Large Group Virtual Facilitation
Challenge
Each year our client brings together senior leaders from around the world (80% non-native English language speakers) to align around strategy, plans and leadership. For virtual events this has meant typically between 150-300 people joining online. We supported these types of events during the Covid lockdown when travel and face-to-face meetings was not possible. Our challenge always is to create an engaging, inspiring and inclusive event that is a catalyst for the performance over the coming year.
Approach
In supporting this work we play a number of roles:
- Event designer – working with an internal planning team that includes the Divisional President, CFO, CPO and other executive team members to co-create the event.
- Session shaper – working with presenters / those providing inputs to shape each session so that there is interaction and engagement. This is key for table discussions and breakouts.
- Communications and engagement advisor – working with the internal comms manager to shape pre and post-event communication and engagement with participants
- Technology harnesser – working with internal tech team to use MS Teams primarily to support smaller group discussions.
- Event presenter – providing inputs at the event on relevant topics linked to change, leadership, culture
- Event facilitator – facilitating the event and ensuring output capture.
We always work collaboratively to ensure event aims are clear along with the outcomes needed from each session.
At one event a TV studio was used with full production. We fronted this on-screen event and we also supported scripting for those providing inputs and round-table discussions.
At one event we facilitated a group of 120 people who were all in a conference room in Las Vegas and we were in our office in Oxford. It was an unusual situation due to family illness, but it worked incredibly well!
Outcome
Participant event ratings are consistently high. More importantly, the business has achieved sustained growth during this period and internal engagement scores rate highly on clarity of strategy, what’s expected of people and leadership alignment – all clear outcomes from these events. The Divisional President (and event sponsor) wrote:
“There is no challenge Mightywaters can’t rise to. They have facilitated brilliant events from their office and through a TV studio. There was a time when the technology failed at Mightywaters had to lead a section ‘blind’ – unable to see anything on screen. Their ability to work real-time meant nobody noticed! We all had a steep learning curve to climb in working virtually. Mightywaters took us up that learning curve quickly and delivered top-class virtual events that fully engaged our leaders from across the world”.
