My company, BI WORLDWIDE, a global business improvement company based in Edina, Minnesota, recently held its annual all-employee meeting. The event celebrated the achievements of the past year, raised excitement for the next business year and featured speeches by BI WORLDWIDE clients and academic affiliates. In addition to the on-site meeting in Minnesota, the meeting was watched via a live streaming web feed for BI WORLDWIDE’s offices in Germany and the UK.



Dawn Martin, vice president of meetings and shows at BI WORLDWIDE, whose award-winning department produced the event, has a number of tips to share on how to create spectacular employee events to increase employee engagement. “The first thing you want to think about is the impact you want to have on employees,” Martin says, “Your event needs to show, through action, that your employees are special and valued.”

Here are some of the tips Martin offers:

• Tell a story. Use your meeting as a way to tell your story in a way your employees can feel engaged in what’s going on with your company.
• Make it meaningful. Think about what matters to your audience and tailor your story to what is personally meaningful to them. If it’s a group of nurses, tell a great patient care story. If it’s a group of auto mechanics, have pictures or videos of trendy new vehicles worked into your presentation.
• Get them engaged. Use interactive techniques, like text polls during the meeting, to get employees involved. Or ask a few employees to share their own stories about working at the company. Or show videos of employees talking about your company and telling your story for you.
• Recognize your employees. All-employee meetings are a great place to publically recognize your best employees. Pick out your top performers and give them a special shout out in the meeting.

“When you are planning your event it’s easy to get pulled into the minute details and forget about the big picture,” Martin says “Whatever you do, always remind yourself that the event exists as a way to increase employee engagement and get your team excited about what’s happening at your company.”

For more information about creating spectacular events visit BIWORLDWIDE.COM.