Okay, even I know a few people around the agency that don’t love Halloween (account managers can be weird), but for many of us, this is our favorite time of the year. Halloween gives us a chance to wear our creativity on our sleeve… literally. But it also dishes out the opportunity to celebrate with our teammates. By getting together outside of work, a team gets to know each other better – which ultimately means building stronger connections.
For years, Chernoff Newman has celebrated Halloween with a party in our Columbia office, bringing in our Charlotte, Charleston, Orlando and remote team members, but let’s be honest – not everyone wants to drive two hours for a company Halloween gathering. Plus, driving in your Kim Kardashian Met Gala costume is frowned upon.
The pandemic changed all of that. Being forced to go virtual last year was, in some ways, a great opportunity for our company – it made gathering together easier. Like most companies, we got creative with how we celebrated virtually. And while we’re BEYOND ready to see each other in person, we’ve learned getting creative with a virtual event is good for the full-company culture and being completely inclusive no matter where someone’s desk is located.
For Halloween this year, I set up a virtual haunted mansion using the “ohyay” platform and we will be enjoying a little Halloween-themed trivia. This is a great opportunity for team building and to give employees a chance to work with co-workers outside of their city, account team and discipline. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to break the ice with the several new employees that we have hired since March 2020 – fun trivia fact: 17% of our employees were hired while we’ve been mostly virtual. And, of course, it allows for some friendly competition.
Scream alert: competition is a driving force in our industry and one that is taken seriously here at the agency.
So… if you’re curious as to how our agency celebrates Halloween virtually or just want to know who at Chernoff Newman is the most knowledgeable about Halloween? Follow us on Instagram to find out!