Global Pharmaceutical Virtual Workshop
From Physical to Virtual
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Overview
A major pharmaceutical company had planned to hold a 2-day event in Spain but faced challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis. We consulted them and created an engagement plan that involved postponing the event until later in the year, as well as hosting an entirely virtual set of workshops over 1 day in the short-term.
Objectives
- Address logistical challenges resulting from COVID-19
- Maintain a sense of momentum for the postponed event
- Transition content from a physical to a virtual format
- Run a virtual 1-day set of facilitated workshops, split into 90-minute time chunks
- Create a new coaching model for client company employees
50
Delegates
Virtual
100%
Enagement
Solution
- We delivered the event using a combination of Zoom (professional standard) and our Open Audience Engage technology
- The virtual meeting used engagement features such as polls, Q&A and surveys to gather attendees’ views
- We held a range-finding call prior to the workshop day, to bring together the different teams’ line managers and discuss the agenda
- We used our engagement technology to gain greater understanding of the senior leaders’ opinions and the key challenges facing their teams
- Valuable feedback from managers let us shape the content of the creative workshop agenda, in order to create a new coaching framework in real-time
- We prepared the faculty and other delivery team members to be successful in a virtual environment, setting up their technology, custom backgrounds, and briefing them on virtual meeting etiquette
- We hosted a Zoom call the day prior to the official meeting and invited delegates and speakers alike to join to test their equipment in preparation, and get support from our engagement team
Results
- One of the workshops was run in Spanish, with instantaneous translation for the English-speaking Chair. This flexibility allowed delegates to post questions and ideas in their first languages and work more productively
- 90-minute session format was well-received as it allowed significant participation while accommodating breaks. It meant the agenda could be broken up into themes and discussions could progress more effectively
- Interactivity through Open Audience Engage meant that delegate views and opinions were heard, using a range of features, from temperature checks, to conditional polling, to brainstorming ideas
- Materials and links were hosted on the Open Audience Engage platform for easy access and discussion
- The solution we devised for the client meant they could maintain contact with and provide value to their delegates despite challenging circumstances
- Facilitated workshops engaged the audience despite necessary remote working
- Client was pleased to have been able to maintain momentum for the postponed event and they are interested in incorporating additional virtual workshops and other elements into future agendas – a new hybrid model of physical and virtual events