As we slowly make our way out of the global pandemic some of us are heading back into the office, while others are opting to continue working remotely indefinitely. The “new normal” doesn’t seem so new anymore. And companies are working harder than ever to host more engaging online events because we simply cannot meet like we used to. Town hall meetings (also known as all-hands meetings) are especially difficult as their purpose is to host entire companies. In this blog we will cover 4 tips to make your next online town hall, all hands, or quarterly meeting more engaging and inclusive.

Your town hall should not only be easy to sign into, but it should also be as accessible as possible. First, if there are any important graphics and/or reading materials that will be referenced, be sure to make those documents accessible available to download. Second, during the meeting, attendees should be able to participate in their own language, especially for global teams. Multilingual platforms like KUDO let attendees follow and participate in their own language with the help of live professional interpreters. Lastly, make sure you have a recorded version of the town hall for anyone who can’t attend.

A town hall with no moderator is like a boat with no steering wheel or engine — yes, the boat will float, but it has nothing pushing it forward or guiding its direction. Think of a moderator as someone who both moves the meeting forward and keeps it on course.

Give your attendees multiples ways to participate. A great practice is to ask open-ended questions as they encourage participation and a variety of answers. Make sure your platform supports features like voting, turn based question asking (for larger companies), as well as a chat box just for questions.

The Q&A portion of any town hall meeting is the biggest opportunity for attendee engagement. It’s important that you encourage participants to ask questions, but it’s even more important that your town hall attendees can choose how they want to ask questions. Having live Q&A at the end of a meeting is a good start. You should also consider allowing participants to submit questions anonymously. Lastly, give attendees the opportunity to submit questions before the meeting, this allows you to give more developed answers

For more tips on hosting a more engaging town hall event, be sure to download our latest white paper. In it you’ll find the latest statistics on both remote and hybrid town halls, along with best practices and use cases.

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