When hosting an events, it’s important to make sure that everyone receives an invitation. Employees can then plan ahead to ensure they attend the event. A recent survey was conducted by Epoch to ask how event hosts typically communicate with employees about future company events.
A large majority still uses email as their main source of communication. While email is usually the default method for communications, it has been shown that email can result in missed communications and invitations. Many employees check their emails less due to junk and clutter. Slack or direct communication is the best way to inform employees about upcoming events.
Learn how to create an effective communication campaign to maximize participation and engagement.
Marketing the event is crucial to getting the message across. Employees will get excited about the event and they will share the event. Allowing employees to participate early will create buzz and they can get a good understanding of who’s coming. The best way to do pre-event marketing is by using social media, Slack and Teams, or email, and centralizing it all on Epoch. We found that emails are less effective for participation rates, as many companies are moving towards a Slack-first culture. Slack, Teams, or posting on an intranet helps with notifying employees of the event.
Sending out calendar invitations will notify employees of the event and make it easy to save the date. By seeing the time slot being allocated for the event, employees can schedule work around the event rather than the event interrupting work.
Another method is by inviting team managers to the event. This will allow team managers to communicate with their team members and ensure a higher attendance rate.
Epoch makes it easy to send out calendar invites to everyone, specific teams, or individuals within an organization.
A good invitation will lead to successful registration rates. It is recommended that all registration is conducted in one platform, like Epoch. Multiple platforms can lead to messy invitations and lost data. Having one constant platform for invitations and registration will make it easy for employees to attend future events as well.
After registering, it can be helpful to send a confirmation email. This lets employees know they have successfully registered for the event. A confirmation email will also give guests access to important information like scheduling, location, event host details, and more. Epoch will automatically send out confirmation emails to registrants.
It is important to create reminders leading up to the event. Many people lose the invitations or forget to register. Having multiple reminders sent out and communicating with managers on the events will ensure employees participate. It is also important for the registration process to be user-friendly. If the process is difficult to handle and time-consuming, employees will feel less inclined to register.
A successful event will have information on everyone joining. This is not simply basic information like name and contact information, but details like dietary restrictions, accessibility, and more. To ensure everyone enjoys the event, having these important details will create a tailored experience that makes everyone to feel comfortable and included. If certain members of your audience feel excluded, this can also negatively affect participation in future events.
Be prepared to change plans on the fly and have a contingency plan in place. You may know how many people RSVP to the event, but that may not be the number of people who actually attend. You may need to change the event to accommodate the increase or decrease in participation. If plan A doesn't work, plan B must be put into action.
The tool that you choose to communicate the event is the most crucial part of event planning. Calendar invitations, direct mobile invitations, and Slack are the best method of communication. All of these can be centralized into once place using Epoch. Epoch sends invitations directly to employees where they search for information. You can also automate reminders, send feedback surveys, and analyze event data.
Let Epoch help you streamline all the important tasks for your next event. Crucial steps like an invitation, communication, registration, and confirmation are all handled by Epoch, easier and faster. Company events drive the employee experience, increasing productivity and connection with the organization’s culture and among employees. Book a demo today!
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