How to run a successful virtual event

Ever since the pandemic changed how we work and deliver events, virtual events have become a necessity.

With the plethora of technology available, running an engaging and successful virtual event can be quite easy.

A few years ago, I managed a parents in education event run over the course of a week. It was held at a large conference venue in my city. Recognising that not all parents could attend the sessions in person, we ran concurrent virtual events via live stream. This proved very successful and popular with parents, and I want to share a few of the lessons in this article.

Firstly, a solid plan and running sheet is essential to ensure everyone knows what they are doing on the day. It also helps everyone to stay on track with timings so the sessions don’t run late.

Engaging an audio visual specialist is a good idea to ensure a professional presentation that includes clear audio and good lighting. Live streaming technology can be temperamental, so it’s always best to trust these things to experts.

We did a test run on the day with the audio visual team and made sure that everything was live streaming perfectly. We live streamed to YouTube and had the sessions available as replays for a limited time following the event.

Transcripts were also essential to ensure inclusiveness, as we had some parents with a disability.

To encourage engagement, we had a live question and answer platform during each presentation. This was via Sli.do and myself and other staff monitored these questions, grouping them into themes. At the end of the session, our facilitator read out many of these questions and the speaker answered them live. We also ran polls throughout the sessions and showed the results live using a split screen alongside the speaker.

Lastly, we had a roving microphone in the live audience. Our facilitator took questions from the floor and our speakers shared their thoughts.

We surveyed our virtual and live audience following the event using online survey software. This helped us learn what worked well and what we could do differently next time.

Virtual events take as much, if not more, planning as an in person event. There are many ways to be creative and make these events immersive and engaging. I recommend researching and testing the different technologies to find a solution that meets the needs of your audience and your event.

How to keep your remote employees engaged and motivated

The pandemic has changed the way we work. Many employees are now working remotely, at least some of the time. Remote working could now be considered the ‘new normal’. This is good news for both employers and employees. For employees, spending more time with family, having pets close by and the 10 second commute in your sweat pants are all positives. Sounds great doesn’t it. Or is it?

There is no doubt that remote working also has benefits for employers. For example, reduced tangible expenses such as accommodation and energy usage, plus higher productivity and more employee satisfaction.

However, remote working can also create challenges of a different kind. Without being in the same physical space, keeping employees engaged and motivated may prove tricky. It’s been reported that some employees also experience burnout, as they are working longer hours, sometimes without breaks.

Isolation can be an issue for some employees. Office banter and face to face contact is missing. For some employees, this can be confronting in terms of productivity and general happiness at work. So how do you replicate a face to face office environment into a remote or virtual working world?

Thankfully, technology has allowed us to reproduce most of our day to day office tasks into a virtual environment. Meeting software with screen sharing, whiteboarding and polls have allowed interaction between team members. Although not replacing the nuances of tone, facial expression and the like, technology has helped to fill the gap between isolation and full time office based work.

The key to engaging remote team members is to strike a balance between formal meetings and social catch-ups. With formal meetings, it can be a good idea to start with an ice breaker. This could be a question for each team member to kick off the meeting. For example:

• what is your favourite meal to cook
• what is your favourite travel destination
• what would be your superpower

These questions can help facilitate conversation, camaraderie and connection with colleagues. It can help colleagues get to know one another and replace the ‘water cooler’ conversations and desk chats in the physical office.

Team improvement sessions are also beneficial. The responsibility for running these sessions can be rotated amongst the team. Sessions should be relatively short and interactive, based on a different theme or goal relevant to the work of the team. These could be run once a week.

Social sessions can include fun exercises like a general knowledge quiz, ‘guess that tune’ quiz or a ‘guess the team member’ quiz (get team members to send in a childhood photo to the moderator). Social sessions could also be run once a week or more often if the team is supportive. A rotation system works well with each team member taking a turn to host a session.

Involve your team in brainstorming the formal and informal sessions – how often, starting a roster system for facilitation and coming up with ideas.

Implementing these strategies into your remote working environment should help to create a more engaged and motivated team.