How the coronavirus pandemic will impact the future of work - CNBC Thus, make it easier for team members to congratulate each other on a job well done. These activities broaden employees global and cultural horizons while also delighting the teams travel lovers. First, give teammates a few options for online courses and ask them to vote for their favorite. Here come's the most impactful one in our list of employee appreciation ideas. We've had a few teams compete in virtual relays, races, or step challenges using free apps to log steps, distance ran/cycled, etc. Virtual spirit weeks bolster team resolve and brightens telecommuters moods. Most employees love to learn, and taking a virtual class together is a terrific spirit week idea. Whats the Word on The Street? Usually at this time of year, my inbox fills up with questions about company holiday parties: How many drinks are OK to have there? About how his/her contributions have aided to a projects successful completion. First, choose a date and send a video meeting link to your colleagues. Should I bring a date? 33 Safe Vacations During CoronavirusTypes of Vacations and Places that To host an online award show, first create award categories. If you see someone going above and beyond and who commutes through their own vehicles, this will prove to be a wonderful opportunity to make their lives a little bit easier. These events help boost company pride. Are they excited to be working for you? The Ultimate Guide to Employee Rewards and Recognition. For example, new employees should receive a buddy to learn the ropes. It's marketed as "COVID-19 style" since all schools across the state are currently shut down. Without a doubt, getting a specially curated box of snacks will make employees feel happy and contented. A dynamic host facilitates this 90 minute virtual team building event with a trusty virtual sidekick. Aside from regular appreciation, you can ensure that your employees feel valued on important occasions, such as by sending Thanksgiving messages to employees. Between the confetti, balloons, and cake, office birthday parties are always fun to organize. An escape room Escape room activities are available virtually and in person. Encourage team members to do the same. Chances are, your company has one too. Help make kindness the norm at school, home and work by using the links below! Talking about making employees feel valued, a great way to do so is by involving them in the decision-making process, wherever possible. Commemorating a work anniversary is a robust employee engagement, development, and retention tool and a way to recognize and show your appreciation to a valued employee. Ensure that everyone gets that attention. Trivia can be a good way to help teams relax, inspire conversation and build relationships. Social Media is the biggest influencer of our generation. This year, the questions are quite different, and nearly all are some variation of What do we even do for the holidays in a pandemic? Many employers are simply canceling holiday celebrations, since theres no way to safely gather. I write about how to improve team and leadership performance. Remote teammates work together to crack clues and conquer brain teasers before time runs out. Harvard Business Review reports that "the most impactful driver of employee engagement is recognition.". The employee experience is better, and the company's outcome stronger. Names were swapped, wish lists were made, and gifts from small businesses were delivered to friends and families! Check out our list of the best online murder mysteries. Here is an example of a graphic you could use for your games. The best online holiday parties encourage interaction. Employee appreciation is the cornerstone of developing a robust and meaningful workplace culture. Adults need 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking for health benefits. The knowledge that there is a whole day dedicated to employee appreciation should let you know its significance. Decatur, IL (62521) Today. Being a boss, every positive word from you will act as a huge morale booster for your employees. The cups were all the same so no one could tell what you were drinking unless you commented on it. Are your employee motivated to come to work every single day? For the main event, meet up on a video call to sip tea, chat, and play games. During the call, participants can chat and play fun games, or co-work while enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. Every company has got one of these employees. How to Volunteer Remotely During the COVID-19 Crisis - AFAR School encouraging spirit week during COVID-19 | Videos | wandtv.com In stock now. To begin with, publicly recognizing great employees reflects well on your company for customers, investors, and your team. Theyve asked us what charities wed recommend. Take a bubble bath (bonus: Add a glass of. Teams complete comic-book-themed riddles and puzzles and virtual minute-to-win-it challenges to climb the leaderboard and save the world. It definitely is the easiest and quickest Zoom icebreaker out there. Many a time, showing some employee appreciation may seem hard. Learn how to set new boundaries, ask for support, and re-strategize with your partner about what you need. Guests can dress up too. Moreover, you can drop an appreciation mail to the employees so that it stays with them forever. Snacks are a fantastic food item that doesn't require you to get out of your desk when you want to eat something light. Learn more: 25 Employee Recognition Statistics You Shouldn't Ignore. Company retreats are great for celebrating employees after successful project completion or after an outstanding financial year. In turn, healthier employees produce better results for their companies. This is a stressful time to say the least. 18 Parent-Teacher Association Fundraising Ideas For During (And After Maintain a positive work/life balance and encourage your team to do the same It's easy to work longer hours and take fewer breaks when working from home. It was a lot of fun! - Stephen J. Kontos, Founder & CEO at PatentXP PLLC, We keep employee morale high by sending out thank you notes to our employees currently working from home. Just be sure to offer nonalcoholic options too: We had a celebration that even I (a person averse to holiday parties and Zoom calls) liked. Here are list of themes to use for online spirit weeks. I didnt even stay until the end and used half the amount of tequila in my margarita because Im not used to drinking, but it was a lot of fun, we all learned something and had a good laugh. Many of us now look forward to Mondays because of these hilarious crosswords! Toilet paper and Netflix memes are very popular right now. Your objectives for the meeting will be to: Note: This is not a meeting to be rushed. Then, after that, we had the opportunity to go into breakout roomslast year, one room did Schitts Creek trivia (it was a favorite among many staffers), another did Pictionary using the annotate functions of Zoom. Check out BoostEducatorsChallenge.com for details. Wed all ooooh and ahhh, and laugh. Also, remember to turn your phone off. Jamaica Spirit weeks often involve games. Clear your schedule for at least an hour. A client of mine, whose team of 15 people are now all working from home, established daily 30-minute morning team check-ins to stay connected and on top of the priorities of the team, which have shifted given COVID-19. 7. The essence of spirit week is enthusiasm, not physical proximity. List of virtual spirit week ideas. PDF Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19 - World Health Organization Invite team members to share any perspectives they have about other teams and stakeholders and their needs, concerns issues that the team should be aware of. Even after COVID-19, hand sanitizers are a welcomed gift, no matter your customer base or your business. "Everyone meet promptly at 5:30 p.m., and line up your cars by the parking lot next to my house," instructed the texts sent out by Amanda Perez, staff member and University of Miami School of Communication graduate student, and her mother, Wendy Perez. Streaming service subscriptions. A team lunch is a great way through which everyone can bond with each other and with you. Not to mention that birthday parties are an opportunity to appreciate peers. Let the kids pick out a book and read it to them while . To establish team norms, ask: What behaviors and practices are most important right now to our teams effectiveness?. 20 Fun Virtual Spirit Week Ideas, Games & Activities for Work Yet now is a time when communication actually needs to be ramped up. Coronavirus - how to cope with going into work - Mind Teammates can vote using the poll feature in your video meeting platform, and you can send the winner a prize. After the bartender presentation (which was short) everybody got to chat and enjoy their drinks for some time before saying goodbye. Sometimes, the utmost appreciation that an employee seeks is a promotion in his job role. Also, they give continuous optimal performance. To set the mood, encourage participants to put up virtual backgrounds of Victorian parlors or lush gardens. Things to consider when you and your employees travel 4. Get Competitive. Have office happy hours and hire a bartender to mix them a drink or two. December is the most obvious time to throw a virtual holiday party. Or it just might be a beautiful day to sleep in. This peer-to-peer employee recognition idea is about encouraging everyone from the organization to recognize good work. As anyone whos tried to organize any office activity knows, its hard, if not impossible, to find something that everyone will like, so some offices are offering a whole buffet of choices to pick from: My company couldnt find an online activity that worked for 40 people, so theyre offering a few different options. Engage in active family play time. It is a good idea to vary the class types and levels so that more team members can participate. If done in person, they provide a safer pandemic option because you share the room only with the people in your party. For example, Marvel versus DC Comics, the '60s versus the '70s, or Batman and the Joker. Elaine is a true partner in every sense of the word and would be a huge asset to any company. Hosting online costume contests is one of the best spirit week dress up ideas for work. The Kaiser Family Foundation found . The key is making exercise a daily priority, and the holidays are no different. Just beware of overdosing on sugar. Everything you need to build a better workplace. Pike13 Spirit Week highlights: At checkout the price was zero and you couldnt even enter a tip. The box also had a few ingredients, fresh produce, and a list of recipes you could make with everything. If you developed team norms to stay on top of (as above), then ensure you check-in on them. Get advice from seasoned professionals about all your compliance questions and concerns. Although workplace benefits help keep employees happy, they rarely tend to spark inspiration. Some "lush" couches. Some ideas for your 30-minute morning check-ins include: One-Word Check-ins. It could be a magazine subscription (on a topic they would be interested in), treats for pets, snack samples, or anything they would enjoy. How to advocate for yourself at work during COVID-19. Our division is doing a holiday drive-in movie and renting out a drive-in theater for the evening. Be sure to grab plenty of screen shots throughout the afternoon or evening. Now more than ever, we need to lean on each other for support. 2. Illustration by Supriya Kalidas. Theres nothing quite like desserts and ice cream to alleviate stress. There are many fun online activities that suit an international or travel-themed spirit week or spirit day. Coming together this way will help bring your employees closer to you and boost the employee-employer relationship. The chocolate tasting person is mailing out the tasting kits to all of us and will lead us through the tasting via Zoom. This helps us all get out of our heads to have a little fun during the workday. - Sam Williamson, co-owner of CBDiablo, Were encouraging employees to stay active by challenging their coworkers. 4 Ways A Single Word Has The Power To Positively Change Your Perspective, 8 Ways To Create Certainty Amid Current Workplace Uncertainty, Why Accountability Is At The Core Of Stewardship Delegation, 5 Ways To Grow Your Personal Brand As A Content Creator, Why We Need To Make Every Day Employee Appreciation Day, In A Competitive Job Market, Heres How To Win The Interview, 5 Tips To Recession-Proof Your Career And Bullet-Proof Your Security. With higher motivation comes better engagement, happiness, and ultimately retention. Then, encourage teammates to square off. You could even give teammates a prompt per day, like show us your fridge, or share your favorite spot in the house. This activity helps remote teammates learn more about each other, and may reveal shared interests and common ground. 12 Effective Team Building Activities To Try During COVID-19 Plus, we decided there will be a prize for the tallest sunflower, so it's turning into quite the competition. - Rose Jinks, Digital PR Specialist at Online Mortgage Advisor, As a way to boost morale and encourage teamwork while were apart, my company has been hosting virtual trivia nights every week. As much as we'd like for things to be "business as usual" this holiday, planning for Christmas 2021 requires a little more work to keep guests happy and healthy. Gain practical tools and strategies to lead your remote team to high performance with mycomplimentary webinar and check out my new e-course: Lead High Performing Remote Teams That Thrive Through COVID and Beyond. You can celebrate the spirit of a challenge in your Spirit Week by hosting a Versus Day. 4. Plus, the posts are a great way to advertise your companys culture to a wider audience. Here are answers to some of the most common questions about virtual spirit weeks. Content Expert at teambuilding.com. Real world elements make virtual exercises more engaging and interactive. Outdoor days are one of the best summer spirit week ideas for work. Tips for supporting yourself and your team - Mind Simmonds was blown away by . Daily Dose of Kindness (sent daily) Weekly Kindness Idea (sent weekly) General Newsletter (for everyone) General Newsletter (for educators) The team that plays together bonds better. For three hours per week, staff can sign off anytime during the workday for rest and wellbeing, no questions asked. More than a manager, an employee's peers are more likely to know about their good qualities. Hence, "Employee of the month" programs are a great way to show your best employees that you see their hard work and appreciate the efforts they are putting in. According to Harvard Business Review writer Anthony K. TJan: Company leadership should embrace, promote and value mentoring programs to realize a return on investment. Give your entire team a chance to express their creativity with baby pumpkins, acrylic paints, and free pumpkin stencils. Perhaps to no ones surprise, drinking seems to be quite popular this year, and some companies have figured out how to incorporate it into remote events. 1. COVID-19 is expected to last for many months, with a potential resurgence in the fall. Part of the fun of spirit week is pretending, and murder mysteries cast participants in the roles of cunning detectives. How to Boost Employee Morale During COVID-19 - Namely