1. Brainstorm Your Own Ideas First
Before you come to your employees about the concept of a Worksgiving event, consider thinking of some Worksgiving ideas yourself first and foremost. Consider any other virtual events you’ve put on or been part of recently. Would you like to talk to your employees about things you’re thankful for? Are you interested in offering a small token of your appreciation? Consider these ideas early on in the process.
2. Gauge Employee Interest Early
You want to make sure that your employees really want to attend a Worksgiving event. Otherwise, you’ll just be wasting your time planning it. If you have regular conference calls to keep everyone updated on the current goings-on with the business, you might want to bring up the concept of a Worksgiving event, then see how people seem to feel about it.
3. Plan The Worksgiving Event Alongside Employees
You don’t want to be the only person planning the Worksgiving event, but you might want to consider planning it with employees. Talk to some of the most extroverted members of your team and ask them if they want to be in charge of planning the event. Remember that you’ll probably only need two or three people to plan it.
4. Hold The Event In The Days Before Thanksgiving
One thing you absolutely don’t want to do is have your Worksgiving event during the Thanksgiving weekend. No one is going to want to attend a work-related event during the Thanksgiving weekend. Instead, set your Worksgiving event to be earlier in the week; many business owners choose to have it on the Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday just before Thanksgiving.
5. Keep The Event Short And Sweet
Many people get tired of being on a conference call for a long period of time, especially if it’s a conference video call. A virtual Worksgiving event doesn’t need to be very long. You can probably cap the event at about an hour, and even just about half an hour can be enough to create an environment where people can socialize without getting tired.
6. Request Feedback After The Event
Make sure you ask people how they felt about the event after it’s done. If you want, you can set up an anonymous form where people can give you a bit of feedback. Just make sure the form is only a few questions long, or you’ll be less likely to get any sort of feedback. You can use this feedback to bolster future virtual events.
Worksgiving Conclusion
Even if you don’t have a very big budget or a lot of time on your hands, you can absolutely plan a great virtual Worksgiving event. In fact, a virtual event can be a great option for a startup because it doesn’t require a lot of time, energy, money, or space — all things that tend to be short in a startup. Additionally, it allows you to really connect with your employees, which is crucial for a startup’s culture.
