We’re excited to share insights from our latest webinar in Epoch’s Experts on Employee Experience Series. Amanda Delaney Cook, an experienced leader in employee engagement and internal events, joined us to discuss strategies for creating memorable and impactful internal events. With 15 years of experience at companies like Chime, Branch, and Blend, Amanda shared her proven approaches to fostering connection, driving engagement, and aligning events with business goals.

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Watch the recording here or read on for the highlights from their discussion! 📝⬇️

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Creating Events Employees Remember

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Amanda’s passion for internal events stems from her belief that these moments are what employees truly remember. Leading Chime’s internal events, she oversees everything from social hours to product launches. Her goal? To make every event memorable and enjoyable, leaving employees with a sense of belonging and connection.

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Amanda defines success for internal events as fostering high levels of engagement and meaningful connection among employees. Her primary goals include:

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• Creating opportunities for employees to connect and feel a sense of community.

• Designing events that spark enthusiasm and align with the company's culture, values, and goals.

• Using metrics like satisfaction scores and qualitative feedback to continuously improve and ensure events resonate with employees.

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Engaging Hybrid and Remote Teams

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As companies navigate hybrid work, Amanda’s approach has evolved:

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• Hybrid-friendly activities: Events like Pi Day, where participants count up digits of pi to win prizes, work well in hybrid settings.

• Remote-specific successes: Virtual LEGO-building events have proven to be fun and interactive.

• Challenges with hybrid: Amanda shared the example of an awkward hybrid wellness event that made more sense as an individual activity and taught her not all activities translate seamlessly into hybrid.

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Feedback and Continuous Improvement

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Amanda is dedicated to refining events based on employee feedback:

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• Using Epoch’s insights dashboard and post-event surveys to gather feedback.

• Tackling “survey fatigue” by prioritizing qualitative feedback and actionable insights.

• Examples of feedback in action: Addressing long lines for water and mocktails and adjusting event timing to suit employees’ schedules.

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Driving Engagement Through Strategy

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Amanda’s engagement strategies focus on:

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• Connecting events to business goals: Seamless integration of product launches and company objectives.

• Leadership buy-in: Collaborating directly with senior leaders to align event messaging and gain support.

• Creative communication: Working with Chime’s design team to ensure event information is visually engaging and accessible.

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Inclusivity for New and Remote Employees

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Ensuring inclusivity is central to Amanda’s event planning:

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• Onboarding sessions: New hires participate in “Finding Your Community at Chime” to build connections.

• Slack engagement: Fun channels, ERG groups, and recordings make it easy for employees to stay informed and involved.

• Remote inclusivity: Initiatives like the Remote Chimers Slack channel and monthly Donut watercooler chats foster a sense of belonging.

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Overcoming Challenges

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Amanda highlighted some challenges she’s recently faced and how she’s addressed them:

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• Leadership alignment: Ensuring managers are equipped to advocate for and engage with events.

• Respecting Employees After Work Hours: Shifting after-hours events to earlier time slots, like lunch or mid-afternoon.

• Sustainability and impact: Partnering with local and minority-owned businesses for event swag and catering.

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How Amanda and Chime Leverage Epoch

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Amanda shared how Epoch’s platform supports her event planning and execution:

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• Slack integration: Meeting employees where they already are.

• Data-driven insights: Using Net Promoter Scores, satisfaction scores, and feedback to measure success and identify areas for improvement.

• Streamlined event management: Empowering admins to own event logistics while staying focused on creating meaningful experiences.

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Q&A Highlights

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During the webinar, attendees had the chance to ask Amanda insightful questions about her strategies and experiences. Here are a few highlights from the Q&A:

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Q: How do you gather data to measure event satisfaction?

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A: Amanda acknowledges that hybrid events can sometimes be overwhelming. She carefully selects activities that work well in both formats, like Pi Day competitions, and avoids events that don’t translate seamlessly to hybrid settings.

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Q: How do you handle hybrid event overload?

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A: Amanda acknowledges that hybrid events can sometimes be overwhelming. She carefully selects activities that work well in both formats, like Pi Day competitions, and avoids events that don’t translate seamlessly to hybrid settings.

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Q: What strategies work best to market events internally?

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A: Amanda emphasizes visually engaging communication, collaborating with Chime’s design team, and using Slack for targeted messaging. She finds that consistent storytelling tied to business goals helps boost attendance.

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Q: How do you keep remote employees engaged?

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A: Amanda leverages tools like the Remote Chimers Slack channel, virtual events (e.g., LEGO-building), and monthly Donut watercooler chats. She also focuses on creating inclusive activities that foster connection and belonging. Additionally, Amanda and her team plan a variety of events that range from sending employees kits for hands-on, engaging activities to more learning-based or purely enjoyable events, such as meeting llamas or learning about beekeeping.

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Q: What do you do when leadership pushes back on event ideas?

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A: Amanda recommends meeting directly with leaders to align on goals and priorities. She finds that framing events in terms of their connection to business objectives helps gain leadership buy-in. Amanda also recommends crafting a consistent story or theme for the event to share with leaders and employees, ensuring alignment and understanding. Additionally, she highlights the importance of partnering closely with internal communications to create and disseminate a unified narrative that supports the event’s purpose and value.

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Takeaways for Event Planners

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Amanda’s advice for event planners includes:

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• Brainstorming and observing: Understand what employees want and design events that resonate with their needs. Amanda suggests tying events together under a unifying theme to create a cohesive experience. For example, she developed a summer series spanning the Summer Solstice to the Fall Equinox, introducing a new theme each year. In 2024, this approach brought Fun Slack channels to life through engaging in-person and virtual events.

• Building vendor relationships: Collaborate with creative partners, like Glow Events and Ladidadi, to enhance event ideas.

• Keeping remote employees top of mind: Ensure remote team members feel equally included and valued within the company culture.

• Evaluating the calendar: Balance events with employees’ schedules and energy levels. Amanda advises accounting for company-wide initiatives, such as performance reviews or goal-setting processes, to avoid overwhelming employees during busy periods.

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Final Thoughts

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Amanda’s focus on creating memorable, inclusive, and strategic events at Chime serves as a powerful example for event planners everywhere. By leveraging tools like Epoch, engaging leadership, and staying attuned to employee feedback, Amanda has transformed internal events into impactful moments that drive connection and engagement.

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How Epoch can help

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Epoch is here to support your journey toward building a thriving employee culture. From planning and promoting internal events to gathering feedback and analytics, Epoch’s platform streamlines every aspect of employee engagement. Connect with employees through email, Slack, calendaring, and real-time analytics, making it easier than ever to create impactful experiences.

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Curious about how Epoch can transform your organization’s engagement strategies? Book a demo today!

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