With the decline in pandemic restrictions, in-person gatherings are again being encouraged. Life is seemingly moving towards normality. However, businesses had already shifted their dealings online by having remote employees onboard. These teams are remotely functioning and communicate with in-house teams through the internet. Although it benefits corporations and the employee base, it still confuses them in day-to-day communication. For that matter, companies are now hosting hybrid meetings.
You heard right! Now the wheels will run along if corporations wish to have a global standing. This sudden workplace shift has encouraged companies to combine onsite and remote team members through hybrid meetings. In fact, a recent global workforce survey indicated that 98% of businesses wish a global employee base to join their business meetings. These events increase your attendance and reach all across the globe. So why only host in-person meetings? Let’s explore things you need to know about hybrid events.
In order to have a clear insight into the subject, we need to understand what hybrid meetings are.
What are Hybrid Meetings?
Hybrid meetings are events in which the attendees can either join in person or attend virtually. With the interference of virtual and hybrid event platforms, remote audiences are easily engaged through audio/video conferencing and text chat features. This keeps the onsite and remote work teams on the same page. In addition, hybrid meetings ensure seamless presentation broadcasts, real-time event analytics, or effective team communication wherever your employees are based. In short, the primary focus of these remote meetings is to get an external team on board, so they do not miss out on important company meetings.
A feature-enriched hybrid event platform is the backbone of hybrid meetings. Your business event is efficiently managed and executed by hybrid event suppliers to deliver a successful meeting experience. If your company is a hybrid workplace, you are probably familiar with the necessity of virtual meetings. So, adopt a hybrid meeting culture and walk ahead of the corporate world.
We have devised a list of reasons for hybrid workplace starters to consider the gravity of the situation. In fact, a shift to hybrid events would boost efficiency and uplift your business approach. So let’s dig in and explore.
Reasons to Host Hybrid Meetings
Remember how your boss freaked out when the teammates from out of the station could not make it to the meeting on time? Of course, companies want to make sure that their remote teams are walking at the same pace as onsite teams. But are you taking the necessary steps to manage the workforce efficiently? If you have remote employees working for you, there is a need to broaden your corporate event horizons. Businesses nowadays are conducting hybrid conferences and meetings. Check out what a hybrid conference is and how it works.
There are tons of benefits that your organization can earn out of hybrid events. To name a few:
- It helps save on expenses, time, and resources
- Improves efficiency and promotes flexibility
- Boosts engagement and enables meeting excess for a longer time
- Provides real-time analytics
- Provides uninterrupted collaboration
I mean, who could resist these benefits? We sure need upgraded business event solutions in 2021 to keep up with global trends. Hybrid meetings seem the only way to go.
Global Reach and Attendance
Previously, stakeholders or clients had to move to different cities to attend a meeting. Those were the days of carrying the briefcase, suiting up, and preparing a speech with documents in hand. The restrictions of time and space interfered with their busy work schedules. But now, online and hybrid events have changed the game for all. You can gather the onsite team at the workspace for a hybrid meeting and have remote attendees onboard.
Firstly, hybrid meetings extend your reach across the globe. There is no need to host the meetings at a physical venue or move to other cities. Instead, social media channels can quickly promote the event online to increase awareness and involve global teams. That is how hybrid events boost attendance and allow a global employee base to join in. These events prove helpful to not just the company but each individual hoping to join the meeting. For instance, a working mother can easily tune in to the hybrid meeting without traveling and leaving her kids behind.
The best thing about these virtual meets is that everyone can tap into the hybrid event platform and access the live presentations, webinars, or meeting rooms. As a result, a large number of remote attendees join who otherwise could not travel for a meeting.
Improved Efficiency and Engagement
Engaging a large audience at a physical meeting has undoubtedly got us to bite our nails. The mics revolved around the whole venue to get audience to speak. Those methods were not just tiring but were also time-consuming. However, with hybrid meeting solutions, time and resources are used productively. A virtual or hybrid events platform welcomes remote audiences in a seamless networking environment. Double or triple the number of attendees get to interact and engage with each other throughout the meeting.
Wondering how? Feature-enriched hybrid meeting platforms offer live chat or audio/video conferencing with polling and Q&A throughout the meeting. In addition, if the meeting is occurring onsite, the entire session is live-streamed to a larger audience. This way, onsite attendees seamlessly connect with remote attendees throughout the event using chat and meeting features. This not only boosts efficiency but also ensures strategic business growth and success. There’s no doubt in assuming that the future of corporate business is hybrid.
Review and Share Meetings
A hybrid meeting is easily saved and rewatched later. So, those who still could not attend the meeting can take the recording and pick up important information. That is how you ensure that the whole team is on the same page. Your employees can;
- Extract meaningful information from the meeting
- Catchup on keynote speaker messages
- Watch entire presentation recordings
- Gather the overall status of the meeting
- Benefit from the Q&A sessions and pollings
Cost-Effective Collaboration and Teamwork
Do you remember arranging for notepads, stationery, and laptops for a large number of people? It sure was a big hassle to keep up with the excellent reputation of the company. Now, minimizing the physical venue hassle has helped businesses to have better control over the costs. Your audiences are joining in the meeting from a laptop device and internet connection. There is no need to travel to a physical location or get people to take time out of their busy schedules. Plus, you get to save on accommodation and food expenses. These are the perks hybrid workplace offers to their employees: if they cannot travel, they need not travel.
Moreover, the current tools, software, and technology uplift advanced virtual and hybrid solutions. Throughout the event, quick analytics reports are available on attendee activity and the overall event progress.
To Summarize
Hybrid events are here to stay! The pandemic has taught us that changing our business approaches is entirely beneficial. If physical gatherings are being discouraged, then we can always trust virtual and hybrid events. Surely, we would not be disappointed. Virtual Days is one such platform you can trust with hosting your business hybrid events. So get a demo today and watch our expert team organize and execute an exceptional event experience.
Author | Mubashrah Rahim
