Internal business conferences can help engage, inspire and connect employees across all levels of an organization. However, coordinating an internal business conference always comes with a host of logistical challenges. From getting different teams on the same page to keeping everyone engaged and delivering a clear message, communications teammates who organize internal conferences must work to mitigate potential issues and ensure a positive experience for all.
If you have an internal business conference coming up or are interested in hosting one, read on for insights from 11 members of Forbes Communications Council. Here, they explore common problems that arise during the planning process, as well as practical tips and strategies to ensure your internal conference goes off without a hitch.
1. Delivering Personalized Messaging
Comms teams typically don’t have the same level of resources that marketing does, so it can be hard to find the time to deliver personalized messaging that really engages different internal audiences. However, the “what’s in it for me?” factor isn’t the same for front-line workers as for office-based staff, so it’s important to try and think through channel choice and persona-based comms. – Scott Hitchins, Interact Software
2. Keeping Attendees Engaged
Speakers and panels can be interesting, but your attendees’ minds will go to the work they are missing or an urge to scroll through email or social media. So give them something to do! Have attendees engage in polls, send real-time messages, submit online Q&As or follow and engage in a group chat. Anything that raises engagement will also help deliver the message home. – Christina Hager, Ovations Digital
3. Budget Constraints; Aligning Attendees With Event Goals
Comms pros face the challenges of budget constraints and aligning attendees with event goals. Connecting attendees with a broader mission enhances impact, fostering unity and purpose. At our Healthcare Operations Summit, a pledge sparked engagement and unexpected outcomes, measured by attendance, feedback and actions. My advice: Balance the budget, engage attendees and evaluate connections for future success. – Kristin Russel, symplr
4. Maintaining Clear Communication Among Stakeholders
You must maintain clear communication among stakeholders and business leaders. We use processes and templates that have proven to be successful for this. We establish internal communications channels using channels for each event, such as in Teams or Slack. We combine this with regular calls to review the brief, the budget and the project plan with all stakeholders, and we share guidance as subject matter experts. – Anthony Kennedy, ION
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5. Accommodating Pet Owners
A big challenge for planning internal business conferences is accommodating the recent surge in pet ownership, especially among Millennials. The added cost and logistical concerns of pet care during these events can be a barrier for some employees. One potential solution is to explore virtual conference options, ensuring higher attendance rates without imposing additional pet care expenses. – Brittany Garlin, Vista Social
6. Giving Everyone A Role To Play
For an internal conference, it’s important to make sure every participant understands that they not only have a voice, but also a role to play in the meeting. Give them an assignment, a task or an insight to share, and they’ll be more engaged and interested throughout the entire conference. – Melissa Kandel, little word studio
7. Engaging Employees Across Levels And Departments
The biggest challenge for comms pros planning an internal business conference is engaging employees across levels and departments. We’ve tackled this by creating interactive activities leading up to the event, using social media and email campaigns to build anticipation and keep attendees informed leading up to the conference. – Sowmya Moni, Incture
8. Driving Home Your Message
While repetition is important to ensure everyone hears the main goals and vision of your company, sharing it in the same way each and every time can make some tune out. To ensure your team walks away with the message you’re trying to convey, keep it short, sweet and to the point, and find creative ways to introduce it each time. Try and switch things up so that you don’t always use the same ten slides. – Victoria Zelefsky, The Menkiti Group
9. Varying The Format To Keep Attendees Alert And Active
Too often, when planning a conference, the focus is on making life easy for the speakers, which results in the same style being used in all slide presentations. While it takes more work up front, be mindful of varying the format so that attendees are kept alert, active and engaged. The attendees drive the success of your conference, so keep their needs at the front of your mind. – Patrick Ward, Formula.Monks
10. Ensuring All Participants Actively Engage
A major challenge is ensuring active engagement from all participants. My team and I tackled this by incorporating interactive elements into the conference. We used technology such as live polls and Q&A sessions to foster real-time interaction, and we also created breakout sessions for smaller group discussions, which allowed for more personal connections and in-depth conversations. – Vikas Agrawal, Infobrandz
11. Getting People Excited About In-Person Events Again
The biggest challenge now is getting people back to in-person events. People don’t want to travel with the same conditions, agenda and entertainment in place as before Covid. You have to come up with more appealing arguments as to why it shouldn’t be only an online webinar. Try featuring more inspirational external speakers, mixing internal and external attendees and presenting out-of-the-box topics and learnings. – Jenda Perla, Kentico
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