What makes hybrid events hard? And are there ways to make hybrid events easier?
The pandemic is presently receding. But there is a new form of anxiety emerging.
“It’s our first in-person gathering in two years,” one manager told us. “And I’m so concerned we are going to get it totally wrong.”
As teams gather in person again, we’ve heard stories of ‘offsites-gone-wrong’. Some meeting formats and well-intentioned events miss the mark or accidentally leave people out.
For the past two years, teams worked within the leveled space of Zoom. While imperfect, virtual meetings made everyone more equal. New employees and tenured ones. Remote and in-office. It let the quietest voices be better heard. We became more aware of others.
And, as we make another transition, we are reluctant to give up what was just gained.
“What I struggle with,” one executive assistant told us, “Is how to retain that ‘equity’ as we move to hybrid work formats and events.”
Teamraderie, in collaboration with executive assistants and managers from the world’s most forward-thinking companies, summarized three (3) actions you can take to create equitable, inclusive, and ‘successful’ hybrid events.
1. Learn from SpaceX: Train Your Team on ‘Re-Entry’
A SpaceX rocket successfully transitions from ‘space’ to ‘earth’ because of thoughtful attention to re-entry. They know it’s ‘hard’ and prepare ahead of time. A team should do the same.
In-person interactions are a new muscle. It’s one we have not flexed in some time. Some of us are less comfortable talking in crowds, jumping into conversations.
Two Ideas to Help Your Team:
a. Provide Your Team a Toolset for Re-Entry
Some teams have traveled to be together but found the interaction less meaningful than anticipated. Try the Radical Candor Relationship-Building Experience. It’s a 55-minute session that delivers a toolset to help teams engage meaningfully and authentically when they meet.
b. Get Your Team More Comfortable with Each Other
Teams are often majority concentrated with ‘new’ employees hired since the pandemic. How to ensure they engage easily with each other when they meet? The Thriving Hybrid Teams Experience is a 45-minute session that gives your team practice engaging with each other.
2. Make Everyone Equal with a Physical Element All Can Share
Your in-person gathering may have several members who join remotely.How can you create a ‘shared’ activity amidst ‘hybrid’ meetings?
Sending the same physical kit to create a shared touchpoint. All members – no matter where they join from – receive the same thing. This helps remote attendees feel more included.
Two Ideas to Help Your Team:
a. A Shared ‘Tasting’ Experience
The Tartine Bakery French Press Coffee Experience is a 45-minute experience that teams love. Just bring ‘hot water’; the kit contains coffee or tea, a French press you’ll learn how to use, and is led by an expert barista that will get you started talking.
b. A Shared ‘Drinking’ Experience
While your hybrid meeting may not involve a trip to a bar, you’ll get far more interaction from the Five Flights of Wine Experience, a 45-minute happy hour that exposes your team to the same set of female- and diverse-founded wines
3. Add an Expert to Balance the Dynamic
In hybrid team meetings, ‘in-office’ attendees can dominate the conversation. Hybrid team meetings can inadvertently exclude those joining remotely.
To create a level field and re-establish the importance of listening to ideas from everywhere, invite a unique expert to join remotely. It is easy, affordable and gets a real boost for your team.
Two Ideas to Help Your Team:
a. Meet Nadia Comaneci and Discuss ‘Goals’
Legendary Olympian Nadia Comaneci joins live and your team has an interactive discussion about Rethinking Perfection. Office and remote attendees have equal access to expert perspective during this 45-minute experience.
b. Meet Summer Sanders and Discuss ‘Supporting Each Other’
What happens in the locker rooms of the winning athletic teams? NBA Analyst and Olympian Summer Sanders leads What If We Wore Speedos to Work, a 45-minute discussion about the norms of support and encouragement that characterize over-performing sports teams.
Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.