We’ve been facilitating out-of-the-box, interactive sales kickoffs for more than 20 years. Combining PowerPoints with the power of play, The Go Game (with the help of our virtual platform, Weve) makes in-person and virtual sales kickoffs immersive and fun experiences that increase engagement and retention. And while it’s important to get your sales team excited and ready for a big year, it’s also important to get your entire company involved and motivated.
This year, plan a company kickoff, not just a sales kickoff. Of course you can host an event just for sales, but it’s important to have something that everyone, no matter their department or title, is invited to join. Here’s why:
Make employee feel like they have a seat at the table
Get everyone involved in your company’s visions, challenges, and successes. If you are a part of a large company, or even a growing company that’s very busy, it’s probably rare that everyone gets to be in the same room. When you plan a company-wide kickoff, you're promoting inclusivity by making sure everyone is in the literal (or virtual) room together. It may be one of your few opportunities to get everyone on the same page and aligned on strategy and direction.
Increase transparency and trust
Opening up a kickoff to all employees shows transparency and trust for all team members as well. Nothing is shrouded in mystery and all team members can be trusted with important information about the company’s future. A team that’s aligned on your company’s focus is much more likely to succeed in the short and long terms. Shared experiences are an important part of the bonding experience as they increase acceptance, belonging, and camaraderie. (It’s just not us who believe that, that info is backed by studies from Harvard University.)
Improve culture and retention
The investment in time and resources for a company kick off is worth it. A company that plays together stays together. A company kickoff can help create or strengthen company culture to both keep current employees happy and attract new team members. And as we’ve seen with the great resignation, employee retention is key for growing companies. (In fact, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s report on retaining talent, the cost of replacing a salaried employee can be as high as 6 to 9 months of their salary.)
Have some fun together
The Go Game can help gamify your company kickoff to increase learning retention, drive participation, energize employees, build relationships, and encourage bonding, all while having fun. Gamification is using the experience of gameplay to make your experience more immersive and interactive. Incorporating play and competition will get your team more invested in your kickoff and differentiates it from other (less fun) meetings and experiences.
Energize everyone
Imagine after your company kickoff: HR is as fired up as your marketing team. Your office manager is on board and feeling excited about the next year’s goals. Your engineering team is invested in the company’s direction. Even your accounting department is clear about what’s to come in the next year and how they fit into the bigger picture. When everyone at the company feels like a stakeholder, everyone will feel ownership and accountability.
Connect teams from different departments to strengthen relationships
Have your CFO, lead engineer, and executive assistant ever been in a meeting together? Probably not. Use your company kickoff to connect teams from different departments, especially those who don’t usually work together. Mix it up for competitive games and breakout sessions so colleagues who focus on different projects can learn about each other both professionally and personally. They might not become best friends over one game of pictionary, but according to a 2021 Workplace Friendship & Happiness Survey, 22% of people feel more productive with friends, and 21% say friendship makes them more creative.
Let’s build a great company culture with a company kickoff. Here are some ways to make your company kickoff fun and engaging:
Gamify your kickoff. Incorporate competitive games into your kickoff in the spirit of fun, learning, and connection. We know play makes bonding better, and when you integrate games, your team will leave your kickoff stronger, more informed, and more engaged than ever.
- Include ways for attendees to earn points by answering event-specific trivia questions, participating in an in real life or virtual scavenger hunt, taking post-session surveys, and competing with other attendees throughout your event.
- Choose from more than 100 games in our virtual library with themes ranging from winter holidays to 80s throwback to ice breakers, or select from one of our tried and true in-person or hybrid experiences. Want something else? We can create something custom, too!
- Make it a multi-day event and add leaderboards to hype the competition by showing what department has the most points each day. Our tournament mode tracks competitors and winners in a bracket system over days or weeks.
- Host a creative video pitch competition and incorporate creative art projects to recap sessions.
- Include surprises like our raffle feature to give away company swag and prizes throughout the event.
- End on a high note (literally) with a lip sync competition to a song of your choice.
Make sessions more engaging for everyone. Replace boring meetings with energizing epic events.
- The Weve platform’s Watch Party feature ensures that live broadcasts stream at the same time to thousands of teammates so everyone is on the same page and can engage simultaneously.
- Integrate pre-recorded presentations that everyone can watch at the same time. While viewing, attendees can engage in a Lobby Chat with thousands of people, perfect for participating in Q&A sessions.
- Gather information from thousands of attendees at once through our interactive lobby polls that let you see real time results.
Keep your event on brand. Create a kickoff that looks and feels like your company with easy customization.
- Make your company’s personality shine by featuring your company logos and colors during your event.
- Incorporate trivia questions about this year’s goals to help bring your learning objectives to life.
- Stream greetings and get-hyped speeches from CEOS, animated corporate mascots, or anyone else in or outside of your company.
Let’s dream up something big to make your company kickoff the one employees are talking about (and the one that they’re jealous they missed). Ready to start planning? Get started and book a kickoff to engage your team, improve morale, and strengthen your company culture. Learn more about virtual team building activities at http://weve.co or book a demo now. Want to gather everyone in person? See our IRL options at https://www.thegogame.com