With 2020 nearly coming to a close, many of us are ready to put such a trying year behind us. For us at HGS, we’ve been open about the challenges – both immediate and long term – that we faced this year. One of the things that were important to us was retaining the engagement we had with our teams during such uncertain times. Through our virtual huddles, we’ve managed to keep the spirit alive. For Halloween, we made it a much bigger get together with everything from costume contests to live musical performances. This became the blueprint of our biggest virtual celebration for 2020.
Our celebration this year had a theme of a virtual galaxy, entitled Elements. In it, we wanted to capture the same spirit and energy our traditional year end parties had. The difference now is that it would but within a virtual space. After much creative and innovative planning, the idea behind Elements was born. It was three straight days of celebrating all HGS accomplished – big or small – despite all that 2020 had to offer.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Our virtual year-end celebration began last Wednesday, December 9th which served as a “kick-off party ” to the actual event. We wanted to give everyone a glimpse of what to expect by the week’s end. Prior to our virtual kick-off event, our management team delivered celebratory party packages to all members of the HGS family. We wanted everyone to be ready for the eventual party, while also staying safe from their homes.
To do this, we showcased some of our previous year end party videos to everyone virtually. Whether it was our Outrageous celebration from 2017 or our most recent Ethereal outing, we wanted to show what these year-end celebrations meant. Some long time HGS team members got nostalgic seeing the company consistently growing as the group photos got more bigger. Some also had a chance to speak to the newer members of the HGS family to share their experiences that evening.
A Cause for Celebration
The following day, we had a special dinner honoring all our Core Value Champions for the year. In a time with so much uncertainty, a number of HGS employees still managed to inspire and exemplify the values the company is founded on. These individuals were advocated by their fellow co-workers who saw the impact they had on others. Despite the many challenges this year, our Core Value Champions kept the HGS spirit alive, showing what it truly meant to be part of the company.
On Friday, December 11th we capped off the festivities with our main event, our virtual Year End Party. Similar to our virtual Halloween huddle, HGS employees dressed up in their best elemental-themed outfit and gathered together via Zoom. With party packages on hand, we managed to still enjoy the merriment that came with our year end parties. Managing Director Angela Vidler gave her heartfelt year-end speech, highlighting not only what we managed to accomplish, but being proud of how we banded together to achieve all that we did.
As is tradition, Elements was also an evening where we honoured some long-tenured team members as service awardees. Some lucky individuals also won exciting raffle prizes that ranged from electric scooters, gaming consoles and tablets. The most exciting part of the evening however was always going to be the performances that defined our parties. This year, however, HGS teams innovated and sent in video performances that highlighted the Hits of 2020. Also sticking with tradition, it was indeed difficult to choose which among the teams had the most stand out performance! There was no better way to end the virtual year-end festivities than with that.
Gratitude and A Look Ahead
In her speech, Angela wished she could celebrate 2020’s achievements in Manila as she has done every year. With that, she also stated that “gratitude” was her biggest takeaway this year as HGS’s Managing Director. Regardless of all the major uncertainties this year, she took pride in how HGS undertook all these challenges. She remained both thankful for what HGS has become and hopeful for everyone’s future. Despite 2021 being up in the air for many, there was still an optimistic air that many took to heart.
