Context

In the space of less than a year, we changed from full-time in the office, to completely remote, and then hybrid. After a year of remote work, job insecurity and burnout, a high-functioning team sought a unifying experience that brought them back to their shared raison d’être. This resulted in a one-day team ‘play day’, with participants joining online and in-person.

As a Senior Advisor to the team, I put my hand up to design an engagement and communication tool that would:

• bring together the experiences of online and in-person participants, and

• be a two-way communication tool that collected sentiment, input and distributed information.

Challenges

We held Play Day as Sydney was emerging from restrictions. Given the health situation, some staff preferred an online experience. As such, the sessions needed to accomodate staff who were joining in-person and online. It was important to me that everyone had a meaningful experience and connection.

Before this project, I had designed in-person experiences, or online experiences. But Play Day required a hybrid model, where people online and in-person would attend and interact.

Sessions included talks, individual reflection, small group work and large group discussions. These had different needs in terms of information, visual stimuli and participant interaction.

Given the whole world was experiencing the same challenges, there was a lot of new technology. However, at the time nothing in the market was quite right for my needs.

Approach

Sessions were designed and planned around the ability for each staff member to get an equally meaningful experience from the day. I focused my attention on:

• Technology, and how it would facilitate communication and sessions

• Groupings, ensuring a mix of online and in-person

• Pre- and post-communication, that helped build excitement and extend the good vibes after the day

Tools and methods

Bespoke Instagram page

Using my knowledge of the attendees, I tested the idea of using Instagram. Everyone had an account, and importantly, was familiar with the interface. This was important to avoid any teething issues due to using the technology and enabled higher engagement with the platform.

I set up a bespoke private Instagram page that everyone followed ahead of the day. 

This page acted as a:

• slide deck that gave instructions about the sessions (before and on the day)

• interactive tool that people could like and comment on

• polling device to assess sentiment and gather opinions

• place to replay insights and capture key moments

• portal of memories from the day

• internal communication tool after the day

The benefits to this were extensive:

• The experience was equal regardless of location

• the two-screen approach meant our computers showed faces, not words, and

• all data collected was in the same place.

Pre-event communication

To build anticipation I created a communication plan that hinted at what to expect. The excitement and anticipation would nurture more willing participants.

Post-event communication

The last session to wrap up the day was a gratitude session called ‘Send love’ via the Instagram page. Each attendee has their own instagram story titled ‘The world’s a better place with you in it. Here’s why…’.

After the event, all attendees received a wrap up of anonymous gratitudes from their colleagues, keeping the vibes going.

The Instagram page remained live and used for other team-building memories and interactions.

Content plan

Every agenda item had a planned content piece associated with it:

• At the coffee break, I posted a meme.

• If someone gave a talk, we summarised it on the grid.

• All sessions had the instructions in an Instagram post.

I used the full range of Instagram features:

• The Zoom link for the day was saved in the bio.

• I checked in with people throughout the day via our Instagram stories. That helped them self-reflect, but also see how others at the session were feeling via polls.

• If staff added their own Instagram stories, I reposted and saved to our highlights as ‘mems’.

Hybrid spaces

Alongside the Instagram page, another well-known tool in the form of Zoom was used to bring together online and in-person attendees. Group work was designed to enable interaction across the Zoom barrier, and we actively encouraged innovation around how we might better do so. 

To set up these interactions for success, physical spaces were reserved for smaller group work and large gatherings made use of the Zoom chat, conferencing tools and moveable screens so that all the faces could be seen.

Outcome

We had 100 per cent uptake on the Instagram page, with every attendee interacting on most, if not all, content. 

Participants could refer to the page for inspiration or reminders of their ideas, or discussions we had.