Written by Puruna Jin, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, NEXTGEN Group NZ
We are a close-knit team at NEXTGEN and so it’s been a challenge not seeing each other. We are, however, lucky to be in an industry that has been booming through COVID. It, therefore, seemed appropriate for us to support others who weren’t so fortunate.
We were looking for an activity to bring together the extended NEXTGEN community – staff, family and clients – as a way of staying connected and positive during lockdown, coming together for a worthy cause and having some fun along the way.
It’s also good to be reminded that while we're all sick of being stuck at home, we're actually lucky to have homes to be stuck in.
The connection between our brand and the Orange Sky brand goes beyond the colour orange as we share the same values of inclusivity and respecting diverse life challenges.
We had Sudsy Challenge Teams in New Zealand and Australia alongside members from within the business. Doing this challenge was a great way to stay connected during lockdown and raise awareness on homelessness.
We’ve been able to start conversations during client meetings by using The Sudsy Challenge as our Zoom background. There has been great engagement from family, friends and our clients, not to mention lots of healthy competition to raise the most money, which is great to see.
During the challenge, we worked up a raft of activities for the team, including a “What The CEO Has To Wear Competition”. He has a reputation for wearing outfits at work that should really be saved for the golf course, so finding something to challenge him was definitely interesting!
We also ran a haircut auction; some staff members hadn't seen the inside of a salon for months and then had to take styling directions from the winning bidder, whatever path that might lead down.
NEXTGEN feels privileged to be the one to bring this message to businesses we work with and encourage all other organisations that share the same values to take part in supporting Orange Sky.
Check out our blog to read more workplace stories from The Sudsy Challenge.
