Planning Knowledge-Centric Corporate Events- Learning from TecHeart 2018

Corporate events are on the rise with every event having its own agenda and purpose. Some events are meant purely for client acquisition and marketing purposes while others are meant to help professionals belonging to the same industry network and enable knowledge sharing among them.

We recently had the privilege to power one such knowledge-based corporate event which focused on one of our favourite topics; technology. The event ‘NHRD- TecHeart 2018’ was organized by the National HRD network in Bangalore.

What exactly is NHRD?

NHRD is the national network of Human Resource Development professionals across India. The organization focuses on encouraging the HRD movement across the country. In order to accomplish this goal, NHRD, apart from conducting multiple studies and researches, uses events as a major tool for knowledge sharing.

About the NHRD TecHeart 2018

NHRD’s event TecHeart 2018 was one such event which was meant to be a platform for HRD professionals to gather and discuss the future of HRD and the role of technology in the same. It also had a special focus on HRD tech start-ups operating in the country.

The event was a two-part affair divided into the HR showcase and the Pitchstop apart from a mini-expo where companies, mainly start-ups can get a stall or a kiosk to promote their venture. The event was divided mainly into panel sessions, workshops and a special pitching session for start-ups.

Hubilo at TecHeart 2018

The organizers of the event wished to facilitate multiple event tech solutions at their event including a mobile event app, QR Code check-in and on-site badge printing. Hubilo was recruited for the same. Hubilo partnered up with an external vendor to manage on-site badge printing. Apart from this, a custom NHRD TecHeart 2018 event app was provided for the event with the following features:

1.Event Details :Event app is a handy tool to maximize attendee convenience by making all important event information accessible at a click. The NHRD TecHeart event app included all these necessary event details from event information, sessions to sponsor and speaker details for attendee convenience. A detailed schedule divided into simultaneous panel sessions and workshops with speaker details mentioned within session details itself was also included. This was one of the most useful event app features for the attendees.

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2. Event Feed:A detailed event feed was created as part of the mobile event app. Attendees shared posts, discussions, polls, videos and more. As the event was meant mainly for knowledge sharing, the event feed provided a valuable platform for attendees to share content. It also helped attendees and organizers to stay updated on the happenings of the event through user-generated content.

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3. Networking:The app had a range of features that helped organizers enable smarter event networking at the event including attendee listing, chat, meetings, exchanging business cards, notes, etc.Networking is a major part of corporate events. The event app design was created keeping in mind these factors with such event app features built for better networking and engagement.

4. Leader-board:Gamification is always a good idea to drive engagement. With a plethora of event app features built with the idea to increase attendee engagement with the app, the leader-board feature was meant especially to encourage this interaction. The NHRD TecHeart event app had an inbuilt leader-board whereby attendees were given points for engagement and the highest engaging attendee profiles with their individual scores were displayed on the leader-board.

5. Research Survey:This feature was entirely a customization made for the NHRD team. As mentioned before, the organization is very focused on research-based knowledge-sharing. For this, the organizers planned on linking their latest research survey to the event app so that the attendees can participate in the research from the app itself. The feature was provided in the side panel of the app whereby the attendees were taken to the survey document from the app itself by clicking on the option.

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6. QR Code:Check-in is one of the most initial points of contact with the attendees and hence, it is to be executed seamlessly. The onsite check-in process for NHRD TecHeart was made hassle-free by assigning individual QR codes to attendees. Each attendee had their own individual login for the app and thus had their own individual profiles on the event app. Attendees were given unique QR codes using which they could simply get it scanned and check-in to the event. This made the process much simpler and quicker.

7. Tweetwall: Social Media is an integral part of events. One o the most popular platforms for attendees to share their event experience online is Twitter. Events these days have their custom hashtags for social media platforms which helps them in promoting their event through user-generated content as well as share updates online. The organizers of NHRD TecHeart 2018 went a step ahead by integrating a Tweetwall within the app linking it with their own event hashtag whereby all the tweets related to the tag were displayed on the app itself.

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Apart from this, there are few services provided by Hubilo that aided the entire event planning and management process:

- On-site Briefing:Hubilo provided on-site support for the event. The team provided orientation to the NHRD TecHeart team on the day of the event in terms of how the overall system worked, how they can use the Hubilo app to check-in attendees and collect data. Apart from this orientation was also given on the overall onsite badge printing process which was facilitated through a tie-up between Hubilo and an external vendor.

- Constant Support:The event execution begins months before the actual E-Day. That is why Hubilo’s in-house support team was in constant touch with the event organisers before, during and even after the event to assist them with all their requirements. The process began right from an orientation where the team in charge of setting up the event technology was briefed on how to use Hubilo’s event automation solution.

- Customizations:Customizations are key to the event branding process in order to create a product that is at par with the event requirements and agenda. As mentioned before, there were certain customizations and features that were to be added to the base solution for the NHRD TecHeart event. The customizations were planned and delivered in coordination with the team right on the deadline.

- Detailed Analytics:It is the age of data. Event data can play a huge role in helping the organizers strategize multiple aspects of the event. Detailed event analytics were provided for all the solutions taken i.e. the mobile event app and the event check-in solution. A range of event app data including engagement analytics, downloads, topics talked about on the app, etc. was available. Organizers could comprehend what was working and what wasn’t based on this and strategize based on this. The data can also be helpful for organizers in planning future events based on the statistics of the current event.

Takeaways from NHRD TecHeart 2018

With every event we power and have the privilege to witness onsite, we do make sure to take notes and share with all you event professionals out there. So, here are a few takeaways that we gained from NHRD’s TecHeart 2018:

1. Event app can be a great platform to gather user-generated dataOne of the most useful event-tech tools out there, event-app provides the perfect platform for sharing and networking in a knowledge-centred corporate event. It is entirely dependent on the event app features that you plan to include that you can indeed transform this tech-tool into a database for user-generated content that can go a long way in fulfilling your event agenda.

2. Networking is essential in corporate eventsWhen you have an event where you have managed to gather a distinct group of professionals from your field of interest and from all facets of the industry, it is imminent that you facilitate some sort of platform that can help them actually interact and network with each other. Networking is crucial in such professional events whereby it maximizes the attendee ROI in turn affecting the overall success of the event.

3. On-site orientation can go a long way in smoother event managementOrganizers often get it right in terms of the tools they would require in order to maximize attendee convenience along with their own. But in order for these tools to actually work, orientation is a must. The entire on-site event team must be briefed about the systems put into place for processes like check-in and a pre-event briefing for the same is a must.

4. Customizations are key to the success of your event-tech solutionsWhenever an organizer or app. lanner opts for any event technology tool, they must make sure to make it their own. You must think about of the box in terms of how you can tweak tools like event app and event website and use it to your advantage, furthering your event agenda. In the case of NHRD’s TecHeart, the inclusion of features such as Research Survey, Tweetwall, etc. was a great step in leveraging the tool for event success. Organizers must always think in terms of leveraging the mobile event app to benefit all stakeholders and achieving the overall event goal.

Have your own event learning to share? Something that you think might help other planners learn from?

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