How Virtual Events Can Supercharge Your Team

Written by Daria Littlefield , Head of Customer Success Department at Social Discovery Group

The extensive Customer Success team at Social Discovery Group delivers support and guidance to customers across a diverse range of global dating and social discovery products.? Customer Success Manager’s responsibility involves maintaining on-going communication with individuals seeking support and assistance for product-related issues. Generally speaking, customer success managers are problem solvers. But here's the thing: in the world of remote work it can be challenging for managers to share feelings and circumstances to their coworkers.? They're missing out on that interpersonal connection, lack live communication, and context for exchanging experiences or brainstorming solutions.?

As the leader of the Customer Success Team at Social Discovery Group, I found a way to tackle this. To bridge this gap, we began organising online team events, where we could swap stories and brainstorm solutions as a group. In this article, I'll explore the various event styles we experimented with and see how they made an impact on our team dynamic.

How it all started

Imagine this scenario – in an effort to break free from routine and encourage a more dynamic atmosphere in our Customer Success Department we incorporated some internal team building and educational events. But let me tell you, at the beginning, we were scratching our heads wondering if it was even worth the time and effort. We couldn't figure out if these events would actually be useful for our team, or if they were just a waste of resources. The struggle was real. We hit a tough period of resistance, where some folks simply didn't see the point. To gradually become accustomed to it, we began with some trial events which didn't eat up too much time to set up or run.?

Three weeks of knowledge-sharing

Our first endeavour was during Customer Service Week, our global corporate celebration in October. We organised live Zoom broadcasts and video podcasts showcasing a panel of nine speakers who discussed various topics in the customer support world, from emerging trends to how to generate ideas within each of our areas of responsibility. These sessions were followed by interactive discussions.

Building on this success, we decided to create an event focused on a specific customer request topic we are known to encounter daily. The Customer Success Team consistently faces challenges related to payment inquiries. Dealing with these questions can be complicated and demanding, as it often involves navigating financial intricacies. Hence, we came up with the idea of a Payment Week.?

This week-long event series was designed to focus exclusively on payment-related matters. Our goal was to equip our team with the knowledge and tools needed to efficiently handle payment inquiries. We shared essential tips and how-to guides on payment-related issues through Slack posts and conducted an online webinar led by a colleague who excelled in resolving payment-related challenges. To engage our team further, we organized a quiz where employees earned points for correct answers to the questions posed during the webinar. At the end of the week, we rewarded the top three winners with "Tacos," our internal currency that could be exchanged for corporate merchandise or other presents.

Another innovative initiative that we introduced was Bite-Sized Knowledge Week.

This involved daily short daily video podcasts created by team members on various topics such as "How to Reach KPI Goals During the Probation Period" and "First Contact Resolution: 3 Main Mistakes Hurting Your FCR Approach." The distinctive feature of this format lay in the ability that the brief five minute podcasts could be watched and then commented on any time during the busy workday, amidst customer calls and live chats.

What’s the outcome?

By implementing these online team events, we wanted to bring our Customer Success Managers closer together, make them share what they know, and help each other grow – both professionally and personally. These cool initiatives gave our team opportunities to learn from experts, exchange ideas, and enhance their problem-solving skills. Our clients are at the heart of what we do, and they really feel the positive impact of our team's ongoing commitment to lifelong learning. It's not just about training during the early stages; our crew keeps on pumping up their knowledge and skills.

After the dust settled, we ran multiple surveys to see how our team felt about the events. And guess what? The response impressed us greatly! People were total fans. Team members talked about how these events changed the way they think about their work, helped them to de-stress, and emphasized how much they learned from the discussions.!?

Here are some of the reviews from employees:

“It was helpful because I got to hear different perspectives on customer service and helpful tips on enjoying work”.?

“It somehow helps me lessen my stress and I learned a lot from the discussions. It is somehow important to have these kinds of activities from time to time, to boost engagement, socialize and learn new things from each other”.

It turns out these activities are like a secret sauce – they bring out a fresh perspective on work, let everyone relax and chill a bit, and create an awesome space for learning from each other. So, yeah, we're sold – these events are here to stay!