Hosting your own online recognition event is a great way to continue sharing gratitude with your employees. Taking this plan from idea to execution can be a challenge. Today we wanted to break down this journey into easy-to-follow steps. Here’s how to host your own recognition event online.
1. Pick A Time And Place
Before you can begin planning your event, you’ll want to spend some time considering the event’s time and place. You’ll likely be holding your event via Zoom (or some other meeting app.) Get clear on this, especially if your team uses a wide array of video conferencing tools.
Keep Time Zones In Mind
If you want to create a stellar recognition event online, you’ll need to keep time zones in mind. As your team expands to different parts of the country/world, you want to ensure that your event works for the most people. There is usually a bit of overlap in time zones. You can use tools like this meeting planner to find the best times to meet across time zones.
2. Get Awards Squared Away
Now that you know when you want the event, the first thing you’ll want to do is get your awards squared away. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself:
1. What awards do you want to hand out?
2. Who will receive awards?
3. Are you giving out paper awards or trophies/plaques?
4. How much time do you need to create and ship these awards to the winners?
At Levy Recognition, we are passionate about helping you bring your award dreams to life. Check out our custom awards page for a look at how we deliver excellent awards to our customers.
3. Don’t Forget The Catering
You can still cater great food when your employees are remote. Give everyone a budget or reimburse them for their food during your online recognition event. Encourage everyone to support local restaurants while they get food to celebrate their fantastic colleagues.
4. Pick Some Family-Friendly Activities
Online recognition events are similar to in-person events. There will probably be family members lurking in the background wanting to say hello to your team. Why not offer a few activities that they can participate in. Here are a few examples to get you started.
● Use Zoom rooms throughout the event to simulate small group and one-on-one conversations. Give everyone a fun icebreaker to lighten the mood.
● Invite professional musicians, magicians, comedians, or someone interesting to entertain at the party.
● Send some small gifts or entertainment for kids to play with while their parents enjoy the recognition event (think coloring books, toys, board books, etc.)
5. Make Your Event A Branded Experience
If you have an event in-person, you can create fun photo booths and experiences for your employees. You can do the same thing at home. Here’s how:
● Create an event hashtag.
● Create some fun Zoom backgrounds for the occasion.
● Send decor kits to your employees.
● Send out some beautiful virtual invitations.
6. Test Your Technology
There are a lot of moving parts to online recognition events. Make sure you take a bit of time to test your technology, make sure you know how to spotlight certain people, and put people in Zoom rooms.
7. Have Fun!
Last but not least, have fun! Your team members are outstanding, and they deserve a night of fun (even if it’s virtual.) Enjoy the fruits of your labor by celebrating your employees and all the hard work they’ve done.