By Theyo Team
Corona has turned our world upside down in one fell swoop and changed it from one day to the next, that is beyond question. Many of these changes have remained, including the fact that many events - whether team events, company anniversaries or customer events - now take place online. Have you already taken part in virtual events, but organizing an event seems like a mammoth task? Digital meetings are nothing new for you, but now you should plan and hold an exciting and fun online event? Don't worry, planning an online event isn't rocket science! You can find out here what you should pay attention to to make your digital event a success.
First, you should use Doodle or other coordination tools to find a date that suits all participants. Should colleagues, customers or employees from different time zones be at the event? Then keep this in mind when making an appointment.
Depending on the activity you are planning, you should make sure that the times of day in the respective countries suit it. Are you planning a wine tasting? Then your event should ideally take place in the late afternoon or early evening for everyone. You want to do a Theyo chocolate tasting as a digital team event or event highlight ;-)? The advantage here is that chocolate is always suitable and at any time of the day and you are less restricted when planning a chocolate tasting.
Are you still not sure what type of event it should be? Then it's best to set a slightly longer appointment blocker for everyone. Everyone is happy when an appointment is shortened. On the other hand, it is usually (almost) impossible to subsequently extend appointments if the participants have already agreed to other meetings.
Especially if you send something to the participants, a breakdown can always lead to an emergency last-minute express delivery. We have now carried out over 200 virtual events and know from experience that even with perfectly planned events, something can always go wrong during shipping. If you have a buffer planned for such emergencies, a small delivery glitch won't derail you! And the participants won’t notice anything.
You can also look at the budget to see what (tax-free) options there are inside and outside the company. Depending on whether it is a team event, a project completion celebration or team building, different budgets can often be used.
As part of our virtual events, the focus so far has been on the following goals... Maybe these will be helpful to better define the goal of your own online event:
As with the preparation of “analog” events, digital events should also be planned with plenty of time buffer. We recommend starting to plan an online event at least 6 weeks earlier, but at the latest 3 weeks in advance.
This depends entirely on what activity you want to carry out at your online event. If you organize the whole thing yourself and don't book any external organizers, a digital team event can actually be quite affordable for you. If you decide to hire an external organizer, like us at Theyos, to hold achocolate tasting , the costs depend on various factors, such as the number of people and the specific package you choose. So create a cost estimate for the team event as soon as possible and ask external organizers if necessary so that you don't exceed your budget.
That depends entirely on which event you want to book. We generally recommend not booking via platforms, but rather contacting the organizers directly. The more direct the contact, the easier the communication and the less likely there will be misunderstandings when planning the online event. This also saves you costs that the middleman adds to the organization. This means you end up with more budget that can be used to plan your event :-)
#1 ⏰ Timing is everything: The right schedule for the online event
In general, of course, the more time you allow for an (online) event – its planning and implementation – the better. Above all, an interactive online event should not be too tight in its scheduling. This means that ideally you start planning 6 weeks in advance, but at least 3 weeks in advance.First, you should use Doodle or other coordination tools to find a date that suits all participants. Should colleagues, customers or employees from different time zones be at the event? Then keep this in mind when making an appointment.
Depending on the activity you are planning, you should make sure that the times of day in the respective countries suit it. Are you planning a wine tasting? Then your event should ideally take place in the late afternoon or early evening for everyone. You want to do a Theyo chocolate tasting as a digital team event or event highlight ;-)? The advantage here is that chocolate is always suitable and at any time of the day and you are less restricted when planning a chocolate tasting.
Are you still not sure what type of event it should be? Then it's best to set a slightly longer appointment blocker for everyone. Everyone is happy when an appointment is shortened. On the other hand, it is usually (almost) impossible to subsequently extend appointments if the participants have already agreed to other meetings.
#2 💰 Money, Money, Money: Check your budget for the online event
Even if a digital team event is of course significantly cheaper than an analogue one, you should still be clear about the available budget right from the start when planning. Because you also have many options virtually where a little budget can help you. Especially if you are planning a paid activity, make sure you still have some buffer budget.Especially if you send something to the participants, a breakdown can always lead to an emergency last-minute express delivery. We have now carried out over 200 virtual events and know from experience that even with perfectly planned events, something can always go wrong during shipping. If you have a buffer planned for such emergencies, a small delivery glitch won't derail you! And the participants won’t notice anything.
You can also look at the budget to see what (tax-free) options there are inside and outside the company. Depending on whether it is a team event, a project completion celebration or team building, different budgets can often be used.
#3 🎯 Objective: What is the goal of your online event?
Have you worked through #1 and #2, i.e. found a date and created a blocker, have the budget in mind and perhaps already have your first ideas for digital team events? Before you start planning, think again about why you are doing the event and what your goal is.As part of our virtual events, the focus so far has been on the following goals... Maybe these will be helpful to better define the goal of your own online event:
- Have fun & increase motivation: This means lightening the mood in the team or among employees, forgetting about the stress of working from home for a few hours or just having some (digital) fun together. Where there is no coffee or team lunch, a digital team event should definitely generate some online “quality time” every now and then.
- Strengthen communication: Do you have the feeling that a lot of communication between colleagues and teams is lost? A virtual activity can help strengthen communication between colleagues or with customers.
- Maintain relationships: Maintaining relationships can mean a lot of work, especially in larger organizations. A joint, positive online event can make a positive contribution to this.
- Celebrate the start or completion of a project: Whether internally or externally, whether with customers or colleagues, whether project kick-off or project completion... Even in the home office, celebrations have to be celebrated as they come ;-) A nice virtual one Event, can make that possible.
With a better understanding of the event goal, you will certainly find it easier to pre-select the activity. By the way, we have already prepared a few ideas for digital team events . Spoiler: Of course, chocolate is always possible :-) 
By setting goals, the team event will be a complete success
#4 🥇🥈🥉 And the winner is: Choose your top 3
Now that you have given so much thought, you can make a pre-selection - ideally top 3 - with a clear conscience. But maybe it should n't be another escape room game ;-) Follow the link and you will find a small, fine list. Do you value sustainability when planning your digital team event? Here you will find 3 team building ideas with a positive impact !#5 👍🏾 👎🏼 Top or flop: What do the others want?
Once you have made a preselection, you can use tools like SurveyMonkey to vote on which activity the team members or colleagues would like to do. The democratic vote gives everyone an equal say and, ideally, everyone is equally looking forward to the online event at the end!#6 💎 The finishing touches: The final steps to the online event
Even though virtual events involve significantly less organizational effort than “analog” events, there are still a few points to consider. The most important thing here is:- Choosing the right video conferencing tool : Most virtual team building activities take place on a video conferencing platform, such as: B. Zoom, Google Hangouts or Microsoft Teams. Ideally, you use a tool that everyone is already familiar with. This way you avoid stress and technical problems during the event.
- Check the hardware: Make sure that your teams, colleagues or employees have the right hardware. Even in home office times, there are still people who work on site and therefore do not have good WiFi or their own laptop. Additional data volume or a tablet/smartphone can help here.
- Pack all information into the blocked appointment : Make sure that all important information about the online event can be found in the blocked appointment on time, especially the link to the event. With some tools you should also make sure to be in the “virtual room” early so that you can let others in. This is particularly important when external people participate.
