The complete guide to town halls What exactly is a town hall |

Town halls. Quarterly, semi-annually -- whatever the cadence has generally followed the same format from the very beginning of the town hall era. Think slides with crammed text, one-way dialogues only heard by those who are in the room, and an email that resembles a tome.

What did they achieve? Live events like this one prompted more employees to join in over a decade of in-person meeting.

The way we did things isn't going back to the way it was. Video isn't a COVID-19 solution but a more modern approach to the modern workplace.   Peter Strella, Director, Communications & Creative Media Services at Rite Aid

The increasing global, remote, and generationally diverse workforce calls for a new workplace solution. This is the truth:

• 60% of American employees don't know their company's strategies.
• Inexperienced workers are more likely to be12 times more likely say that they're satisfied and morale at work is "very low."

If you're interested in planning an effective, enjoyable town hall event for your business, we can show you how. Let us explain what exactly is an actual town hall event and then dive into the purpose along with the advantages, an action-plan of 6 steps to plan your meeting, and the essential tips for making certain that your event goes smooth every time.

This article:

•         What is an townhall?
•    Five benefits of a town hall
•    How do you run a town hall meeting
•    Five suggestions for an effective town hall

What exactly is a townhall?

A town hall can be described as an event where people can discuss information about their context, thinking processes for making decisions and pertinent environmental aspects for a larger public. Also, it's an opportunity to give feedback and ask questions. The town hall can be ideal when people are looking to provide objective data and hear authentic feedback.

What does a town hall meeting look like in practice? Typically, these convenings provide the chance for individuals in charge of an institution to provide a status report about the current state in the organization (hence why we name them "the State of the) and to speak about the important issues audience members (employees) care about.

A "Town Hall" is traditionally that there is a dialogue between two parties, but this may not always be the case for a variety of reasons (i.e. duration limitations, amount of content to cover, sensitivity issues, audience importance, etc. ).

What's the alternative word for town hall?

Town hall meetings are often named all staff meetings all hands meetings and the all-hands on deck gatherings. Some companies have internal names for these events also. As an example, Splash, an event marketing platform, refers to their town hall meetings under "town calls." .'

Five advantages of having an town hall

There are numerous advantages to conducting regularly recurring town hall sessions.

It is up to you whether you choose a "state of a union" approach, where executives give an overview of key business messages as well as updates and timelines or a more traditional town hall that is focused on engaging your audience through questions and answers These are the most compelling reasons to begin planning your next town hall.

Encourage transparency

The ideal town hall program is structured to be relevant to everyone who attends regardless of the department, company, or even location. This helps increase transparency and enhances the flow of information between departments, teams, and individual roles.

Since employees are provided with regular updates about the company on an executive level they also get valuable insights into areas that aren't always part of their day-to-day work.

Honor and celebrate individuals and teams.

Town halls provide a fantastic venue to shed light on various teams and departments that are doing amazing work. The benefits here are two-fold The first is that employees and teams may be recognized for their contributions and second, teams who do not normally collaborate are exposed to the priorities and successes of others.

Reinforce the culture of the company

The CEO can boost company confidence with high level update, stressing the importance of company values and reminding employees of programs that offer benefits, services, and initiatives that are available to employees. In turn, this can strengthen the core values of the company and build corporate the culture of the company.

Create executive communications

A worker may not have contact with the executive every day basis. Town hall meetings provide a glimpse into the conversation and the mindset of the company's management team. They can also help to build a humane image for the leadership team by giving an identity, voice and persona to names. Also, during times of stress this can help remind people that they are leaders, too.

Team members should align and discuss crucial issues

One benefit of town hall questions is that executives can hear the feedback of those they are responsible for. In real-time, the spontaneity of Q&As and engagement with employees allows managers to proactively address feedback before it's fraught over or distorted.

It's not just about saying one thing in one place. The most effective communication is enhanced over time, over channels and with different formats to ensure that it's accessible to all and available on any channel that is preferred by the individual.

What is the best way to conduct the town hall meetings?

You can either organize a gathering in person, streaming on live or pair both for your town hall event. Start with setting the agenda. Next, decide on the format, select an appropriate date for your group and organize your agenda. Be sure to notify invitees in advance so that everyone is able to block dates for the meeting in their schedule.

How do you run the town hall meetings

From planning the flow of your meeting to prepping the live stream setting up We've provided the nitty-gritty details of holding a town hall that's an absolute hit.

1. Choose your location and the speakers.

Begin by reviewing the agenda for the meeting. Think about what topic(s) will you discuss? Try to limit these to 2-3 topics so that you are able to get deep, not general in each subject.

Settle on who'll be speaking next. It should include the CEO, but also department or team head members so they can update everyone on how each part of your company has made.

"Some of the top people who are good at explaining an application aren't necessarily the best people who can do it when they are in front of cameras live, so why remove them from the picture? It's been our experience that the more that we pre-record our trainings, people are more comfortable and less stressed about the process."   Seth Weingarten, VP of Network Operations at Ampersand.

After that, you can figure out a date to the event that fits the schedule of everyone and then iron out the meeting's structure and the flow. For instance, settle on how long the CEO will speak, who'll pass the mic to whom as well as other details. So that you can ensure everything is smooth.

Lastly, decide your venue. If you're hosting an in-person meeting, look for an area that can allow for everyone. Take note of the seating. An arrangement that resembles a theater sends the message that employees are on the receiving end. Round tables that are close to each other arrangement, in contrast, shows that guests are welcomed for taking part.

However in the event that you intend to stream live the town hall meeting you'll need a space that can accommodate the entire hardware.

When you've accomplished each of these items from your checklist, begin sending invitations. It is important to include the topic so employees can prepare their inquiries.

2. Start your live stream

The benefits of live streaming town hall meeting

There are five major benefits live town hall meetings can assist your company:

• Better reach and connectivity across time zones , as employees can join from their workspaces anywhere in the world. Even if they can't make it on time, they can access the archived live stream at a later time.
• Live participation in real-time as you allow staff to share their opinion and questions with live chat, polls, or Q&A.
• Additional content to serve various reasons. Our client, Rite Aid, repurposes and uses their live stream material to help onboarding new employees.

3-step blueprint for prepping your live event

Now that you know how useful live streamed town halls can be it's time to prepare the live streaming set-up. Here's a thorough procedure for streaming your town hall meetings, but we've put together a three-step blueprint to get your started.

•   Prep your hardware  

You'll need a professional grade camera, microphone for the audio and an AV cable to bring into the audio stream. Also, don't forget to include an encoder in order to transform raw data into live streams that can be viewed and a switcher for going back and forth between various video and audio sources.

•   Get your software rolling  

The right live streaming platform turns your computer into a live studio. If you're still searching to find a solution, there are a few suggestions here on choosing the best solution for your needs.

•   Check it out prior to your stream  

Lastly, preview your stream to see everything's working. Be sure to check your internet speed to prevent the stream from buffering. Do not forget to plan a power backup. In the end, you don't want power to disrupt your conference's flow.

There are four things you should look out for on your live streaming provider

High quality live stream

Nothing is more annoying than a spotty stream. Choose a provider which offers expert live streaming solutions to reduce technical glitches.

Security with SSO

It is crucial that you have control over who inside your company is able to access the live occasion. Make sure you consider alternatives that allow control with the SSO feature and whitelisting domains.

Automated archiving

A chief benefit that live shows offer is that global teams can access the content. It is essential to select the right service to make it easy for employees to access the event long after it's finished.

It is simple to make use of

Not to mention You want something which isn't difficult to break. Live streaming can be a challenge therefore you should choose the right platform with an intuitive user interface, branding options, and interactive tools to enable you to provide a fun live experience without the hassle.

3. Create your own content

Let's see how you choose what to say. A well-organized town hall packs in concise and intentional content. The best place to begin is creating an outline detailing the topic you'd like to address.

With the key pointers printed on the paper, write out each section, asking yourself: how do present this information in a the way that inspires employees?

Here are four ways to do so:

• Use data and customer case studies to share stories. Instead of repeating a lengthy collection of numbers, try to make sure you are selective in the data you share. Use the problem-agitate-solve (PAS) technique: highlight the problem, rub it a bit, share results backed with 1-2 impactful numbers.

• Engage employees' emotions to engage them. For instance Buffer, their team Buffer hosts a 10-minute discussion on celebrating at their town halls. They discuss company and the achievements of employees like marriages, pets as well as new homes. many more.

4. Create your presentation

It is now time to organize all of the data into an easy to understand presentation.

The idea may sound simple however, creating captivating slides takes some effort. We're here to help assist you in this process. Learn these steps to make your presentation:

• Aim to use no more than 10 slides in order to present the subject in 20 minutes.
• Write easy to read slides with minimal text. Also, choose a font that is legible, with a size of 30 points.
• Diversify slides' format. Try to only place 5 text-heavy slides at a time. You can break them up with video instructions, GIFs, and slides with graphs. If you can, organize your the content into 6 bullet points per slide containing 6 words per punctuation point.

5. Create a plan for engagement

The purpose of town hall meetings is to facilitate two-way conversations, it's essential you don't be averse to planning your the possibility of engagement.

Here are a few ways to ignite engagement

Let the world know about questions early. You can actually begin to solicit questions as early as you send out invitations. Also, it's a good idea to pause after every meeting, similar to what HelpScout does during their town halls for questions to flow into the meeting before proceeding.

Participate in the conversation by allowing live chat and polls during the conference and an interactive live Q&A in the final session. Even better, If you are able to make it private. Some companies have found 78% employees prefer asking questions in anonymity. Vimeans you can make questions anonymous, too. The COO, Courtney Sanchez, emphasizes the importance of a safe environment to ask questions openly. "We believe in honest dialog and in creating an environment in which it is comfortable for anyone to ask a question. We use anonymous Q&A tools, and employees can upvote or downvote questions that they feel are the most crucial to be answered."

Create icebreakers prior to the event. Any activity that is light and fun will help thaw the awkwardness. In the case of Buffer, for instance, the Buffer team has experimented with having attendees meditate and stretch together (a fun pose can get everybody laughing!). We've also enjoyed video-based get-togethers that let everyone meet their pets.

Need more ideas on how to get your remote workers involved?

Discover how leaders can use video to effectively unite, coordinate, and motivate multiple teams by holding town halls, workshops for training as well as other activities.

6. Create a feedback plan

Without sourcing feedback and feedback, it's difficult to gauge the extent to which you're communicating with your employees.

So here are three helpful methods to collect feedback. They include:

• Create surveys and polls that are anonymous. The former can inquire questions like 'was this session beneficial', while the latter will dig deeper and ask open-ended questions such as 'what did you enjoy the most? 'how would you improve this experience for you.'You may also make use of surveys to ask employees to rate their experience on a scale of 1-10.

• Ask new employees for their thoughts on your town hall meetings. Inquire about how they enjoyed the event and if there's some thing they think their former employers did better.

• Check your live stream's statistics.  Its dashboard for analytics lets you determine statistics on watch time and total live viewers to understand who tuned in and how long the meeting engaged the staff.

Five steps to an effective town hall

Get alignment early

Work with leadership and the "frequent frequent flyers" (those who typically present during these meetings) to align on the agenda, topics and the best speaker's list whenever possible.

The agenda should be decided at least 10 days ahead of time so that people have plenty of time - at a minimum of five business days - to source/develop content, rehearse talk points, and then put the finishing touches on before show time.

Make sure you are operating with your listener's their mind

Based on pulse check as well as feedback, comments from employees and questions, create your agenda around the topics employees want and need to learn. Set your agenda in accordance with subjects that pertain to your high-level business objectives as well as subjects that are frequently discussed by employees throughout the course of time. You might, for instance, need to discuss annual or quarterly goals that are coming up while employees may also want to know more about executive actions or decisions.

Be aware that most people have limited attention time spans. Meetings that last longer than 75 minutes is a risk of that people leaving after the hour.

A meeting that is filled with information can demotivate employees for two reasons. First, the attendees may just be getting the basic information of each topic. In addition, they might not know what information to prioritize or what actions they can take from the conference.

Make sure you provide the most relevant content, reiterate priorities, and provide precise next steps in the time frame that you've allowed for your town hall.

Dot your I's and cross your T's

Town halls have many moving parts, which can be made more difficult by the reality of hybrid or virtual work. For a better experience create a timeline and a list of tasks.

A timeline will help to keep track of the planning process and help you get in touch with those you need to in a timely manner.

The checklist will ensure all bases are covered from technology, logistics, content, and communications.

The checklist may include:

• Name of producer
• Name of the tech support specialist
• Attendee invite details
• Speaker prep details
• Reminders for employees and employee notifications
• Slides and other content from events

Keep it consistent, but don't be monotonous.

In order to be a successful business, try to establish a regular timing for town hall meetings. It helps establish expectations, making it possible for attendees to organize around it, but also increases their chances of being there and also increases confidence in employees as they know that they will be informed by the executives regularly.

Regarding format, recurring meeting segments help build confidence, interest and trust. For example at , folks realize that there is always going to be an update regarding what's happening in the firm and that there will also be a spotlight on the product as this creates a sense of anticipation and excitement since these are topics that (most) employees will be exposed to on a regular basis.

It's equally important to surprise and delight employees. Let employees and visitors see an experience that is completely out of the norm. Something which will entice and excite.

Strive for accessibility and simplicity

Make it easy for employees to tune into the meeting itself. Create a single link, and then share the link to everyone.

Additionally:

• Make sure the audio system is functioning
• Turn on automatic closed captioning
• Make sure the speakers have names on them or have their names reflected
• Record it and make it available for sharing the next day that you attended the event.
• If your meeting is around chapter-specific sections or movement to allow attendees to navigate to relevant segments for their needs.

Wrap up: Reinventing town halls

In summary Town halls are an excellent opportunity to build relationships with your employees, to align them with your objectives as well as answering any questions they might ask.

Aim to provide a transparent and transparent environment that encourages two-way communication between staff as well as the leader. Live video is best for the latter as it customizes gatherings, promotes a wide participation and increases engagement through options like live chat as well as polls and Q&A sessions. Choose the right tool and find out how live streaming can transform your town halls today.

  The was first published on December 5, 2019, by Emily Gover, edited on July 1st, 2021 by Masooma Mamon and then in May 19th, 2022, by Dominique Scott.