As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the meeting and association world, Sea to Sky has been proactively working with each of our clients to manage the changes necessary to ensure a successful transition for their conferences, events and meetings, and the day-to-day management of their associations.
Our team has come together to support our clients, even though we are now working apart, virtually, from our homes.
In situations where client meetings were scheduled to take place in the March to June timeframe, this has involved working with hotels and other venues to postpone meetings to future dates, thus avoiding punishing cancellation fees. This has proven to be a win-win situation for both our clients and the venues, who are particularly hard hit right now, and by rebooking are able to look forward to the future with confidence.
In tandem with the postponement of the in-person meetings, several clients are looking at the option of having a virtual meeting, which can take several forms, the most common two being livestreaming and pre-recorded.
Livestreamed: Sea to Sky has the technology and experience to livestream multiple presentations from presenters’ computers to virtual audiences, including inserting surveys within the presentation, allowing participants to ask the presenter questions, and recording individual sessions or the entire presentation for future on-demand viewing.
Pre-Recorded: For oral presentations, Sea to Sky can provide the platform, or presenters can use their own computer, to record their voice over narration together with their slides. Video of the presenter can also be included if desired, usually for plenary or keynote speakers. Poster presentations can be made into pdfs and posted online for viewing. Both oral and poster presentations can also have the searchable, full length abstract or paper to accompany the presentation. Sea to Sky can oversee the creation of a website containing these virtual conference proceedings, which can be restricted to members, made available for a fee, or open to the general public.
For our clients whose meetings fall into the second half of 2020, we are providing options for Hybrid Meetings, anticipating the in-person meeting will be smaller than originally planned, as confidence in travel and safely gathering together will take time to restore.
Hybrid Meeting: A hybrid meeting is an in-person meeting that also livestreams some or all sessions, allowing those who cannot, or choose not to travel to the meeting, to still participate on-line. A hybrid meeting can also include live or pre-recorded presentations to the in-person meeting from presenters around the world, ensuring the full educational program is uninterrupted. Any livestream sessions can also be recorded for post-event viewing.
The other online component that Sea to Sky is providing to our association clients is virtual Annual General Meetings (AGMs). Most associations are required by their bylaws to hold an AGM, which usually coincides with their annual conference to save on time, travel and cost. Sea to Sky can host and manage a virtual AGM, which can take the same form as the in-person AGM, with live board presentations from officers in multiple locations, a Q & A session, a confirmation of quorum, and insertion of real-time voting. As an added bonus, the AGM can be recorded to help with the taking of the minutes and posted in a virtual library.
During this difficult time, we want to assure you that we are available and ready to assist you and your association in any way possible. As we are seeing worldwide, in our community, in our team and indeed in our families, people are being very creative, innovative, and adaptive in how they are responding to the pandemic, to this isolated way of being, and to this new focus on connecting virtually.
The above are only some of the ways that we are assisting clients. Our team is ready to discuss solutions that will work for your situation. You can reach Ian or Sarah virtually via phone, email or Skype, and we look forward to the day that we can again meet in person.
Ian Holliday, BA (Econ)
President
T: 778-338-4031 | E: ian@seatoskymeetings.com | Skype: @seatoskyian
Sarah Lowis, CMP, CMM, CAE, BA (French)
Founder and Impact Officer
T: 604-984-6439 | E: sarah@seatoskymeetings.com | Skype: @seatoskysarah
