By, Caroline Bowers, Client Services Manager, Impact Association Management
How does a membership association founded on collaboration and networking keep members engaged and provide quality programming in a virtual environment?
Impact recently took on that challenge with The Association for Collaborative Leadership (ACL) while planning their 2021 virtual conference, “The Future of Collaboration when ‘Business as Usual’ Resides in the Past”. ACL is the resource for collaboration in higher education, an industry that has faced twin pandemics over the past two years: COVID-19 and racial injustice. It was, and continues to be, evident to all ACL board members that progress in addressing these critical issues, and other challenges, require creativity, and innovation. With this in mind, the Impact team worked with ACL to put together a conference that not only met, but exceeded member expectations.
The Right Team
The first step in the planning process is creating a strong committee of members who are committed to producing a quality event. Find people with the unique skills necessary to make the event run smoothly and ensure it is enjoyable for participants who are may be suffering from “Zoom fatigue”. You will need people who can help manage the technical side of the event-- polls, breakout rooms, closed captioning, chat moderation, and remembering to record every session! You also need people who can engage the audience and come up with creative ways to make the event interactive.
ACL’s Board and committee members facilitated playing Scattergories in breakout rooms during their opening session and provided guided insightful discussion with the attendees by providing thought provoking questions. The event committee carefully chose speakers and topics focused on three areas of interest: 1) Making the case for collaboration, 2) Running consortia amid challenge and change, and 3) Readying individuals for collaborative work. A focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as on inter-consortial collaboration, was also woven through the program. The right team of committee members, association managers, and engaging speakers created an interactive and valuable experience for the attendees.
The Right Tools
I created a few planning tools to ensure the organization and the success of the event. I deemed these my “Instruments for Success”. These tools included an interactive Planning Timeline, a Session Technical Support Form, a Session Directives document, and a Moderator Guide.
The Planning Timeline clearly outlined all event planning tasks and a set schedule for completion. The Session Technical Support Form was provided to speakers to gather poll questions, breakout room needs, and timed outlines prior to their session. We also held rehearsals with speakers and/or panelists for each session and took detailed notes on how the presentation was going to flow. The Session Directives included a session outline based on those rehearsal notes. The Session Directives listed co-hosts, moderator name, timeline of polls and breakout rooms, and who would help facilitate the chat room.
The Moderator Guide was provided to committee members who had volunteered their time to help facilitate the sessions. This document included key details of the session and a welcome script with speaker bios and housekeeping items for attendees like how to ask questions and to respectfully stay muted while the speaker and/or panelists were presenting. Preparing these tools for your volunteers ensures everyone is on the same page and prepared for their role during the event.
Key Takeaways
Most membership associations are run by volunteer boards who have full time jobs. The right team and the right tools can make your board and committee members’ roles easier and your attendees’ virtual experience exceptional. Discover how Impact’s team of expert meeting planners can ensure your virtual, in-person, or hybrid event provides incredible value for your association and its members.