A social and culture committee is more than just planning fun company events, it’s an investment into your people. Engaging with colleagues outside of the traditional 9-5 can build stronger teams, increase collaboration, and even boost company morale. Whether your organization is virtual or slowly starting to get together again, these committees are valuable assets to your company’s culture.
Many of our offices across the globe have committees dedicated to social events, giving back, fitness, and more. At our St. Louis Headquarters, the Social and Culture Committee is an integral part to helping our office culture excel. Garrett Hill, senior content marketing coordinator, President of St. Louis’ Social and Culture Committee, and Sarah Shapiro, regional marketing manager, Vice President of St. Louis’s Social and Culture Committee play a key role in making these events for our St. Louis colleagues come to life.
Reflecting back at the last year, I wanted to sit down with them and learn how their 2021 efforts with this committee have contributed to enhancing Perficient’s culture.
BONUS: A Cultural Celebration Happy Hour
What is the Social and Culture Committee?
The Social and Culture Committee is a group of Perficient colleagues who come together to create and host engaging activities for all St. Louis employees to participate in. These events range from happy hours to themed in-person or virtual events and even include the company picnic in the summer.
Our Mission
The Social Committee’s mission is to connect our colleagues through engaging and entertaining activities for the St. Louis office. The committee is open to all who wish to participate in any way possible including planning, preparing, or joining in on the events. If you like having fun and networking with your peers; then this is the place for you.
Why is the committee here?
The committee is here for multiple purposes, but the biggest is for all colleagues to be able to come together as one company in a fun environment to meet, network, and have a good time. Perficient has always had a great culture, and the committee works to enhance those efforts through fun events.
How does your team contribute to Perficient’s culture while virtual?
The biggest thing the committee decided upon was to continue to actively host engaging and interesting events but in a virtual space. Before the pandemic, the committee hosted one event per month. We wanted to continue that, to provide a sense of normalcy while providing a fun event for colleagues to talk and network. It’s all about keeping our culture alive. If we can’t host a virtual event, we’ll do virtual polling or challenges to keep engagement up. We’ve done March Madness, cutest pet competitions, and ugly sweater contests.
What has been the biggest triumph so far?
In 2021, our biggest and longest continuously running event was the “That’s SOOOOO STL” voting competition. Once per quarter all St. Louis colleagues were invited to vote on things that make St. Louis great. The categories included food originating in St. Louis, celebrities that were born here, famous locations, and beverages made here. We have seen incredible participation in the weekly voting process because our colleagues are passionate about their city.
What should people know about working at Perficient and the Social and Culture Committee?
Our people are what separates us from the competition. Because we have such an amazing group of colleagues, our culture is one of the best out there. Perficient and the Social and Culture Committee really go hand in hand. We have exceptional colleagues, so why not have monthly events to gather together and celebrate.
What can others do to be a leader in their own teams/companies?
It’s quite simple to become a leader. Actively listen to your team and be sure that everybody is heard and valued. That builds collaboration and trust. As a leader, it’s important to remember that the best leaders, lead by example.
BONUS: Building a Virtual Culture is the Key to Success to Becoming an Award-Winning Workplace
Thanks to the Social and Culture Committee, our St. Louis colleagues are enjoying these opportunities to get to know their team members on a more personal level. While reflecting on 2021, I wanted to ask a few more colleagues about their favorite events the committee hosted.
My favorite culture activity in 2021 was the virtual charades night back in January. The Social and Culture Committee always comes up with great events for the team, but that event was particularly fun to participate in. The words we had to act out were chosen randomly, and it was hilarious watching people try to act out their word without speaking over a screen. The charades night was a blast, and I’m looking forward to when we can have another one, hopefully in person!
Anna Lehman, senior regional marketing coordinator
While I enjoy all opportunities to connect with fellow colleagues, I really enjoy the chance to get together for Light Up Glennon. The opportunity to give back by shining flashlights and singing carols to let the kids know we’re thinking of them with my team is a heart-warming opportunity and always leaves me feeling uplifted – hopefully, the children in the hospital feel the same way. The Halloween events are always interesting. Hearing the paranormal events teammates have experienced is so different than our typical daily conversations. Some people have even had direct encounters with ghosts!
Marissa Lather, global social media and employment brand marketing manager
While we remained virtual in 2021, we had some really creative ideas for the year that included both virtual events and engagement through polling. My favorite event, however, was charades. It was hilarious to see people try to act out random words. I have to say, I’m not the best at it, but it was super entertaining. Hoping that one day we can have a charades night in person again!
Sarah Shapiro, regional marketing manager, Vice President of St. Louis’ Social and Culture Committee
While each Perficient office has their own special committees that make them unique, we’re happy to see our St. Louis team getting to know one another on a more personal level thanks to their Social and Culture Committee.
READY TO GROW YOUR CAREER?
At Perficient, we continually look for ways to champion and challenge our talented workforce with interesting projects for high-profile clients, encourage personal and professional growth through training and mentoring, and celebrate our people-oriented culture and the innovative ways they serve Perficient and the community.
Visit our Careers page to see career opportunities and more!
Go inside Life at Perficient and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
