How to Quickly Pivot to a Virtual Hiring Event

With COVID-19 continuing to pose a threat around the world and the Delta variant surging across the U.S., many companies are now — once again — beginning to cancel or postpone planned in-person events for 2021 and 2022. In fact, according to Statista, nearly 80% of US event professionals have canceled their events and 66% postponed them due to coronavirus concerns.

But for many, there is another path besides outright cancellation. Rather than do away with their events altogether, many event organizers are leveraging virtual events instead.

Are you looking to quickly move an in-person hiring event to an online platform? Then follow these tips to successfully pivot your offline event to a virtual career fair online.

Find a Virtual Platform

Consider the important features both you as a virtual hiring event host, as well as any potential stakeholders (like hiring companies, if you’re hosting a multi-employer career fair) and your attendees will need.

Ask yourself these questions as you’re evaluating platforms:

• How quickly can my event be up and running? What's my target time frame?
• Is there a level of support from experts at the company to help me make this happen?
• Does the virtual hiring event platform offer pre-made overview materials I can simply share with my stakeholders, or will I be on my own to teach them?
• Do they offer features to help me replicate important aspects of my event, such as the ability to live broadcast a keynote speaker/presentation or conduct virtual interviews?
• Does this company have experience migrating in-person events online so I can lean on their best practices?
• Is the platform easy and intuitive for my organization’s users, as well as our attendees, to navigate?
• Will I get help the day of my event for troubleshooting or dealing with any technical difficulties?

Leverage Your Digital Assets

In all likelihood, most of the resources your organizing team wanted to print out and bring to the onsite event are already in digital format. Simply take those printer files, convert them into PDFs, and upload them to feature as content in your virtual event. Booth organizers may also have videos they planned to display on a TV at their booth and can include those within a digital booth if they’re using a platform like Brazen.

Create an Online Event Registration Page

With a platform like Brazen, you’ll get an easy-to-promote online landing page for your event. Existing event registrants will need to move their event registration onto the new platform, but you can easily do this by emailing your attendee list with the new registration link and asking them to sign up there. You’ll also want to start directing any new promotions to your new registration page to avoid confusion.

Notify Booth Owners and Sponsors

Communicate your transition plan and let booth owners know what they need to do to get their digital booths ready or what support will be available to them on the new platform. Thoroughly inform them about the new technology you will implement and the new features they'll have access to within the online event environments, while also sharing updated attendee numbers and new registration links they can share with their own qualified candidates.

Offer Platform Training and Prep

Offer new platform training on your own or find a partner like Brazen who will conduct personalized training sessions for you, to make sure all your participants are familiar with the event interface and comfortable within the virtual space on the day of your event. You can also include video interview tips and virtual hiring event best practices for those unfamiliar with the format. Just remember that different organizations and participants learn at different paces, so don't push off training until the last minute.

Update Promotions and Event Marketing Tools

Update your landing page with the newest event description and details and be sure to mention what things have changed as well as what things will stay the same. Double check that you've changed all registration links and updated any active marketing promos that lead participants to your new event page.

Email Existing Registrants

Tell confirmed guests what has changed to make their event experience safer. Communicate relevant details, but don’t overload them with operational updates. Show them how to move their registration to the new event platform (note: most platforms will require end users to create a new login to be able to access event software and register for the online event). When possible, enable same-day registration for any attendees who miss this information or forget to complete new registration prior to the event, so that they can all access your chosen event software login and platform as needed.

Check your Insurance Policy and Contracts

See if there are clauses in your policy that will refund some of the expenses of the original in-person event (which may come into effect due to government mandates) and check if refunds or contract renegotiations are also needed on your end for sponsors, event talent, or participating employers.

To sum things up, it is definitely possible —and even recommendable—to take your offline event online in light of recent events. Just remember:

1. Be prepared! Plan ahead and communicate clearly.
2. Don’t panic – just adapt quickly.

Keep an eye on the big picture and start building out your tech stack to tackle immediate risks and to safeguard your future events from any known or emergent threats.

Like this post? Try these!

• 5 Key Metrics You Should be Tracking for a Successful Virtual Hiring Event
• 4 Examples of Virtual Hiring Events
• Virtual Hiring Event Platforms Vs. Virtual Interview Tools

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