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New York City Seminar and Conference Center (Flatiron Hot! News’ sponsor) has been working closely with its clients to help them conduct their meetings successfully during the pandemic, employing a variety of techniques since the virus started impacting business in March 2020. With New York City requiring social distancing and reduced capacity in business offices and meeting/event spaces, NYCSCC has adapted by using carefully spaced room layouts to reduce the risk of transmission. It is also offering its clients web conferencing services and specialized support so they can have their event attendees participate either locally with "hybrid events" or remotely, taking best advantage of technologies such as Zoom, Webex, and the other virtual conferencing services.
Case #1: NYCSCC recently assisted a major New York State educational institution conduct a large conference virtually, converting what was originally a multiday in-person event at NYCSCC with over 200 attendees, multiple keynote sessions, and more than a dozen simultaneous breakouts with speakers, panelists, and attendees to the cloud using Zoom. NYCSCC also assisted in creating finished recorded versions of its sessions for posting on the institution’s web platforms. NYCSCC was able to work with its client to achieve their complex conference at a fair price, without missing a beat, in spite of the pandemic!
Case #2: NYCSCC worked with a major NYC-based cultural institution to assist them in turning their annual gala and fundraiser into a virtual set of meetings, with over 120 people attending, using advanced features within Zoom webinars. NYCSCC's AV staff worked closely with the client's in-house event team to convert the gala into a series of multiple simultaneous seminars where speakers and attendees could listen to a common video presentation with a keynote speaker, and then break out into salons on selected issues of interest, Q&A, discussions, and networking.
Case #3: NYCSCC helped a local industry association turn its monthly meetings into a series of webinars that closely approximated its regular in-person sessions that have been interrupted by the pandemic. Working in tandem with NYCSCC’s AV staff, the association was able to use Zoom webinars to allow the discussion leaders to present their latest news to the association membership, complete with Q&A and the presentation of relevant marketing, financial, and news information critical to the membership.
Case #4: NYCSCC worked with a leading legal services consultancy to conduct their mock trials and related meetings both on site at NYCSCC’s offices in multiple rooms as well as at other off-site locations using web conferencing technology. This enabled the client to continue their business effectively, which normally has a much larger on-site component footprint.
Case #5: NYCSCC helped a financial services trade group conduct its semi-weekly evening educational seminars as hybrid events, permitting both local and remote attendees to participate. Employing the Webex videoconferencing platform, NYCSCC allowed interested members of the association to view the training sessions either in person or on-line, and also record and post the training session proceedings on the group’s website for later viewing.
These are the kinds of solutions Flatiron-based event and meeting venues, as well as their clients, have been taking to work through the challenging days of the pandemic and indeed, many of the techniques and practices that these groups have been using may well carry over into the post-pandemic period when business conditions return to normal. You can reach out to NYCSCC staff at www.nycscc.com, and their sales team and AV consultants will be happy to offer advice on hosting your events in person, virtually, or in hybrid format in this challenging time!