Tag Archives: Virtual Events

A Short History of Shared Services…and What’s Next.

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Shared Services in government is nothing new. The idea began in the 1980s with the consolidation of payroll and some other administrative functions. In the '90s the focus was on creating entities that could provide common business functions across government and, in that effort, become a cost center.

The 2000s saw the rise of the term 'Line of Business' that looked at common business functions across government to identify opportunities to transform, streamline and share. The Obama Administration looked specifically to IT as a shared service, releasing the Federal IT Shared Services Strategy that provided federal agency chief information officers and key stakeholders guidance. This guidance focused on the implementation of shared IT services as a key principle of their efforts to eliminate waste and duplication, with the intention to reinvest in innovative mission systems.

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When Work Habits Change Media Habits Change

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Recently, Market Connections released their 2020 Federal Media and Marketing Study results, providing a look at how the pandemic has shaped the way the federal buyer consumes media. Findings from 2020 can support marketers in short term planning and serve as a basis for longer term thinking about what their marketing strategy should look like.

The biggest long-term change is the location of where people work. Prior to March 2020, only 5% of federal workers were teleworking full time. This number moved as high as 59%, and while it will drop in the future, 27% report they expect to telework full time in the future. Another 46% expect that partial telework will be a regular routine moving forward.

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Feeding the Virtual Event Habit

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Necessity is the mother of invention, and that is in fact the case with virtual events. The ability to host virtual events has been available for quite some time, but the demand has not been there. With the sudden shutdown of the country due to COVID-19, event planners looked to postpone events but, as the crisis continued, they quickly embraced the online medium to keep some kind of connection to the public they needed to reach.

Virtual events are proving to be more than a stopgap as we work through the response to a public health crisis. It is generally accepted that habits form after 21 days and lifestyle changes cement themselves after 90. Being far beyond 90 days into online meetings and gatherings, we all now accept and even enjoy attending events and learning online. For event planners, virtual events have proven to be an amplifier of their content, often attracting more people than would have attended in person and providing a recorded version of sessions that can be used in other ways throughout the year.

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Virtual Events Time to Shine – Are They Here to Stay?

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We've written quite a bit about virtual events and webinars. With our new COVID reality, we thought it was an important topic to revisit.

While virtual and online events may be the only option in the short term, event organizers can benefit from a virtual mindset when they approach all events going forward. Integrating a plan to host your event virtually if circumstances demand it should be a mandatory part of the overall planning process. Organizers should have the technology in place so they can easily "turn it on" when needed. Even if the event does go off as planned, live and in-person, consider adding online aspects to increase engagement. The option to create streaming video should become an essential event utility like electricity or WiFi.

While social distancing may have accelerated the acceptance of online events, webinars, in particular, are not a new concept in the federal market. Market Connections' Federal Media & Marketing Study (FMMS) found that three-quarters of federal workers reported watching live webinars during the workday and at least one in five were watching recorded webinars on their own time (weeknights and weekends). Webinars tend to be mainly one-way communication - with a speaker presenting and time for questions at the end. Frequently, the Q&A is not done "live," rather questions are gathered via messaging, vetted, and asked by the host. However, as our collective comfort with platforms like Zoom, WebEx, and Skype grow, future webinars could become more interactive, allowing for video participation and interaction between speakers and participants.

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When the Show Simply Cannot Go On

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The Coronavirus has made many organizations take a hard look at how and if they should proceed with events in the coming months. Decisions made in response to this virus should be informed by security and contingency best practices and should serve to inform planners in the future.

Best practices include:

  • Hygiene - Have antibacterial sanitizers available throughout your event venue. Ensure that bathrooms are stocked with anti-bacterial soap. Confirm with caterers how they stock buffets to reduce the risk of people grabbing for food with hands instead of utensils.
  • Have a Plan B - Consider how you can take the show virtual if needed. Look into virtual event and webcast technologies in advance of an issue arising to provide an alternate option should an event have to be canceled or postponed.
  • Review Contracts - Look carefully at cancellation clauses so you understand what falls into each vendor's (including insurance provider's) definition of "force majeure." This ensures that you fully understand the reimbursement policies when making cancellation decisions.
  • Plug into the Community - Tune in to what is happening in the city/community where you are holding the event. It's critical to know what is going on in the community so you can plan accordingly. For example, if there has there been a rash of recent protests or a spike in crime, you may want to increase security at your venue. In the case of a public health issue, you'll know what is actually happening on the ground in terms of infections and general reactions so you can inform attendees and plan accordingly.

We've been in touch with many of our partners and have pulled together this list of events that have been canceled, postponed or rescheduled due to health concerns.

We'd love to hear from you. How have precautions around the Coronavirus impacted your event planning? Share your stories in the comments. For more government events worldwide, visit GovEvents.