Virtual team building is the new normal - here’s how upslide does it
Any startup knows that while you’re growing, one of the most valuable assets you have is your culture. Not only does an incredible company culture motivate employees and help align your vision, but it bleeds into your interaction with customers. It’s visible to every stakeholder your company interacts with—and a bad culture can poison a startup that’s healthy on all other dimensions.
In 2020, we were all forced to learn how to work remotely. For startups, this presented new opportunities and a newfound flexibility in how we work, but it also presented new challenges. How could you keep your team aligned on the same vision when you only meet via Zoom? What could replace your ping pong table or napping pod in the office? How could you still have fun while at work?
The answer was to double-down on culture.
Companies created coffee clubs to facilitate casual conversations among colleagues. Some provided free yoga classes to their teams. Some sent care packages.
Others organised full-day events to do quizzes, play games, and take some time to unwind after the challenging year.
What did all of them have in common? They showed their employees that they are actively focussing on fostering their culture. They invested in the well-being of their employees.
UpSlide was one of the startups that approached us to help organise their virtual holiday party. The startup, which provides a branding and productivity solution, had a mixed team of 18 people that they wanted to bring together and create a memorable experience for.
Why did UpSlide want to organise a virtual cocktail class?
The transition to remote work has been new for all of us, impacting morale and team cohesion. With the end of the year approaching, UpSlide wanted to set some time aside to decompress and wrap-up the year in an exciting way, get the whole team together to create shared memories, and simply to have some fun.
“We wanted to organise a virtual holiday team-building to improve team morale and to unwind together after a challenging year.”
How did UpSlide work with Jurnee?
UpSlide got in contact with us via email with their preferred date for their activity, team size, as well as their initial thoughts on what activity they may prefer. Jurnee then provided UpSlide with a catalogue of activities, from which they selected a mixology class led by a bartender, with kits delivered to each participant’s home. UpSlide gave us a list of the participants’ emails and addresses, and then they got to sit back, relax, and wait for their activity to take place.
Behind the scenes, Jurnee handled the logistics — sending the mixology kits to each participant in the mail, setting up the Zoom call, and sending out reminder emails to participants prior to the event.
How did the event run?
On the day of the event, the whole team joined the Zoom class, ready with their mixology kits that had been delivered to their homes prior to the event. They were then guided through a mixology masterclass by an experienced bartender, learning the history and techniques behind famous cocktails, and of course tasting the results of their work 🍸
During the class, the team was able to learn a new skill together, spend time together in a casual and fun environment, and create shared memories together. Once the class was over, the Jurnee team and the bartender left the call, leaving the UpSlide team on the Zoom to catch up over a drink.
Outcomes
After the event, UpSlide provided super positive feedback, with 94% of the team rating the experience as 9/10 or above, and 100% of the team rating the delivery of the kit and the bartender as 4/4. The event successfully created a feeling of connection between the team, and provided a superb standard of quality.
“The event was great, thanks so much!”
— Rob Jones from Upslide
We hope you enjoyed reading about UpSlide’s experience using Jurnee. Are you up next? 😉