Behind the scenes: The OpenPayd Social Committees

Across our offices in the UK, Malta, Bulgaria and Turkey, OpenPayders gather in small groups to plan fun activities for their colleagues. They are our four social committees, responsible for maintaining a steady flow of activities that keep our company lively. 

So what do our social activities look like? What have been the highlights from those tasked with organising them? And what’s in the pipeline for 2023? We asked some of the team, these are their answers: 

What has been your favourite event you have organised?

Charlie (UK): Paintballing – That really took people out of their comfort zone. It was great fun, people’s competitive side came out and you are literally fighting in the trenches together.

Claire (Malta): Christmas Party 2021. It was really challenging, I was working part time so didn’t have a lot of time to organise and it was covid time so there were still some restrictions we had to manage. But in the end it was a very successful event!

Carles (London): During the pandemic we organised a wine-tasting night to stay in touch when we couldn’t meet in person. Organising it across our different offices was hard work; between the pandemic and Brexit, it wasn’t easy to ship wine abroad!

Georgi (Bulgaria): We’ve organised a cleaning of a popular riverbank near Sofia where a local community is trying to turn into a clean and preserved place for fishing and camping.

Diarmid (UK): I've really enjoyed helping the social committee plan previous xmas parties, making them a night to remember for all the hard working Opendayders. But no social committee event night is complete without the Pub Quiz! Or most recently ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ (it's especially fun when you’re the host who forgets to pre-read the questions and has no clue yourself).

Why did you choose to get involved with the social committee?

Begum (Turkey): I believe in the power of diversity, inclusion, and corporate social responsibility to help create a better future. Through our efforts in corporate social responsibility, we can positively impact our communities and contribute to social progress.

Claire (Malta): It’s part of my job to handle social activities but it’s actually one of the parts that I enjoyed the most. Before joining OpenPayd I was working in the hospitality industry (planning events). I really like to use creativity and see an idea turned into reality.

Lisa (UK): I chose to get involved with the Social Committee as I saw it as a chance to put my ideas forward and help to plan and arrange lots of fun social events for the whole team to enjoy throughout the year!

Lydia (Bulgaria): I’ve always been the person who takes ownership of organising events and never considered it a burden, quite the opposite! It is always a pleasure for me to suggest activities and then arrange them.

Charlie (UK): I joined as soon as I started here at OpenPayd, I found it a great way to settle in and find out the true culture of the company.

What’s it like being part of the OpenPayd social committee?

Diarmid (UK): It’s great! We have a good mix of people in the team who all contribute with some wild and wacky ideas! It can be a challenge to come up with unique ideas. But we try to maintain a sensibility to it; we’re making sure people are entertained, happy and fulfilled with the team-building events we put on.

Lydia (Bulgaria): I really enjoy spending time with my colleagues at the social committee, we always manage to inspire each other to generate new and interesting ideas and I love the excitement we spark in one another for what is to come.