Right now, 36% of U.S. employees are engaged in their work and workplace. This may sound low, but the figure is consistent with 2020 measurements. Many studies have linked lower employee engagement to a higher probability of quitting, and right now, amid the Great Resignation, employee experience matters more than ever.
One of the keys to improving employee engagement—especially if your quit rate is already climbing—is to host virtual events that inspire more engagement. We’re talking about virtual employee events that offer opportunities for personal and professional growth, community building, and information about resources to help employees be more successful and satisfied at work.
10+ Virtual Event Ideas for Your Employees
Onboarding Programs
Virtual onboarding sessions for new hires are essential for all employees, including seasonal team members. These events can be part ‘business’ (benefits, company policies, etc) and part culture (i.e. find ways to make it fun).
Peer Mentoring Events
Using a virtual event platform for peer mentoring is a convenient way to help new hires acclimate to organizational culture, ask questions, and feel supported as they learn about their new position and employer.
Expert Speakers & Industry Topic Sessions
Hosting speakers on topics that matter in your industry—such as business challenges, trends, and strategies—is an effective way to use a virtual event platform to educate your employees and help equip them to innovate in your field.
Informational Sessions
Think virtual lunch and learns, for your internal team. These can be organized around any topic that is essential to succeeding in your organization, or even just a topic of interest. Poll employees for ideas on topics to cover.
Skill-Building Events
Don’t overlook virtual events for training and development. From bias awareness training to developing hard or soft skills, virtual events can effectively deliver new information using multimedia strategies, and leverage group video features to facilitate Q&A sessions, role-playing exercises, or other discussions.
Benefits Fairs
From open enrollment to events that showcase benefits throughout the year, virtual benefits events help educate employees about available resources and give them opportunities to ask questions. For these, consider using Scheduled Chat to arrange one-on-one meetings between employees and a Benefits Specialist, so they can have confidential conversations about their unique situations, if needed.
Employee Resource Group (ERG) Meetings & Events
ERGs are relying on virtual events more and more these days, both as a way to control costs and boost engagement. Hosting regular ERG meetings on a virtual platform allows more people to attend, and virtual events are a great way for ERGs to engage with the broader employee population for learning opportunities, community events, and other forms of activism.
Interdepartmental Initiatives & Summits
Virtual events can also be fantastic collaboration tools for cross-department teams. Because we now have features like Group Video, virtual events support interactions between participants in more ways than ever. For instance, you can begin with a live video broadcast from the project leader(s) to outline the day’s objectives and then split up into teams to work on different parts of a project.
Networking Events
All kinds of networking events work well on virtual event platforms. Internal networking events can help employees forge social and professional connections within your organization, support internal mobility, and help people seek mentors. You can also host virtual networking events with other industry professionals outside your organization to foster community on a larger scale.
Internal Mobility Recruiting Events
During the pandemic, so many employers turned to virtual platforms for external career fairs, and virtual events work just as well for internal recruiting. This is especially key right now, as we see quit rates climbing month after month. Hosting internal career fairs help employees see—and access—career advancement opportunities that could inspire them to stay, rather than hoping to make gains with a new employer.
Of course, the only thing limiting the possibilities is your imagination. Virtual events can also be used to support employee wellness programs, cultural and educational events (e.g. Hispanic Heritage month, Black history month, etc), to host team or employee showcases where employees have booths highlighting their projects to share with people in other departments, and in many more ways.
Virtual Events Bring People Together
The most valuable aspect of virtual events is that they are, in every sense, the next best thing to being together in person. Whether your team is fully remote or a mix of remote and on-site employees, virtual events create easy and convenient opportunities for people to connect, learn, share ideas, and get to know one another.
Like this post? Try these!
- Hosting a Virtual Benefits Fair with Brazen
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