Allison Gillis, FHI’s Manager of Travel Incentives reflects on the work-from-home pivot and creative ways to stay connected as a team during COVID times
Can you believe it has been almost a full year since the Covid-19 virus completely transformed how and where we work day-to-day?
Working from home has been a real eye-opener for me- I love it! I was not sure that I would, but what I do miss is the “Teaming” event our office use to hold on Friday afternoons. It was a way to take a breath and enjoy each other’s company without distractions, which is not always easy to do when everyone is so busy and focused on their own roles in the operation.
Knowing we couldn’t be the only ones feeling this way, we decided to reach out to some of our own clients to see if they were also missing out on connecting with their teams. We offered to set up a turnkey Virtual Teaming Event – all they had to do was set the date!
Our most popular virtual event offerings included either a Wine and Cheese Event or a Mixology Event, complete with a basket of goodies, including enhancement options, sent in advance to their team:
Enhancement Options Included:
- gift cards to purchase wine, beer or alcohol
- snacky treats such as chocolate, salty snacks, crackers, cookies, red pepper jelly
- shelf stable cheese assortments (to ensure baskets could handle any shipping delay)
- mixology sets including shakers, muddlers, etc.
- customized branded cards included in each basket from the host
The other great enhancement that these teams loved was having the option to have a mixologist or sommelier join the call to either highlight the wines selected or walk them through a menu of pre-selected cocktails. By allowing the teams to choose a cocktail in advance, everyone could work with each other to customize the event to their unique tastes.
We have been able to source the containers, arrange packaging and shipping, purchase all the goodies, and hire the experts. In addition to this, we sent out creatively branded emails to the groups at intervals leading up the event to drum up excitement and keep everyone informed. Feedback has been fantastic so far. The events have provided an opportunity for teams to get together strictly for fun and engagement while everyone continues to work from home.
Looking to try a Virtual Teaming Session of your own? Reach out to us today to ask about arranging one for your own team!
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