5 Secrets to a Successful Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day
Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day is upon us again—on Thursday, April 22, 2021. With last year’s Take Your Child to Work Day an unexpected bust, and this year’s still a virtual must, here are five tips to ensure you feel prepared, your team feels supported, and your team’s kids feel inspired.
#1: Don’t Make It a Surprise.
As a magician who has performed thousands of live and now virtual magic shows, I’ve noticed again and again that my clients love to make my appearances a surprise to their guests. People love surprises! Right?
It’s true some people love surprises, but you know what they love more? Being excited about something they know about in advance and actively looking forward to it. I’d even argue that the person who loves the surprise the most is the event’s coordinator, precisely because they know the plan!
When I kick off a virtual magic show, and I take a look at the faces on the screen, I can instantly tell which audiences knew I would be joining them and which audiences were surprised. The audiences who knew I’d be joining them look excited; they’re on the edges of their seats, wondering if they or their colleagues will be called on. They’ve brought their kids around the computer and have gone down a YouTube rabbit hole watching my TV appearances to pump up themselves and their families.
When I perform a virtual magic show for a team of employees who didn’t expect to see me, they probably don’t know who I am, and I have to work extra hard to win them over from their skepticism.
Do your team and yourself a favor this year—and tell your employees what to expect. There has been so much less to look forward to this year—give your team that gift!
#2: Maximize anticipation.
Once you’ve decided not to sneak-attack your team with a virtual magic show or other Take Your Child to Work Day virtual event, your next job is to maximize their anticipation. Have your featured performer or host film a custom invitation video personalized to your team, generating excitement and relaying any necessary instructions. Send an email invitation and a reminder or two. Ask your managers to personally reach out to their supervisees, inviting their children by name.
Consider mailing your employees a gift box to open before or during your event. For a virtual magic show, you might consider sending a branded deck of cards; for a cooking event, you night send them the ingredients.
Bonus points if you mail the boxes to your employees’ kids. Kids (like adults) LOVE getting packages—they’ll probably remember for awhile how cool it was to get a package of goodies from mommy’s work.
#3: Start with the adults; include the kids.
Remember that this is (virtual) Take Your Child to Work Day, not Entertain the Kids Day. Yes, you should entertain the kids. But your employees are your #1 audience. They are your most important asset as a business, and you should make sure that first and foremost, they are entertained. That means avoid cheesy, silly, kid-focused entertainment. Choose a performer that specializes in adult and corporate audiences who can present a sophisticated and entertaining experience, while including the kids.
I often tell my clients that I haven’t performed a kid’s birthday party magic show in a few decades, but I perform for kids all the time when they are sitting next to their professional parents. I start the show by engaging and amazing the parents; kids love to see mom or dad amazed, astonished, and full of joy—it’s contagious. The kids can’t help but be riveted and entertained.
And make sure to communicate this message to your team when inviting them—they should be encouraged to sit in front of the Zoom screen with their kids, not offering up their kids solo on screen as some sort of pint-sized, substitute stand-in.
#4: Host it live.
The whole purpose of Take Your Child to Work Day is to give them a glimpse into what their parents’ work is like. And mom and dad’s work isn’t prerecorded. It happens in real-time with live interactions between colleagues.
It can be tempting to pre-record your virtual events—it prevents mistakes, enables you to work around a packed schedule of an in-demand performer, and allows a degree of production polish by editing the experience afterwards.
But if your team wanted to watch something pre-recorded, they could just turn on Netflix. Life is filled with pre-recorded opportunities. And this year, in particular, we haven’t had enough uplifting experiences that can be experienced live.
Just like a good improv show or even Saturday Night Live, it’s the unknown; the mystery of what will happen next that keeps our brains tuned in. And a skilled performer knows how to capitalize on this to maximum effect.
Find a performer or host who will call on your employees personally and compliment their children by name. So many of us have had so many Zoom meetings this year; make this one a standout by making it interactive, reactive, and joy-filled.
#5: Start strong.
Once your Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day entertainment kicks off, your performer is going to be responsible for keeping things exciting, fresh, and interesting. Your focus should be on the beginning and setting the right tone.
Advertise that “doors” will open 10 minutes before the show. Use that time to play hype-up music and then alternately spotlight your families one at a time on the screen. This gets the kids (and adults!) excited, making them feel both seen and connected with their real-life colleagues. This is no different than the jumbo screens at professional sports games—people love to see other people, and they especially love to see people shine whom they know.
Once showtime arrives, designate one person to deliver a quick one-minute intro—ask her to speak about what’s been going so well with the company, how they thought this would be a fun opportunity to connect, and what makes this performer so special. This is an opportunity to simultaneously build further anticipation for what’s to come, while also setting the tone for community, camaraderie and connection.
You’ve Got This Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day!
Whether you’re hosting a virtual magic show, a comedy event, or a cooking class, be sure to:
Avoid making it a surprise.
Maximize anticipation.
Start with the adults.
Host it live.
And start strong!
If I can help you make your Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day (or any future virtual team-building event) an extra-special one for your employees and their families, reach out to my team to tell us what you’re planning.
