As the country gradually emerges from the lockdown phase, the landscape has changed greatly for many companies. But the show must go on, hence companies are envisioning continuity as one of their top priorities.
With countless large events getting cancelled worldwide over the past several months, event organisers, too, are now finding ways of helping businesses regain normalcy. No wonder why one of the most pressing questions on the minds of corporate event planners and businesses alike is what events will typically look like once the ongoing lockdowns have been lifted.
Will things quickly snap back to business as usual, or will we need to adapt to a new way of organising corporate events in times to come? In this article, we explore some of the most likely ways the events industry and corporations will adapt to the upcoming paradigm shift in the post-lockdown era.
The Rise of Hybrid Corporate Events
Many businesses are still planning to let the majority of their workforce continue working from home. Many travel bans are yet to be lifted too, so not everyone can attend a corporate event. And even though video conferencing platforms have made it relatively easy for remote teams to stay connected, many companies are on the lookout for more inventive ways to fill the gaps between real-world communication and its virtual counterpart. Their preferred solution? Hybrid meetings – the best of two worlds (real and virtual) together — which many experts claim are here to stay!
However, the outlook for hybrid events was negligible just a few months back. In this short span of time, hybrid meetings have quickly gained adoption and acceptance in the mainstream and helped companies get up to pace with the new normal.
Not only have most businesses found hybridisation of events to be cost-effective in these times of economic instability, but it’s also sustainable in every way, unleashing the potential of corporate events for mass participation and wide distribution of content on an unprecedented scale. What’s more, businesses of all sizes that want to organise such events now have access to a plethora of options for customisation, utilising creativity, and high-tech professional setups.
Prevalent Use of Protective Measures
Since we are already seeing most major corporations invest heavily towards sanitisation, disinfection, and ensuring utmost hygiene of their meeting venues, it’s safe to assume that it’s going to become the norm, across the board, for live events. The meeting attendees would be required to wear masks and gloves, get their temperature recorded while entering the venue, use hand sanitisers frequently, and avoid physical contact when attending corporate meetings – at least until the looming risk of community transmission of the infection subsides.
In many cases, the attendees will also need to disclose their travel and health history to the event organisers for better coordination. Look at it as just another step for event organisers towards ensuring they are providing a safe environment for the attendees.
Some additional protective measures which we are predicting will be adapted, especially in case of large scale, in-person corporate events, in the future, are things like:
- No-touch entry points
- Contactless dining
- Insurance for attendees
- Seating plans that take care of the vulnerable population as well as the general physical distancing of all attendees
- Special support systems for those who show any symptoms of infection
More Locally Produced Events
The restrictions on what materials are allowed to be procured from overseas may not go away soon. Plus, the cost of shipping is also expected to increase in times to come. This is why businesses will need to look for local suppliers, while also rethinking how to obtain all the resources required for designing and delivering their events, locally.
Final Thoughts
In case of corporate events where venue and logistics management becomes too big of a task, hybrid formats will come to the rescue. But when it comes to picking between ‘hybrid whenever appropriate’ and ‘going virtual, just for the sake of it’, we should always support the former than latter, for now. However, don’t get us wrong; live, in-person events will be back at some point in the future, and we won’t need to re-learn things whenever that happens – just put in some extra care and safety as per the norms, and we should be good to go.
Needless to say, corporate events will still need to be designed and delivered as truly memorable experiences for the audience. And that’s precisely where we come in and put to work our know-how and event management experience, besides high-end technology, to make all the difference. Our focus will continue to be on how we can add value and make these social experiences as rich and amazing as possible for the public, especially in already stressful times like these.
So, if you are looking for a nimble corporate event management company in the UK that knows how to best organise corporate events in the post-lockdown era and even hybrid events during the era, we’re here to help. Learn more about our virtual event solutions here.
