Five Important Elements to a Successful Workshop
As the business world regains its footing and searches for normalcy in a post-COVID world, many companies are looking for ways to energize their teams and provide a shared experience. One way companies can make (or remake) these connections with their employees is through a workshop. Whether you choose to conduct a virtual workshop or host everyone in-person, it gives you a unique opportunity to provide a structured, immersive experience with your company culter. We’ve identified five essential elements to successful workshops that are proven to develop relationships, increase connectivity, and build momentum needed for sustainable success.
Have a Central Theme
As you begin planning your workshop, the first thing you must decide on is a theme. This theme will set the tone for objectives and conversations you and your participants will have and will be the anchor that holds your workshop together. Selecting the right theme for your business will be useful in every facet of your event including:
Creating buzz prior to the event
Establish expectations of what attendees will experience
Rallying employees and attendees around a central objective
Leave a lasting impression with applicable takeaways for your participants
While your theme does not have to be a product or service based training, it should connect in some way to your central value proposition and your company’s unique culture and ability to solve problems or deliver an essential service that improves the way your business or people operate.
Go In with Specific Outcomes in Mind
There are many potential benefits of a workshop. A recent HubSpot article mentions new business, increased brand awareness, opportunities for customer engagement, and providing additional industry education as potential outcomes of workshops and event marketing in general. As you plan your workshop, think of what your team would like to achieve and how that impacts your planning and execution strategy including:
Budget- your desired outcome will impact what budget you allocate to your workshop and define an ROI needed to be considered a success
Marketing- knowing your desired outcome guides internal marketing efforts to promote and provide proper branding to your workshop
Participants- having a specific outcome in mind for your workshop will impact who from your company is needed for attending, facilitating, or presenting at your workshop
Know Your Audience
Have you ever been at an event or workshop and thought, “This was not meant for me?” How long did it take for you to tune out the speaker upon making that realization? Knowing your audience is paramount to the success of your workshop, while not knowing your audience is a cardinal sin that will cause you to lose the room and drain any enthusiasm your attendees might have brought with them. A successful workshop is a delicate balancing act of creating an experience that everyone in the room can relate to while also making a personal connection between your brand and each attendee as an individual. Keep the following in mind as you plan:
Your communication patterns, materials, and speakers must be fresh. Don’t simply regurgitate stale material.
Tailor your content to the theme and especially to the persona of the attendees you are connecting with during the workshop.
This Forbes article reiterates the importance of knowing your audience and gives pointers of how to communicate in a genuine and respectful way.
Design Thought-Provoking Content
Remember that the workshop needs to be impactful. Remember your desired outcome and ask yourself what questions you need to answer and more importantly, what questions your attendees need to ask and answer themselves regarding your product or service in relation to their business. When you focus on impact, your content will take on new life and become more intriguing, making a successful workshop. This impact will be felt through the presentations and activities you design for your workshop. Whether you choose to have a single presenter, multiple presenters, or a group activity, plan your content in a way that engages your audience and keeps their attention. Doing this helps you maintain active participation and interest and will make your team’s job much easier at the event itself.
Create an Effective Feedback Loop
One clear sign of a successful workshop is whether or not it produces action items. Whether those actions come from questions from the audience, anonymous feedback provided on-site, or on-to-one conversations with attendees, your team should exit the workshop with a clear picture of next steps and follow-up. Create templates and emails that your team can send to attendees thanking them for their time and soliciting feedback. Consider sending out a post-event survey and use the data captured to understand how to approach your team moving forward. Whatever strategy you employ, this feedback loop will guide your team’s actions that will lead to your desired outcome.
Planning and executing a successful workshop is a daunting task, especially in a virtual world that’s potentially transitioning back to the office. If you find yourself not knowing where to start or how to plan the workshop you have always wanted, let’s talk in a free 30-minute session where we can review your workshop content and strategy and help you build the momentum you need for success.
