“Hi All! I’m here, just having a video-off day!” This is how a Zoom call started with an external partner last week.  

In that moment, as I was finishing up my lunch, struggling to hide the piles of giveaway clothing behind me, and trying to not let my 11-month-old daughter crawl over my computer plug, a video-off day sounded quite nice. It got me thinking: What if we all had video-off days?  

We know how it goes. Your boss suggested you plan your company's virtual holiday party in-house. Your boss thinks it will be easy and fun for you, not necessarily thinking about everything else on your plate or how much time it takes to organize and execute a great virtual event. There's a lot more to it than just sending out a Zoom link!

Here are 3 good reasons to outsource to a trusted virtual event planning partner.

I know it sounds crazy, but now that September is in full swing, it's time to start thinking about your company holiday party. No, you don't need to start your holiday shopping, a company event requires planning to make it special. So we invite you to join us on Monday September 10th for our Virtual Holiday Party Showcase — a fun, stress-free way to help you kickstart your planning process.

Burgers. Hot dogs. Barbecues. The unofficial end of summer. Labor Day means a lot to us in how we think about and celebrate it. But where did it come from? And what does it mean? As we roll into the weekend, here are 5 fun facts about Labor Day.

Think back to when you first started at your job. You were probably nervous, not just about the workload, but about how you'd fit in with the people you work with. Whether working remotely or in the same workplace, those relationships are important to feeling accepted, and feeling like a real member of the team.

No, you don't have to be best friends with everyone you work with, but it is very important that colleagues know each other beyond just the work you do. We've got 3 great tips to help your team connect more smoothly and easily.

At face value, sure, work is about productivity. But to think that's the only thing that drives a business or motivates employees is an antiquated, utilitarian nightmare. Because when you really get down to it, work is much more than that. It's often about fulfilling a company's core mission and fulfilling employees' professional goals. And that is one of the many reasons that fun is such an important aspect of work culture.

Plenty of companies have held off as long as they could, delaying from planning company events, in hopes that the whole team would be back together in the office soon...

But then the Delta variant arrived. So, now it's time to face facts. Virtual events foster virtual connection. And in today's workplace, virtual connections are every bit as real as in-person.

With COVID case numbers increasing due to the Delta variant, we've noticed some trends amongst our clients. We know there's a lot of uncertainty and that you may be trying to suss out what's happening so that you can make the best decisions for your own company. Here's what we're seeing in the market.

So, your company has employees in multiple time zones, across the country or across the globe. And you want them to feel together and united, even if they're working remotely or from different offices. You want to plan and execute a global event that is fun, fresh, and focused. Well, we're here to tell you how to make it happen.

At work, we spend most of our time creating fun events for our clients. But these events are not JUST intended for fun. They have the much bigger, broader, and more important goal of helping companies build a stronger, more positive company culture. How do we do it? 

We're constantly reviewing feedback from the events we host, looking for details of what went well so we can build from it. And from poring through that data, we've found some consistent trends of what employees want. Here's what we found.

Since publishing this post in 2021, 52 Connections has been played by thousands of participants at hundreds of companies. It has become ZogCulture's signature speed networking game. Learn more about in-person and virtual options.

Have you ever wondered how to make it less awkward to get to know your colleagues? Whether colleagues who have been acquainted for years but don't really have a tight bond or a class of new hires, there must be a way to make this process easier and more fun. Right? 

Abso-freaking-lutely! So we thought about it and created something fun, fast, and friendly. It's called 52 Connections. Trust us, you're going to want to grab our deck of cards and start playing.

After working from home for a while, your team may have fallen into some bad habits around your virtual meetings. Maybe the meetings drag on a bit. Maybe they lack focus or don't get the results you need. Maybe employees are tuned out because it's hard to get a word in.

Well, after months of hosting and managing large events, working with our clients to understand how their organizations work best, we're ready to share what we've learned.

Now that it's June, you many notice lots of companies changing their social media identities to the rainbow flag.

Yes, Pride is here... And there! And everywhere! At best, it's exciting and educational and a chance to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and connect authentically with coworkers. But at worst, it's viewed as nothing more than a corporate stunt, and could get your company called out. 

Many of our clients have started announcing or rolling out their "return to office" policies for the year. While the progress toward normalcy feels SO great, it does make planning your company team-building events a little bit more complicated. Should you wait it out or risk cancellation and do in-person? Should you stick with virtual? And how do you know whether you're making the right choice?