Who wants to attend a stuffy HR conference anyway?..

Organizing and hosting an online event has its challenges as we’re all finding out at this time of home working. We know that during an online event people tune in to hear their favorite speaker, but they are easily distracted checking emails and looking after children in the background. Our challenge was to reinvent the HR event, and create a new experience for today’s new work mindset. And that is exactly what we did on May 26 and 27. TEC online had 1289 registrants in less than 4 weeks, and has been viewed 4.569 times in less than a week.

Be the change you want to see

The feedback our team often has about online events is that the fun of the in-person event is missing. The ability to interact via chat and ask questions in real-time is always welcomed. Physical events on the other hand are always assumed to be more lively, and something people look forward to attending, but they don't always want to see every keynote speaker. So, we decided we would combine both. A fun, lively event, encouraging people to only attend the sessions that they believe will inspire them the most.

First, we knew we didn't want to run the event like a webinar. So we had two decorated sets, an easy to follow live stream on YouTube and Facebook, two moderators and a change of t-shirt for each speaker. There were no long keynotes where you check your watch 3 times a minute, but instead, short and snappy talks with live Q&A. This proved to be a big success, On day one of the conference we had 1,200 unique attendees! Which is a 90% attendance rate.

During two afternoons, TEC Online focused on people and employee experience. Two topics that have been under a lot of scrutiny lately. International speakers discussed the new normal, the never normal and why there is no better time for HR to innovate. Each talk was tailored to what is happening during the COVID-19 crisis, but mostly how HR plays a crucial role in people's careers, now and in the future.

Hosting an event is about teaching and giving people an experience they talk about for months or even years later. If you want to relive TEC Online or if you don't know what I or everyone in the HR world is talking about, watch the after-movie!