtual happy hour session where everyone can indulge in a glass of wine or a delicious cocktail.
Creative staff awards
If you are looking for a fun virtual team celebration, then you should consider organizing a staff awards event. This is similar to the yearbook superlatives from high school, but for this occasion, you can give it a work-related twist by sending out a questionnaire to your employees so they can vote to award serious and humorous awards.
You could include questions like best customer service, funniest employee, best dressed, finest haircut, proud pet parent, most talkative, and so on. Save this event for the end of the year and ask everyone to dress formally so it will be more interesting.
Final thoughts
Even if your team works remotely, there are still ways to create camaraderie among your employees. One of the most effective ones is to organize a virtual team celebration that will increase the bond among workers while maintaining morale and boosting workplace engagement and productivity.
From hosting a themed virtual holiday party to celebrating a coworker’s birthday, there are many events you can plan to increase social activity among remote teams.
If you need help along the way, be sure to borrow some of the ideas mentioned here and reconnect with your employees while working remotely.
