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Global Private Equity Firm — Designing Online Experiences to Connect Employees and Energize Company Culture

Header image showing someone seated at a desktop computer. On the screen is a MURAL board featuring an icebreaker activity

Client:

Global Private Equity Firm

Impact:

The virtual workshop boosted employee engagement and re-energized company culture during the difficult period of COVID quarantine

Designing Online Experiences to Connect Employees and Energize Company Culture

Client's Challenge

When a global private equity firm decided to host its first-ever virtual offsite, they turned to XPLANE to design an engaging event for 150+ participants.

 

Anticipating the accelerating demand for dynamic remote meetings, the client approached the planning process with clear goals, leadership support, and a creative frame of mind.

 

Working with XPLANE, the client sought to meaningfully connect employees, authentically energize company culture, and workshop organizational challenges during the two-day event.

XPLANE's Approach

Screenshot of a MURAL home screen. Some things on the board include illustrations of several locations, and a Jeopardy board.
Screenshot of a MURAL board. At the center is a colourful honey comb structure holding activities to be completed. The left sidebar shows an illustration of a desert, above six card of roles to be played by members of the team completing activities.

Taking what was known about the event, XPLANE built out a highly customized workshop agenda and activities in collaboration with the client.

 

In just four weeks—a process that generally takes one week to one month, depending on the scope—the workshop was fully designed and tested, substantially reducing stress on the client to create a fun, sophisticated experience that would achieve their objectives. 

 

Leveraging digital workspace platform MURAL, XPLANE designed a highly engaging visual “play space” peppered with fun team-building activities to create an exciting vibe among the workshop’s 15 teams. 

 

Building off a “dream vacation” theme, meeting participants engaged in a lo-fi icebreaker, responding individually to prompts about their vacation experiences, drawing connections between people with similar experiences. A 15-minute obstacle race helped familiarize participants with MURAL functions and tools. 

 

Business presentations and breakout discussions were punctuated by additional team activities, such as Jeopardy—again, on a “dream vacation” theme with categories such as Crazy COVID Travel Stories. Teams accumulated points for an awards ceremony at the end of the workshop.  

 

In “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” teams raced against the clock to collect points by cooperatively strategizing and completing several interactive challenges. 

 

Throughout the workshop, XPLANE “emceed” the entire event, kept teams on task and on time, and ensured a smooth technical experience.

"The team building was so fun and everything transitioned flawlessly!"

—Human Resources Assistant

The Results

XPLANE earned high marks from both company leaders and team participants for creating an energizing, engaging, and fun workshop experience. The event broke through the monotony of Zoom meetings, nurturing connections between team members. 

 

In the process, the company saved thousands on travel, lodging, and food expenses that would have been incurred with an in-person event of this magnitude. 

 

Ultimately, the workshop was a huge success, boosting employee engagement and reenergizing the team during a difficult time. 

"We are incredibly grateful to have had XPLANE by our side for this offsite—steering, guiding, energizing, and creating such unique team activities."

—Vice President, Human Resources

Lessons Learned: Client's Keys to Success

  • Well-defined workshop goals
  • Interactive exercises in small group breakouts
  • Customized games that bring in unique elements of the company’s culture
  • Willingness to be creative and fun
  • Multimedia presentations—video helps!
  • Commitment from top leadership to show up and engage
  • Run of show—practice makes perfect
Screenshot of a MURAL home screen. Some things on the board include illustrations of several locations, and a Jeopardy board.
Screenshot of a MURAL board. At the center is a colourful honey comb structure holding activities to be completed. The left sidebar shows an illustration of a desert, above six card of roles to be played by members of the team completing activities.
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