As we look to 2022, we are clear that meetings will continue to be online and hybrid, but very few will be purely in-person. Here are some tips on how to think about planning for your 2022 Customer Advisory Board meetings:
Plan for Hybrid and Adjust.
Gone are the days where Customer Advisory Board members will miss meetings if they cannot attend in person. We all know how to do virtual, and we must offer virtual options. So, plan for hybrid meetings and then adjust accordingly.
Global Boards Need Special Consideration…
Multi-time zone meetings are nearly impossible to build in a hybrid format. If you are convening Europe, Asia, and Americas there is not a shared time zone to make these meetings work reasonably. You have choices:
- Run shorter sessions and repeat them at different times to capture all inputs.
- Acknowledge that you will not have all regions attending the full meeting and adjust your agenda content accordingly.
- Hold the meeting all in person and / or all virtual and know your numbers will be affected.
Make a Decision about Covid Protocols
Decide whether you will require vaccinations / testing and masking. Make it very clear what your plan is with all participants, and hold to those rules. People deal better with clarity, and they can determine where they want to be for their own comfort and safety.
Spend Time on Meeting Design
Think carefully about where (physically) you want discussion to focus for each session. Establish an agenda with a blend of virtual and in-person presenters. The variety of content owners in each environment ensures the physical room doesn’t dominate the virtual space.
Plan to Change the Plan
What have we learned in the past 2 years if not that we are not in control of this thing!?! So, make your plans and then plan for them to change. Chill out control freaks (from a self-declared one), things will change up to the very moment of your meeting and you need to be flexible.
Most of all take time now to rest and enjoy the end of 2021 because all the plans for 2022 are waiting for you when you return from the holidays.