At Second Harvest of the Big Bend, we know teamwork is vital to making a difference in our community. During a food drive, support from your volunteers and employees is crucial to the drive’s success.
With remote work on the rise, it can be challenging to rally a team that’s not physically present. Fortunately, we’re here to share several effective strategies you can implement to increase engagement from your remote team during your next food drive.
Plan ahead
Start planning for the food drive well in advance, and communicate a timeline of events to your team. Proper planning will give you plenty of time to drum up excitement and give your team plenty of time to prepare. Make sure to send out reminders to your team leading up to the event that includes reminders of your company’s goal and any incentives you’re offering.
Host virtual meetings
Throughout the drive, plan standing meetings to keep your remote team updated on the progress toward your goal, share best practices, and answer any questions they may have. Regular check-ins will assist you in keeping morale strong and momentum high throughout the length of the drive.
Utilize social media
In addition to your team meetings, use your company’s social media to engage your remote team and emphasize their hard work! Encourage them to share the event with their personal networks and use hashtags to spread the word further. Take your posts to the next level and have your team send in photos of their participation to be featured.
Create a friendly competition
Boost involvement among your team by creating a friendly competition to see who can collect the most donations or recruit the most volunteers. Offer fun and reasonable rewards for reaching certain milestones or goals. Prizes may include something classic like a lunch stipend, new WFH equipment, or you could get creative and allow the winner to choose a “theme” for an internal meeting.
Celebrate success
Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! Share photos and videos of the food collected, the team in action, and the event’s impact on the community. Publicly shout out the team’s hard work, thank them, highlight goals met, and praise employees who went above and beyond.
Rallying a remote team during a food drive can be challenging, but it’s more than possible with the right strategies to keep your team engaged and motivated. Remember, every donation counts, and every volunteer makes a difference. Make your food drive something your whole team was proud to be a part of, and they’ll already be asking when the next one is!
Ready to get started? Take your next steps in hosting a food drive!