Throw a new kind of end-of-year office party during the pandemic

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Working from home comes with certain relational and motivational challenges, which is why managers and RH staff need to think outside the box to keep those team dynamics flowing. Office parties are usually a golden opportunity to strengthen the bond between colleagues and recognize everyone’s hard work.

Unfortunately, the current circumstances have thrown a wrench in the works. None of the usual Holiday celebrations will be quite the same this year, and office parties are no exception. Yet now more than ever, employees need to feel connected with their teams and appreciated for their efforts.

The question, then, is how to spread Holiday cheer among your employees and toast their contribution in these trying times? At Promutuel Insurance, we care about your success and the well-being of your employees, which is why we’ve come up with some ingenious ideas for celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with your colleagues while respecting the government’s health guidelines.

Office Party 2.0

With the current public health guidelines and the need for social distancing, typical of-fice parties are out of the question. But that doesn’t mean your company can’t find a creative way to get festive! Why not take videoconferencing to a whole new level with a 2.0 office party that puts a virtual spin on everything?

Here are some ideas for a virtual office party that’s sure to get your employees in the Holiday mood:

  • Treat everyone to dinner and drinks, a different way: Have a meal and drink delivered to each of your employees at home. It’s a thoughtful gesture with a feelgood factor that will last long after the meal is over.
  • Trivia quiz : Get the organizing committee to host a trivia quiz. Be sure to cover a wide range of topics and throw a few outlandish facts in the mix to keep everyone on their toes. Talk about a great way to build team spirit outside the office!
  • Awards ceremony : To keep your employees motivated and on board, recognition is crucial—especially with everyone working from home. So why not include a little awards ceremony in your office party? Just come up with a few serious professional and wacky not-so-professional categories, then ask your employees to nominate a colleague in each one ahead of time. It’s a fun way to recognize their hard work and remind them what a terrific team they’re on.
  • Virtual gift draw or gift exchange : Set up an online gift draw and hand out the gifts during the office party. There are tools like Pikkado that you can use to help you wrap your head around the logistics. Once the winners have been drawn, simply send them their gifts in the mail!
  • Virtual bingo : Up the fun factor for your employees with a few rounds of virtual bingo using an app like BingoMaker. Offer a big prize for the winner to whip up interest.
  • Pictionary : Gather your employees together for an online game of Pictionary using Skribbl. Divide people by department to help build team spirit and hand out prizes for the teams with the best drawing skills!
  • Ugly sweater contest : Now that everyone has a web cam, why not spice up your virtual party by asking everyone to don their ugliest Christmas sweater? Have everyone vote online and award a prize for the ugliest of ugly sweaters. Your employees will love it!
  • Department challenges : Get everyone involved by asking each department to organize a company-wide game for the party or by creating a contest with department teams. Not only will it bring them together, it will get them much more engaged in the party.

Small things that make a big difference

Although it’s necessary during a pandemic, social distancing puts a damper on celebra-tions, which can be hard on morale. That’s why small gestures are so important for ral-lying the troops this year. Here are a few things you can do to make the Holidays a little more magical for your employees:

  • Have little gift baskets delivered : Get your employees in the Holiday spirit by sending them a little gift basket in the mail. It’s a thoughtful gesture that’s always very much appreciated. A few companies out there, including Créapub Design, offer a selection of company gift baskets for every style and every budget.
  • Send a Holiday card : Don’t forget to send your employees your best wishes! These days, there are plenty of ways to do so creatively: an animated virtual card, a video, an Advent calendar, a gag card in the mail, and so on.
  • Support a cause : The Holidays are a time for giving! Donating a few dollars per person to a cause is a great way to inspire a sense of solidarity among your employees. Give them the choice of a few different causes and encourage them to match the donation.

At Promutuel Insurance, watching out for the well-being of our employees is a core val-ue. If you’d like to be part of a company that makes working from home fun and recog-nizes the contributions you make, head over to our Careers section and join the team!