Your most common All-Hands questions answered
Attendance is down as are responses in the Zoom chat. Participation feels like pulling teeth. Agendas only get longer to try to appeal to more people. And attempts to make the gathering more engaging yield few results. What can we do?
Whether in client work, curated events, or in conversation, I’ve compiled the most frequently asked questions I’ve received in regard to gatherings. Specifically, an organization's most expensive meeting: All Hands.
Have a question I’ve missed? Send me a note at hello@gatheringeffect.com and I'd be happy to help!
Question: How can we drive engagement for our employees, and more specifically for remote/hybrid employees in our All Hands?
There is a lot to say here. I’ll offer a couple of quick ideas and a longer answer:
Pay attention to and engage in the chat with your employees, and rotate your all-company meetings so they are broadcast from a remote host versus always broadcast from HQ.
If we want to design an all-hands that leads to engagement (which means buy-in, behavior change, and ownership) the key is to pull instead of push information and to personalize versus taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
One of the best ways to personalize a gathering is to do after-shows — especially if folks can’t attend live.
Many of us are familiar with the concept of an aftershow. When the credits roll on our favorite television show, we tune into the after-show for extra discussion and insight.
But these after-shows do more than just give us bonus content - they help personalize the experience and increase our connection to what we just consumed. They don’t just give us more, they give us more meaning.
Leverage your leaders and line managers to create “after shows” with their respective teams with a Q&A or group discussion
Give people a chance to digest the content in smaller groups within their in-group or folks who they feel most comfortable expressing questions or concerns with.
Film or create an actual after-show with other employees who can talk about what this content means for them in their day-to-day life and make it available to watch asynchronously.
Many of us don’t have the hallway conversations that we used to, where we would process and digest the gathering with other folks. After-shows allow individuals to engage directly with the content and address their unique needs to increase buy-in and ownership.
Question: How can I increase attendance? The same group of employees doesn’t attend or say they don’t have time to.
Offer food, and make the gathering mandatory. Just kidding!
Incentives are one approach but I’d suggest intrinsic motivation instead. Plus, mandatory often means we are starting with a deficit, needing to prove the value of the time spent. And butts in seats don’t equal buy-in.
Do we know what matters to the people we are gathering? A first step is to ask employees why they aren’t attending or what they may be missing. It’s possible our event isn’t solving a real employee need and challenge.
Here are some other things to try:
Give people a choice: Would you like to attend the 11 am or 12 pm session? Very few of us like to be told what to do. Even in a required setting, we can treat people like adults by giving them agency and choice, however small.
Give people skin in the game: Employees need a reason to care about your gathering especially if it’s mandatory. First, answer the ‘so what?’ questions. Show them how this gathering will help them with a) a panel of former resistors b) some sense of a burning platform and urgency c) stories. Sharing the stories of others helps cultivate the faith that their time is worth it.
Use curiosity and surprise: No, I don’t mean tricking people or setting false expectations. Tease the gathering with a central question you’ll be answering. The Heath Brothers (authors of my favorite book on change, Switch) call this An Itch We Want to Scratch. What can we share that pulls us into wanting to know more and have our itch resolved?
Question: How can we get people excited? How do we create a clear pre-communication strategy when it comes to what purpose events are serving?
Ask yourself “what is unique about this moment”?
I define gathering as “bringing people together to match a message with the moment.” Too often, we focus on the message only. When that happens, there’s less of a reason for a synchronous gathering. “Can you just send me the slides?”. The answer is likely, “sure.”
Take a look at how you invite people to your gathering. It’s common for invites to be all about the message and less about the moment. If you don’t need your attendees there or you view them as replaceable, they’ll be able to tell.
Consider the typical pre-gathering email that includes basic facts and a light agenda (message only):
“Tomorrow is our Town Hall. It starts at 4 pm. We will be joined by [insert name] to talk about [insert topic] followed by a discussion on our financials. Looking forward to it — see you there”.
Sure, attendees know what they’ll be listening to but it’s less clear why they should attend. Ensure your messages highlights what is unique about the moment as well by:
Elevating your attendees to let them know they are necessary to the gathering’s success, by creating mutual accountability and a strong in-group.
Explaining what makes this gathering special.
“Tomorrow is our Town Hall. I’m very excited to see you all there. I rely on your feedback and contributions to tell me and our leaders what resonates and what we should do more of. This is the first time we’ll be sharing our Q4 financials and what it means for our growth plans. Thanks for clearing your schedules to attend — it means a lot that this is one time the whole company is together — even if it’s virtually.”
Question: Any tips for revamping agendas?
Agendas do more than give us structure and certainty. They help us achieve a specific effect.
Typical agenda slides look like the agenda on the left. They highlight the content you’re sharing. This makes it easier for people to tune out when the section isn’t relevant to them, especially virtually.
Instead of crafting an agenda slide based on topics or content, craft one based on outcome and effect. Here are a few ways to do this:
1) Chunk the content into outcomes. Tell attendees what they will walk away with and what will be different from your time together
2) Instead of a list of sessions or topics, share the what, the how, and the why “here’s what you’ll walk away with, here’s how we’re going to get there, and why this matters to you”
3) Instead of topics, think of your agenda like a recipe. What is each step leading the attendees towards? Show them how all of the topics connect to one another and what the final product is.
It’s okay to give people a peek behind your process - they’ll be wondering where you’re headed so you might as well tell them.
Question: When it comes to all company meetings, what is the best use of the time? How can we maximize what people get out of it?
I’m sorry to say, the answer is not department updates.
The first step is to get clear on what problem this meeting solves, aka what is its desired effect. For LaunchDarkly, the goal of their All Company meeting was to align the organization on its mission and its progress towards it.
Once we have clarity on what our meeting is for, it’s much easier to know what content to include. Without clear objectives, agendas can become a “land grab” for showcasing individual work. Besides, we know this doesn't scale. Consider introducing a strategic filtering tool, like this. Strategic filtering makes agenda creation less personal and more purposeful.
Question: How can we measure our gathering success and gauge feedback?
The most expensive company event is an all-hands. Yet, few organizations measure its effectiveness. Here's how to start.
1. Clarify the desired effect. What are we measuring? (Hint, it's probably more than attendance). Maybe it's alignment or clarity.
2. Start with a baseline - send a brief 3-4 question post-event survey AND share why you're asking.
3. Share the results at your next All Hands
4. Iterate. Rinse, repeat.
Remember, don't measure the tool (the event), measure the outcome (the effect). Otherwise, we ask questions like, "Who do you want to hear from"? versus "What can we do to make this meeting more effective?".
Question: We get questions but it is the same few people? How can we widen the circle?
Remember that people will ask questions and speak up within the group they feel most comfortable in. It may not be in an all-company setting.
I've witnessed many gatherings where questions are solicited but then ignored or not acknowledged (this can send a not-so-secret signal that we don't really want questions). Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Silence is okay: When we ask for questions and we don't get any right away, it can be uncomfortable to wait in silence. Try giving people a bit more time.
Make it safe: people may not know what to ask, especially if they are new. Prime people early, at the start of your gathering. For example, say "Here are a few great questions we received last time", or "Here's what you might be wondering about". Giving people a sandbox helps narrow an abstract call for participation and makes it more concrete.
Have people talk to one another first to source questions. You'd be surprised what connecting with others will do.
Watch your framing: What questions do you have vs. Do you have any questions are two different ways to solicit questions. One is open-ended and one is closed
Lindsey Caplan is a screenwriter turned organizational psychologist who helps HR & business leaders create experiences that boost motivation, engagement, and performance