How we run a virtual town hall with 1,000+ attendees

Big company-wide meetings are great at pulling everyone in the organization together in real-time. They provide the opportunity to share important business updates and strategic decisions, as well as report on progress towards company goals. But with so many more people working remotely since the pandemic, it’s not easy to get everyone together in a physical space. Luckily, video conferencing software has stepped into the breach and provided companies with an effective way to host virtual, large-scale “all-hands” discussions instead of traditional, in-person events. Employees can enjoy many of the same benefits as they would with face-to-face interaction, with the added bonus of being able to join from anywhere in the world.

I run monthly town halls for Dialpad (which often run up to 1,000 attendees across different locations and time zones), including scheduling, set-up, and hosting—and so I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. I will also provide some practical tips on how to set up a successful virtual meeting, based on our own experiences here at Dialpad engaging a distributed team that works both from our offices and their homes.

What is a virtual town hall meeting anyway?

Virtual town hall meetings are a video meeting writ large. They tend to be company-wide events that offer business leaders the opportunity to connect with a large number of staff and stakeholders to keep them abreast of all the company’s big-picture news. These types of meetings also offer employees the chance to ask their leaders important questions. These can either be submitted via form or chat, collected by management in advance, or simply offered by raising their hand during a meeting and being given the mic.

Why are town hall meetings best done virtually?

It connects the remote workforce more easily

Being able to talk to and engage with all staff simultaneously, even when they’re in different time zones, should be an essential part of your internal communications strategy. To ensure your large scale meetings go smoothly, opt for a virtual event technology that can handle large numbers of participants. Dialpad can scale up with your events, and our Large Meetings solution can accommodate up to 1,000 employees to participate in a town hall video conference.

It saves on costs and time

Regardless of the size of your company, an in-person town hall may not be too costly or logistically challenging. However, things change when your company grows. Physically hosting large corporate town hall meetings typically involves significant expenses, from hiring the venue, security, and parking to airfare, hotels, and hospitality. Conducting an online meeting cuts out all these costs without sacrificing attendee experience.

It makes town hall meetings scalable

Many larger organizations have a global employee base. Having a robust town hall meeting software solution in place makes it easy to connect with them and extend the reach of your meetings. With Dialpad, participants can join via the conference call app, so they can participate from a smartphone, desktop, or laptop whether they’re at home or abroad. It’s also quick and easy to add guests using the app by sending them an SMS invite.

It gives you more access to analytics

Just as with other live events, from podcasts and webinars to classroom-based sessions, it’s crucial to be able to measure how engaged your attendees are. So ideally you need to have access to both real-time and post-meeting analytics. This is much simpler when a meeting is held virtually.

Essential tools for a virtual town hall meeting

• Camera or webcam: No matter how good the quality of your live streaming software, everyone on the call will need a camera or webcam. While most attendees will have to settle for whatever IT has issued them, it’s important that your CEO or speaker be equipped with the highest quality possible so that they show up clearly for the rest of the company.
• Microphone: Audio quality is a make or break factor for your online town hall meeting, but usually for the presenters (the audience won’t be likely to speak just because there are so many). Make sure that your hosts and speakers have tested their audio equipment prior to the call and issue them new gear well in advance if necessary.

Give your staff a voice by using video conferencing with live chat. Dialpad also allows you to mute and unmute participants when you want someone to speak up. Engage your conference attendees by introducing fun interactive features like quizzes, games, or polls. Dialpad’s video conferencing software offers many ways to help you boost engagement levels with the option to set up in-meeting chat, play Buzzword Bingo, and incorporate emoji reactions.