Avoid the Silent Town Hall with Interactive Corporate Video

Workforces are rapidly decentralizing and getting more global by the minute. This creates even more need to employ new techniques to bring employees together and engage them with better communication tactics. One way to accomplish this feat is with corporate video. Hosting regular Town Hall live streams can bridge the distance gap, no matter where your employees are sitting.  

Town Halls are typically hosted by the CEO as an update for the employees on the state of the company. For many employees, this is the only interaction they will get with the CEO. So, it’s extremely important these corporate video events run flawlessly and are optimized for employee engagement. Without participation, the Town Hall investment is lost.

Why do Town Halls fail?

Aside from technical failures (watch this video on-demand to learn how to properly prepare for a live event, Town Halls often fail to deliver authentic content. The CEO’s part is predictable and well-scripted. Employees expect that, but it doesn’t usually inspire audience participation. Following the presentation, there is the ceremonial Q&A.

“Let’s open the floor to questions,” the CEO says.

Crickets.

After an awkward silence that, without fail, goes on for far too long, the CEO says, “You sure there aren’t any questions?”

The Town Hall wraps up and not one employee has asked a question. Their sole opportunity to have an authentic interaction with their CEO has come and gone. The next Town Hall comes around, and the same thing happens. The precedent is set that questions are not expected.

How do you encourage engagement?

To get more people actively involved in your Town Hall you need to level the playing field. At the very least, in-person and remote attendees need the same access to ask questions. This ensures no one group of individuals is pressured to ask a question over the next or steamrolled by another group. Everyone should feel like they are a part of the event.

We’ve seen that including interactive elements within your corporate video event can dramatically impact participation rates for exactly this reason. Live Q&As, live polls, feedback, and interactive agendas can all take a Town Hall from a broadcast to a true engagement tool.  Take a look at this case study with Medtronicfrom our partner Pigeonhole Live, to see how this type of solution can really work.

A fluid Q&A where attendees can respond to the CEO’s remarks and allowing spontaneous questions to be asked in-person and online through an interactive chat are a great start, but remember that you’ll also need to be sure that your moderator is paying attention to the questions that arise in both formats.