When people are praised for what they do, it inspires them to do better next time. Everything can wait but appreciation should not. Everyone is fighting battles in this pandemic and hence, it is all the more essential to reward people who are working passionately at their jobs. 

Can you recall the best memories of annual award events at the company that brought in so much motivation, zest, and energy for the forthcoming fiscal year? Since lockdown, that fun is missing but does it really have to be this way? We think not. So what can be done to reward the shining stars in your organization?

In-person functions are obviously a no-go option right now. That doesn’t mean you cannot acknowledge your employees. Just host an online award show to honor this talented bunch of people. 

But,

how to host an awards ceremony virtually?

It might seem too mindless to imagine a virtual award show but like it’s rightly said – desperate time calls for desperate measures. 

There are many dedicated virtual award show platforms to assist you in organizing one such event for your company. However, let’s walk through to the pro-tips to have a successful virtual awards ceremony.

   1-  Create a submission/ registration dashboard

A virtual award ceremony cannot be an open event, as it is a rather formal event and must have the audience that are acquainted with at least some of the nominated individuals. A well structured registration form must be designed for all the attendees. 

Decide on what kind of details you would like to receive from attendees and how the information will help you in overall execution of the event. Clearly, draft a road map for the managing team to avoid any gaps or confusion.

   2-  Set up voting and reporting dashboards

Once the first level of registrations are done, a separate dashboard should be formulated for voting. Many digital mediums are available to quantify and give the final results of voting. Each employee, board members and other internal staff members should access this dashboard to give in their votes for finalizing winners under categories decided by the higher management.

   3-  Create a schedule for event

Just like any other online event, create separate time slots for your virtual awards ceremony. Give as many details as you possibly can about every segment especially: 

• Time
• venue on virtual award show platform
•  Category of awards to be distributed and
•  special guests, if any. 

The detailed schedule adds on to the credibility and impeccable event management of the company.

   4-  Promote the event right

The purpose of going a step ahead and conducting an awards ceremony virtually gets defeated, if there aren’t enough attendees to cheer or show support for the winners. 

Promote the event as well as the virtual award show platform that’s lending their services throughout. Extensively use social media, hashtags and relevant influencers to create a FOMO(Fear of Missing Out) among the audience.

Send special invites to encourage employees to bring in their family, relatives, friends for witnessing glorious moments in virtual award ceremony.

   5- Invite sponsors and special guests 

A cordial and detailed invite must be sent out to all the sponsors as to how a virtual award event platform is a fine way for getting visibility. You can also list out the available spaces for standees and banners for their brands.

Some VIP guests must be invited as a means to engage people and add more spark to organizing award ceremonies virtually. These guests should be relevant to the category of awards that will be distributed in the event.

   6-  Focus on quality

A good quality virtual awards event will rope in more engagement and after buzz. Finding the right virtual award event platform is the first step. Then, get the creative and graphics team to work on visualizing and creating an unusual experience. 

There may be some shortcomings in physical events but when the company is hosting an online award ceremony, creativity can skyrocket to another level. Train the speakers to have some basic tech knowledge and if possible, have a mock trial before the final day to ensure desirable flow and impact.

   7-  Allow connections and networking

Award ceremonies are not just about celebrating wins but it is more about having fulfilling interactions in the professional arena. 

While hosting the award ceremony virtually, a setup should be in place to allow all the attendees in forging meaningful relationships with one another. 

Puaerte Visual has many promising elements in its 3D designs that can serve the purpose of improved networking among the attendees.

   8- Gift a memorable experience

A physical award ceremony is more about appearance, ambiance, and looks but when it is a virtual award ceremony, it has more to do with the way a winner is introduced, awarded, and respected. 

So, make sure to give a satisfying experience to your employees who put in hours of tireless effort to give the best output for your company. It is all about boosting their morale and virtually patting them for beating the odds to give out remarkable results. 

One such out-of-the-box idea was pulled off by IIT Bombay. It organized a virtual convocation for the batch of 2020 by awarding degrees to digital avatars of the students. Social media lauded this attempt at honoring students for their hard work and giving them the praise they truly deserved.

   9-  Get feedback 

No analysis can be completed without quantifying its impact. So, it is essential to get the right feedback from the attendees, to help the virtual award event platform to improve in the future. Encourage people to share their experiences on social media; this will contribute to the company’s reputation and goodwill.

   10-  Share the experience with the world

Hosting an online award show is still a new trend but yet to be accepted by the masses. Flaunt your early bird experience with the world by the use of visuals, videos and attendee reviews. Inspire people to come forward to embrace this new normal of the virtual world. 

Such lively experiences come to life with chroma shoot setups; which are actively used by independent creators as well as large companies. Create an experience of appreciation, gratitude, and fun like never before for your people with us. 

Puaerte Visual is a one-stop solution for all your needs, be it an annual summit or a virtual award show, we have got you covered with our proficient team to let you experience the inexperienced.