Blog
December 21, 2022
As organizations continue to adjust to the evolving post-pandemic landscape, many employees have been provided with the opportunity for a more flexible working arrangement—working remotely and leaning into a more balanced work-life dynamic. At Attain Partners, this shift to a predominantly remote workforce has allowed us to hire diverse, experienced professionals from across the country as well as motivated us to think through new, innovative ways to strengthen our company culture.
Bringing Our Virtual Team Members Together
Virtual, high-touch engagement practices are a key part of our people-first strategy. Our team members are used to virtual meetings with colleagues and clients alike, but this holiday season, we wanted to find a way not just to work together, but to celebrate together—despite more than 60% of our team members working in a remote capacity across the country.
In years past, we’ve had an in-person holiday event to gather Team Attain Partners together to celebrate and socialize. This year, we took a new approach to acknowledging various time zones and interests!
Instead of planning one event offered at a single location, we offered four virtual event options, held on separate days at varying times, and let our employees choose which event best fit their availability and interests. Choices included trivia, an escape room adventure, a baking class, and an at-home wine tasting.
The event options were announced at our November Town Hall meeting via a virtual poll—the results of which helped drum up excitement for the events to come as well as helped our planning committee preview registration numbers.
Expressing Gratitude
To accompany the week of holiday events and our pre-holiday Town Hall meeting, we also sent every full-time employee a virtual gift card, ensuring that all team members, even those whom opted out of the virtual event offerings, felt the gratitude our company wished to express for their wonderful work throughout the year.
“We wanted to celebrate everyone’s contributions throughout the year and come together in a setting that was convenient and accessible for all employees. In particular, the virtual gift card was our way of recognizing the contributions of our team members, especially those that couldn’t attend our virtual events.” – Jennifer McAllister, Special Projects Manager, Office of the CEO, Attain Partners
To add another level to our offerings, we accentuated each event with its own bonus:
- Each member of the winning Trivia team and winning Escape Room team received a gift card
- Baking Class participants received their recipes ahead of time along with the specialty chocolate recommended from their ingredients list
- Wine Tasting participants received the link to a Spotify playlist, based on the songs recommended in the booklet that accompanied their box of wine samples
Creating Opportunities for Virtual Access to Leadership
To close out the week of celebrations, our CEO and Executive Team hosted a pre-holiday Town Hall to virtually bring everyone together. We celebrated the wins of the year with a high-level recap and ended the meeting with the company-wide raffle drawing where we had seven prize winners as well as a grand prize winner. All (full-time) employees’ names were entered into a drawing, with members of our senior leadership team taking turns to spin the virtual wheel. Prizes ranged from plane tickets to coveted electronics and (small) kitchen appliances, but the best prize of all was the camaraderie and sense of community that permeated the virtual meeting space. Each time a raffle winner was chosen, hearts and clapping hand emoticons flooded the shared screen. Though in various physical locations, we were all united as one Team Attain Partners.
Recharging to Close Out 2022
At Attain Partners, we put our people first and are always looking for ways to invest in our team. To support our employees’ health and well-being, we will be shutting operations during the holiday season from Friday, December 23, through and including Monday, January 2. During this closure, our team members will have an opportunity to truly disconnect. Every day, Team Attain Partners goes above and beyond to execute with discipline and deliver excellence—we couldn’t be more appreciative of their many contributions.
We wish you all a happy holiday and hope that you are able to rest, recharge, and spend time with those most important to you! Happy Holidays!
About the Authors
Jenifer Parker is a Senior Professional with the Corporate Services Team at Attain Partners. With a passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Ms. Parker has experience in helping organizations develop their DE&I strategies, leveraging her professional training in Diversity & Inclusion. Prior to working at Attain Partners, Ms. Parker led a corporate DE&I program at a private firm in Alexandria, VA. She holds a professional certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University.
Maureen Goldman is the Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at Attain Partners. Maureen stewards the firm’s brand, leading its social media presence, website, digital content strategy, tradeshows, webinars, and email marketing campaigns. Maureen is passionate about sharing the innovative solutions that Attain Partners delivers to positively impact our clients, our team members, and our communities. Maureen has a B.A. from Northwestern University and her M.A. from George Mason University.
