3 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Employee Events
If you read about EventMobi’s Great Hall Ball holiday party last December, you would undoubtedly know and come to expect some pretty over-the-top and extravagant employee events from EventMobi. And this year’s CampMobi, an annual offsite employee appreciation event we’ve run since EventMobi’s inception, definitely lived up to the high expectations.
What is CampMobi?
Without giving you too much of a history lesson, in the early days, EventMobi started off as a small team of engineers who worked really hard day and night to build the first version of the event app technology to help make the lives of event planners (like yourself!) much easier.
They were working so much and dedicating so much time that they didn’t have time to take a vacation, which was a problem because the company culture is very much about balance. Thus, our annual employee event CampMobi was born!
The Employee Event Planning Experience
As EventMobi’s Event Marketing Specialist, I was one of the lead event planners in making CampMobi a reality this year. Just like any other event planner, there’s always a million things that need your attention and it’s easy to be pulled in all sorts of directions.
Initially, the planning phase was a whirlwind experience. As the event planning team started, we realized we might have been in way over our heads, but everything eventually fell into place and in the end, the overall employee feedback was that CampMobi was an incredible event they will always remember.
3 Tips for Planning Employee Events
Sharing is caring here at EventMobi so I’d like to share a few of our learnings in the hopes that they will be helpful to you in planning your next employee event.
I’m going to be highlighting what we did to create a fun and engaging event, and how we incorporated our own tech to help us accomplish this event goal.
Tip #1: Create a Fun Theme Around Your Event
The theme we ended up going with for this year’s CampMobi was Myths and Legends (I’m a bit of a nerd so this was an amazing way for me to finally put my Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology university knowledge to good use!).
When choosing a theme, it should embody the objectives of the event. Whether you’re striving to create a more serious or playful atmosphere at your event, the right theme choice has the power to set the tone and allow attendees to make all the right connections.
We used the CampMobi event app as an additional branded touchpoint to emphasize the theme and get everyone excited.
Tip #2: Communicate the Schedule to Employees Before the Event
Depending on where you hold your employee event, you run the risk of an unreliable internet connection. This was the case at CampMobi.
The event took place on campgrounds in the Algonquin area in northern Ontario, so there was no WiFi access. Knowing this beforehand, we placed a big phasis on promoting the event app to employees two weeks in advance of the event. The event took place over three days, so it was very important that everyone knew the schedule and meeting points.
The great thing about the EventMobi event app is that you don’t need WiFi to access it. All the content can be downloaded in the app before the event and accessed even if you no longer have an internet connection.
Tip #3: Use Event Gamification to Make it a Fun Experience
As you all know, a cool theme isn’t enough to get your employees excited. So, we had to devise a gamification plan that we could easily execute, not be intrusive to the overall event experience, and yield the highest impact. There were two approaches we took – a game to increase event app adoption and get people excited leading up to CampMobi, and a way to keep employees entertained and build enthusiasm during the car ride to the campgrounds.
Pre-Event Gamification to Get Employees Excited
We set up a trivia game called Myth Busters that ran over the two weeks leading up to the event. Each day, two myths- and legends-themed trivia questions were released through the event app. Mobiers were alerted directly on their phones via push notifications.
It was super simple and fun way to consistently remind employees of the upcoming event, familiarize them with the theme, and increase anticipation as we counted down the days.
We didn’t reveal what the prize was, so it kept employees curious and playing the game.
Onsite Gamification to Keep Employees Excited
Once CampMobi was finally upon us, we wanted to use the three-hour bus ride to the campgrounds wisely. A three-hour-long game may have been a bit much, so we decided to stick with the trivia theme.
Employees were divided into predetermined teams for the weekend and sat in their respective teams on the bus to complete the trivia questions.
We gave everyone two hours to complete EventMobi-themed trivia in the app, at their own leisure. This not only kept employees engaged with the game, but it also was a way of educating them about the company and technology!
In Conclusion
Using pre-event gamification can be a great way to create excitement and build anticipation in the weeks leading up to your employee event. Create a strong theme that resonates with employees and make sure to emphasize that theme everywhere that makes sense, like through a customized event app.
In the end, as long as your employees are connecting with one another, learning, and having fun, employee events are a fantastic way to build loyalty and a great company culture.
Want to learn more about gamification? Watch this webinar where I share creative ideas for achieving the five most common event goals.