FROM A LIVE EVENT TO A VIRTUAL MEETING

ANNUAL STAFF CONFERENCE - FROM A LIVE EVENT TO A VIRTUAL MEETING

The motto of recent months not only for our company has been prepare for anything.

Visual Communication Holding, of which AV MEDIA EVENTS is a part, annually organizes an internal company conference full of rich programs, meetings and entertainment. Unfortunately, particularly large social gatherings are among those illicit actions during the pandemic. Despite all the restrictions, we have come up with a way to keep the event in its original "live" version. However, the restrictions were changing every day. We had to adapt swiftly to the event's form in reaction to the ongoing situation. The conference has to take place! But how?

About the staff conference

The AV MEDIA staff conference has always been held in style. The event includes guests and a cultural element, and a programme and activities are prepared for each year based on the theme chosen for that year. Employees are grouped into teams across departments to get to know each other better and work together to complete tasks. The programme is interspersed with important presentations from the company’s environment, which summarize the last year and visualize the next. The entire event offers, among other things, a unique chance to meet colleagues who work at branches in other cities.

Preparations

Our colleagues from AV MEDIA SYSTEMS have been preparing since the summer and the conference theme is ”Back to the Future”. Everything was prepared for personal participation, whether it was the meeting or the joint team game. Indoor and outdoor locations were booked and the event was taking shape.

Live or hybrid event?

But then autumn came and with it the worsening of the epidemiological situation. At that moment, it was becoming more than clear that the conference would not take place in the planned scope, when 200 employees would meet in one place. So our colleagues approached us with the preparation of a hybrid conference concept. Over the course of a month, we edited together the new theme of “Journey to the Moon”, selected suitable locations, and began to come up with a hybrid game concept that would enable the involvement of all employees. They were to be divided into groups of 10 people in 16 different locations.

However, the situation did not improve, and in January, when the state of emergency in our country was continuously prolonged, it was more than clear to everyone that the hybrid event would not take place either.

Virtual event!

We had two options at that point. Cancel that year’s staff conference, or move to an online environment. We knew that this meant reshaping a completely new concept over the course of 14 days.

The completely virtual conference was created until the last minute and moved to oneAVstudio, from where it was broadcast via the Meeting 15 platform. The technical team, presenters and guests gathered on home soil after antigen tests and performed brilliantly and with grace. Questions were asked several times during the programme, shown to the employees on the screen during the conference. This way, everyone remained involved in the event and the presenters could respond to the results thanks to the immediate feedback. At the end of the conference, a traditional group photo was made. However, for the first time, no one was pushing anywhere and it was definitely not a problem to stand in front of a tall colleague. Teams lined up their colleagues perfectly and everyone was visible.

Conclusion

Despite constant changes to the concept and regulations, the conference took place successfully. The satisfaction questionnaires pointed at positive results concerning the virtual concept. Employees appreciated the shortened version of the conference, which allowed them to work during the day and not have to spend a lot of time travelling. Safety won out over grandeur, yet the cornerstones of the conference remained. Next year, hopefully, will be more favourable for meetings and everyone will be happy to exchange tracksuits for suits and dresses.

You can absorb the atmosphere of the first virtual conference below.