Busy Season Ideas

Just. Keep. Going.

If you're in Busy Season, we got you! You may be in the office, or working remote, or doing a combination of the two. Regardless, make sure you're taking time to decompress and taking care of your teams.

Check out the below list of ideas you can implement this year at your firm. The ideas are for big and small firms and can be scaled to any size team! We hope this helps. If you have an idea you'd like for us to share, please email it to VSCPA Communications Director Jill Edmonds.

Feeding your teams 

What's at the top of the list of what your teams want? Food, of course! (Please keep in mind that we are seeing some indicators that if you consistently pay for employees meals, it can be considered taxable income. Gift cards are always considered taxable income.) 

• Free dinners at the office.

• Hot catered lunches and salad bars. (If you consistently have food options at the office, have some healthy choices, too.)

• Food delivery gift cards and digital credits: Grubhub, UberEats, etc. If you're remote, have a set time that everyone gets their food delivered at the same time and make it a social video event!

• Gift certificates for local or chain restaurants in your area. 

• Meal kit delivery gift cards: Blue Apron, Home Chef, etc. 

• Free snacks. Free snacks. Did we say free snacks? If remote, give employees a monthly stipend for food and snacks.

Having fun & connecting with your teams 

• Create a shared Spotify playlist for your team to add to. Check out the VSCPA's  Busy Season Playlist (upbeat tunes) or our Focus Playlist for more deep work!

• If you're hybrid or remote, create a virtual break room where anyone can visit at any time to chat, decompress, vent or connect. Team managers should encourage these as a great place to connect with coworkers and build camaraderie.

• Home office tours! Have employees at home give coworkers a virtual tour of their workspaces, pointing out favorite items and other things they enjoy.

• Participate in a virtual race or exercise challenge through Yes.Fit.

• Virtual trivia nights 

  • TriviaHub
  • Jam Events
     
• Virtual party games
  • Jackbox Games
  • Online board games
     
• Virtual escape room 
  • Ravenchase Adventures, team building and escape rooms 
  • The Escape Room Remote Adventures
     
• Virtual wine tasting 
  • Bluemont Vineyard (Virginia-based)
  • In Good Taste
     
• Virtual chocolate tasting
  • Gearharts Chocolates
     
• Virtual experiences of all kinds
  • AirBnB is hosting thousands of virtual experiences at very low price points (as low as $5 per person).
  • Lots of events like magic shows, virtual tours and more from CourseHorse Groups.
     
• Virtual happy hour with cocktails 
  • Cocktail Courier will deliver cocktails to your teams doors for a virtual happy hour.

Treating your teams

• Send a charcuterie board from Kured.

• Send a custom candy box from SugarWish.

• Send a curated gift box from Knack (maybe also useful for client gifts).

• Zoom-meeting-free days. For real. No meetings!

• Give your staff a small stipend that they are required to use on something that brings them joy for their office or desk.

• Give a donation to Donors Choose and allow your team members to allocate it to the school and classroom project of their choice.

Relaxing with your teams 

• Virtual Yoga, meditation or astrology sessions. You can also find a local yoga teacher to lead these virtually.

• A subscription to the Calm app for Busy Season. 

• Virtual visit with rescue goats.