A key learning tool for any successful business, workshops provide you with a space to talk ideas or introduce your employees to new skills. The recent shift to remote working has meant that business leaders have had to rethink their approach to how workshops are run.
Fortunately, hosting a workshop virtually is easy. An online workshop operates in much the same way as a traditional one, but you’ll need to make a few changes to ensure things are as remote-friendly as possible. Looking for virtual workshop ideas to help you on your way? We’ve got you covered.
Types of Virtual Workshops
Just like their real-world counterparts, virtual workshops come in all shapes and sizes. From onboarding events for new hires to more advanced sessions that improve communication between colleagues, there’s a workshop for everything.
Employee Onboarding
Onboarding is a critical time in the employee life cycle. However, as soon as the hiring process itself is complete, onboarding tends to get overlooked. This is a mistake, as it’s the perfect opportunity to train new hires and introduce them to your company culture.
A well-designed employee onboarding workshop will increase employee engagement and reduce first-year churn. What’s more, beside a few little tweaks, a workshop agenda can remain largely unchanged for years to come.
Team Training
Have you identified significant skills and knowledge gaps in your workforce? It’s time to start taking training seriously. Just because you can’t work in the same physical space as junior employees, doesn’t mean training has to fall by the wayside. Staging a virtual event can solve a lot of shortfalls.
Collaboration Sessions
Do your teams find it hard to communicate? Are essential departments dead in the water? Collaboration sessions will have your team working like a well-oiled machine. Use improv games to introduce them to key communication skills.
Dealing with a workforce of wallflowers? Break larger groups into smaller breakout rooms to ensure quieter members of your team don’t feel too intimidated. Virtual speed networking is another effective way of getting relative strangers to start acting like trusted colleagues.
Virtual Team Building
There are tons of team-building activities you can stage virtually. Break down barriers with online icebreakers and turn a disparate department into a tight team with problem-solving games. Team-based trivia is another nifty idea.
Customer Education
It’s not just your employees that can benefit from workshops. They’re also useful for educating customers on how to use products and services. Have you just unveiled a new piece of software that’s a marked departure from your previous products? Make sure clients know how to make effective use of what they’ve purchased with a customer-facing workshop.
Virtual Workshop Ideas You Can Try
Thinking of taking your business online? Below are some of the best workshop activities you can use to inspire a remote team.
1. Online Lunch and Learns
A less formal approach to traditional workshops, a virtual lunch and learn event allows employees to bolster their knowledge base while they dine. Think about covering the costs of a takeout order or sending attendees a small lunch hamper before the day itself.
2. Survival Scenario
Think you’ve got what it takes to survive on a desert island? Maybe you have a genius plan for surviving an alien invasion. Split your team into smaller breakout sessions, then give each group a different survival scenario so they can talk strategy. After 5-10 minutes, bring everyone back together so each group can share their strategy.
3. WFH Time Management Courses
Working from home has many benefits, but it’s easy to get distracted. If your remote employees are struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance, it might be time for some time management tutorials. An online time management course can supplement existing training, while even long-standing employees can benefit from learning a few new tricks.
4. Virtual Improv Workshop
In any business, being able to think on your feet is an enviable skill. Improv exercises are an effective way of encouraging people to think creatively and come up with some left-field solutions to common problems. What’s more, many improv games can be played virtually.
5. Virtual Speed Networking
If your remote teams are struggling to forge connections, they probably need a little encouragement. Pick a time and date that works for everyone, then assemble your entire workforce online. Then it’s time for some speed networking. Every employee gets a few minutes to get to know a colleague in a breakout room before time is called and they move on.
6. Virtual Hackathon
If you’re in the software business or depend on a particular piece of software for everyday operations, a virtual hackathon is a superb idea. Hackathons involve people coming up with creative ways to improve the software they’re currently using. Even an hour-long hackathon held virtually can prove fruitful.
7. Idea Development Virtual Workshop
Need to iron out the kinks in your hiring process? Perhaps you’re looking to optimize the customer journey. Idea development workshops can be held virtually, making it easy to bring senior stakeholders together, no matter how packed their schedules are.
8. Virtual Cocktail Mixology
This workshop idea is perfect if you’re looking to encourage team bonding or want to reward hard-working employees. Mail out hampers packed with ingredients before your get-together, then bring in the talents of a professional mixologist to teach your team how to make a killer cocktail.
9. Mind Mapping Exercises
If your teams struggle to conceptualize new ideas and processes, mind maps can help. Mind maps are perfect for those who lean more toward visualization when dealing with huge reams of data. They bring structure and can simply heady concepts, making them ideal for presentations, quarterly reviews, and other progress meetings.
10. Icebreakers and Team Building
Whether it’s an introductory workshop or something more involved, the best team-building activities start with a great icebreaker. If you’re welcoming many new faces, icebreakers can be used as an introduction. If you’re hosting a longer workshop and are worried you’ll struggle to maintain everybody’s attention, insert a few icebreakers to keep engagement levels high.
Hosting Virtual Workshops with Gloww
Whether you’re onboarding new hires, introducing new skills to employees, or educating customers, workshops are the way to do it. Never hosted a workshop virtually before? Get yourself off to the best start possible by using a video conferencing platform like Gloww.
You can create custom workshop sessions in minutes, or save time by using one of our ready-made templates. Add games for employee engagement, introduce interactive elements for collaboration, and include multimedia assets to ensure attendees have all the information they need.
You can get started on your next virtual workshop with Gloww today. Looking for advanced features? Take a look at what our premium packages offer. Need to ask a question? Get in touch with the team.
FAQ: Virtual Workshop Ideas
What are virtual workshops?
Virtual workshops are almost identical to conventional ones. The only difference is you’re hosting them online.
How can you run a workshop virtually?
After creating the framework for a workshop idea, it’s time to turn it into a virtual reality. Use a reliable video conferencing solution to get started, before using interactive elements and games for engagement.
Why should you add exercises and activities to your workshop?
Adding exercises to a virtual workshop lets you see how well attendees are retaining knowledge. Activities play a similar role, but they’re also useful for maintaining high engagement levels.
