How to Plan Your Work’s Next “Evening In.”

Once upon a time, the thought of a work social event generally involved pub crawls, quizzes and other activities "on the town". Suffice to say, the last year has meant that the rules have been turned on their head.

Fortunately, work socials are definitely not over by a long-shot. Over Christmas, we saw how companies started to think outside the box and organize various online events to get everyone together. Ultimately, while the "work night out" is now being coined a "work night in", it can still be enjoyable. If you are responsible for planning your company's next in-home social, here are some tips to help you make it special.

Initial Uptake Can be Slow 

Let's be honest; the circumstance of working this last year means that people have been sat, staring at a computer screen for the entire day – with much of this being in front of Zoom meetings. As a result of this, when the idea of a work online get-together is mentioned, enthusiasm can be low.

This is understandable but manageable. A lot of companies appreciated this during the Christmas party season and opted to send their employees restaurant vouchers or food directly as a means of getting them involved.

While the above approach won't work for everyone, try and think outside the box on how you can get more people in attendance.

They Can Take Time to Get Going

Some employees are the life and soul of the party. For virtual events, such individuals need to be turned to. Like it or not, virtual events can take a bit of time to get going. They can feel awkward at first, and as such, you need one or two individuals to step up to the plate and get things going.

These "evenings in" do start slowly but trust us, once they get going, it will feel like you're all sat in a room together.

Remember Your Employees Have Families Too

Something that you might have to keep in mind as you put your plan together is timings. The chances are, this is being conducted in the presence of everyone's families. As such, for any employees with younger children, this will have to be accounted for. They're unlikely to be sat on a Zoom call and missing the daily bedtime story.

Just because this is being conducted virtually, don't automatically think that you can plan it as soon as work finishes.

You Can Still do the Traditional 'Going Out' Activities

One of the biggest misconceptions about current work social events is that you have to discard all of the classic outings that companies used to engage in.

For example, let's focus on cocktail making. This used to be a corporate classic; it was perfect for both your and old and even those employees who didn't drink could be catered for as well.

Well, it can still work like this. You can turn to online cocktail making classes or just look for recipes yourself. The same rules apply to umpteen other activities, with wine tasting being another common virtual event.

In other words, just because you're sat behind the screen, don't automatically think that the traditional ideas are no longer possible.