We are officially in the last quarter of the year. This means that you and your team need to start planning for next year. It’s never too early to start planning, and the best way to have a meeting of the minds is by planning an annual meeting. More specifically, virtual planning sessions allow you and your team to take a break from the virtual silos, connect, and truly collaborate on the next year of business.
Check out my ten tips on producing an amazing virtual planning session:
Pick a good platform to host your virtual session. Platforms like OhYay help you to create one-of-a-kind virtual event experiences that are memorable and interactive for you and your team.
Start with an icebreaker activity. This gets the team out of the day-to-day work life and gets them ready for a great event. It also creates conversation and allows brainstorming to happen in a natural setting.
Collaborate with team members to co-host the event. For all of my CEOs out there, you don’t have to show face during the entire event. Allow your project manager, content specialist, or tech expert to host a session to rotate through teaching styles and cohost opportunities.
Create an agenda. Keeping your team members engaged throughout the session is important to the success of your event. So stick to an effective agenda that is time-sensitive and includes relevant topics for you and your business.
Take breaks. You don’t want to stare at the computer all day, so plan for breaks in between your sessions.
Add in a learning opportunity. Planning sessions are a great opportunity to learn something new while you have the entire team present. Take the time to bring in an area expert to give a masterclass, conduct a team-building activity, or train the team on a new thing that will be implemented in the coming year.
Plan team lunch. Use a service like Uber Eats or Grubhub to order lunch for your team members, and then take lunch to talk about anything other than work. You never know what foodies you have on your team with great suggestions.
Take notes. As fun as the virtual planning session is going to be, you want to capture goals and plans for the business. Make sure to designate one or two members to take notes during critical discussion times for future reference.
Leave the planning session with clear action items. After you have collaborated, communicated, and connected, it’s important to leave with a clear direction that the business is going in. Make sure that the appropriate team members have action items and due dates to ensure the next year in business flows after January 1.
Send out a follow-up feedback assessment. Getting feedback from your team is extremely important because people want to enjoy what they do and how they do it. Create a form that your team members can anonymously submit and keep in your archives so that you can improve on planning for years to come.