Epoch’s Team Series is BACK and we have even more new team members! This blog series will introduce you to the team members of Epoch to get to know them a little better. Since our team is located in different cities across North America, having a strong workplace culture (virtually) is extremely important to us. It helps to boost our team’s morale at the end of each workweek and improves team collaboration. We don’t let distance get in the way of having a connected team.

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The Team Series will follow each team member’s event to engage the entire team virtually, using the Epoch platform. On Fridays, a different team member hosts an event to bring the whole team together for some laughs and a good time through the screen. It will also introduce you to some exciting events ideas and best practices of using Epoch to create events for your team for improving workplace culture.

Meet Meg! Meg is a part of the Customer Experience and Marketing team and has been at Epoch for over a year. Learn all about how Meg hosted a Game Night event for the Epoch team - using Epoch! Don't worry, our team isn’t competitive at all. 😉

About the Event

Intro to Meg's Event 🎯

• I decided to host a Team Game Night so everyone could get to know each other better and share laughs together while playing fun games. 🎲  The first game I made was called “How well do you know the Epoch team?” and was played virtually using Kahoot! I asked each team member questions about themselves beforehand and then during the game everyone had to guess which team member had which answer. Super fun and I highly recommend playing this game with new team members. See the results of this game at the end of the blog! 🏆

• The other game was virtual Pictionary using the Zoom whiteboard feature. I split everyone into two teams and each team member took turns drawing while their team members had to guess (within a time limit). If they didn't guess, the other team could steal!

Event Creation & Preparing Attendees 🗓

• It was super easy to format the event description so I could clearly outline the two different games we would be playing and their instructions beforehand. I also included a reminder in the description to ensure employees know they have to fill out the Questionnaire beforehand and to keep their responses to themselves if they want to win! 🏆

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Epoch's Features that Best Supported the Event 📝

• The pre-event questionnaire was so helpful as I was able to ask everyone for their answers for the “How well do you know the Epoch team?” game. Then I could easily prepare the Kahoot beforehand based on the questionnaire responses. I didn’t have to worry about creating a Google form and sending it out to attendees. It all took place in Epoch!
• The feedback form also helped me automatically send out feedback questions right after my event finished to see what everyone thought about the event. Additionally, I asked for any game ideas for future events that I can run in the future. I didn’t have to worry about remembering to send a feedback form right after the event and interpret the results, instead I was able to enjoy conversations with team members after the event!

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Learnings from Hosting the Event 🌟

• From hosting my event for the team, I learned that creating an event where everyone can share a laugh and have a fun time is a great way to make everyone feel comfortable and open up. It allowed team members to get to know one another outside of work meetings and conversations. The Epoch team was able to enjoy a fun game night and it was really rewarding to see.
• I also learned that by hosting a game night and that requires teams, it allows team members from different teams to work together cross-functionally. This gives those who normally don't work together, a chance to bond and come together to win a game! So it was great for me to create the teams and see everyone come together in an exciting way!

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Event Feedback ✅

• The entire team loved the game night and thought it was so nice to all come together for a fun challenge. Everyone liked seeing each others' fun and competitive side (especially when prizes are on the line)! Additionally, many team members learned something new about each individual from my first game "How well do you know the Epoch team?". As our team grows, many think that game is a great introduction to everyone.

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What it’s like to Create & Host an Event using Epoch (as an Epoch Team Member) 🎉

• Prior to creating my event on Epoch for the Epoch Team, I really under estimated everything that is involved when planning an internal event. Without all of the ways that Epoch helped automate for my event, I would not have had enough time to make my games as successful as they were. The creative side of hosting an event was my favourite, and by having more time to focus on that part (instead of the manual tasks) it made the process more enjoyable for me AND the attendees!

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About Epoch’s Remote Culture

Do you feel that working at Epoch is different from working at other companies? 

• Yes, I definitely believe that working at Epoch is different from other companies for the main reason that since we are helping other companies improve their internal culture, it makes us more aware on ensuring our culture is so strong too. In addition, we see how internal events and programming is crucial to other companies culture, we instill that mindset for our own team as well.
• Since we are also a small team, it's amazing that we truly get to know every team member and we are all in the know of what is happening on other teams. This allows us to get the full picture and be more productive.

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Has Epoch’s Team Series helped you understand your team better?

• Yes! It's been great to know what each team member is passionate about and each Team Series event, I learn something new about my team members. Especially as a remote first team in multiple timezones, it is so important that we build these strong connections and have team bonding events has surely done so.

Do you think engaging with your coworkers socially improves collaboration?

• Definitely, as there is a wide variety of fun activities we all get to work together and it helps to create those bonds and connections that relay back to our day to day work. Creating connections with team members on a social level, allows us to collaborate in a work environment more efficiently.

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How has the experience affected your motivation and engagement with your work?

• After my event and the events of other team members, I feel like I know more about each of them individually so it allows me to be able to have conversations with them outside of work topics. It also has helped me fine similarities with team members that we can also bond over (such as I like coffee almost as much as Averil does ☕️).

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🏆 The results are in! Here are the top winners for the "How well do you know the Epoch team?" event! 🏆

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Follow our LinkedIn page to learn more about our Company Culture! 😃