The world of work has certainly changed in recent months – and it’s showing no signs of getting back to normal anytime soon. So, for now, meetings, events and conferences in the virtual world look set to be the way forward to keep the cogs of business turning. But how do we inject some excitement into these digital sessions? How do we make virtual meetings and other events, like conferences, more engaging so our attendees don’t get bored and switch off?

We spoke to virtual business support experts Effective Business Management (EBM) to find out how they do it.

Technology is certainly a key element to making remote working seamless and efficient.

But flexible and agile management also plays an integral role, according to Steve Hancock, director at Effective Business Management, or EBM, which assists a plethora of UK businesses virtually - from managing communications to operational and executive level support.

The company had already seen steady growth in more companies moving their services online since 2019, and, it’s no surprise that this has rocketed since the pandemic hit. Key growth areas include hosting virtual events and taking conferences online. It seems however, according to Steve, that there’s definitely more to virtual chit chat than just the popular Microsoft Teams and Zoom online platforms.

Steve said:

“When it comes to hosting virtual events, there’s a host of different technologies that can be deployed to increase engagement and interest for attendees to help get a firm’s messages across. It’s better to be short, sharp and visually engaging when it comes to presenting information, and, it can sometimes, depending on the content, be better to present this to attendees ahead of a virtual meeting so they have time to absorb, prep and attend with a reflective, and fully versed mindset.”

“As well as the Mindmapping systems there are many platforms that allow teams to work effectively as well as to meet the bespoke needs and budgets of businesses - some great examples we’ve used are Trello, Asana, Basecamp and Monday.com.

“As technology continues to develop, there’s improved use of firms also using various technologies to help teams work in an agile fashion, as well as give collaborative and reflective time to contribute to ongoing and one-off projects. Mural, Scapple and Mindmeister are just three platforms adding value in this arena.

“Teams might not have met much in 2020, but we have numerous examples of their output and performance having gone from strength to strength using different technologies while working from home,” adds Steve, who runs EBM with his wife Alison and an established team across the UK. Online conferencing is another key area where businesses have found themselves in new waters.

But, again, there are platforms that can make this seamless.”

Taking a flexible project management approach and weighing up the pros and cons of the different platforms that exist can enable an organisation to achieve the levels of interaction required whilst staying within budget. Including short videos, slides and different blogs lift interest, engagement and participation.

Working with some software designs, you can also integrate a fully branded ticketing system – with multiple tickets types and selection options, including post webinar content to re-watch – that’s able to blend into client branding guidelines.

These are just some of the other key growth areas on the back of the increase in remote working which have resulted in increased demand for bespoke call management - set up, answering, forwarding, recording, managing; to run events and online award sessions for clients; and for setting up branded systems for ticketing, promotion, attendance, as well as surveys and certification for CPD events.

If you’d like EBM to help with your commercial management, including remote working, visit www.effectivebm.co.uk, call 01543 220129, email hello@effectivebm.co.uk, or find them on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter @effectivebm.