A corporate live stream is an excellent way to engage your employees, minimize expenses, and create a more unified organization. With the technology available to companies, almost any in-person experience can be transitioned to virtual. This guide is for companies looking for creative ways to engage their employees using a corporate live stream.
How to Engage Employees with Live Streaming
Consider the following ways to engage employees using a corporate live stream.
Conferences
Conferences are a great way to learn valuable information about your industry, it’s consumers, and your competitors. However, you can’t send everyone in your organization to attend them. Therefore, most companies send a small handful of employees to attend.
If the conference permits it, have the attendees from your company live stream important speakers and topics. This allows all of your employees to benefit from the conference without having to be there physically. If your company runs its own conference, make sure to set up a live stream so employees can watch and rewatch it online.
Check out these virtual conference platforms you and your team can use to stream awesome events.
Announcements
Create a corporate live stream for big company announcements. For example, a startup has scheduled an IPO and needs to announce it to its employees. Instead of sending a wordy email, the CEO can set up a corporate live stream that connects with employees in an exciting and personable way. Allow employees to view the live stream, ask questions, and engage with each other.
Nubank went further: the bank hired award-winning singer Anita for its IPO live streaming event.
Training
A corporate live stream is one of the best ways to train employees. It eliminates the need to gather employees at one physical location, and it can save your company on training costs. Use live streaming for sales training, onboarding, compliance training, and more.
During live stream training, let employees engage by asking and answering questions. Live stream training is especially useful for roleplays that require employees and trainers to interact with each other. If you have employees spread throughout the country, a live stream training allows them all to hop on from the convenience of their desktop or mobile device.
By recording your training, you give employees the ability to rewatch training on-demand at their own pace. Once a training is recorded, there’s no need to spend time recreating it. If a clip needs to be updated, you can always go back and make the necessary changes.
Adding Live Chat is also a great way to enhance the e-learning experience.
Q&A Sessions
Question and answer (Q&A) sessions, also known as “ask me anything” sessions, give employees the chance to speak with someone higher up in the company. For example, you could host a virtual Q&A session with the company’s CEO. This gives employees the opportunity to ask important questions regarding where the company is headed, why he or she started the company, and more.
To prepare for Q&A sessions in advance, you can create employee polls to collect votes on most important questions. Questions that get the most votes can be prioritized and answered first. Let employees watch the stream live, submit anonymous questions, give feedback, and watch Q&A recordings.
Product Demos
If your company is constantly releasing innovative products, it can be hard for employees to keep up. By hosting a virtual product demo, you can engage your employees and share all the details of your new product. Allow them to ask questions, rewatch the demo, and see visual representations of the product in action.
Town Halls
Virtual town halls are organization-wide meetings in which all employees attend and receive important updates, share ideas, and ask pressing questions. By hosting a town hall virtually, you can connect employees in several different branches, and you allow them to connect with colleagues that they don’t see on a regular basis.
Town halls are typically conducted on a quarterly basis, and virtual ones cut expensive accommodation, travel, and venue costs. They also make employees feel more united and appreciated, and they can have tremendous benefits on company culture.
Employee Parties
A great way to improve employee engagement and retention is by creating a culture that makes them feel appreciated. One way to do this is by hosting a virtual party. This can take the form of a virtual happy hour, employee recognition meeting, or team party.
While most would prefer these to be in person, this isn’t always possible. Team members can be scattered around the country and have busy schedules. By hosting an employee party online, you can allow them to connect without needing to travel or take time off work.
For example, your HR team could host a virtual happy hour in which employees in North America have the chance to meet employees in Europe. You can promote casual conversations, recognize employee achievements, and boost the overall morale of your employees.
Interviews
The first way to engage employees is by live streaming interviews. You can interview customers, employees, suppliers, industry leaders, and partners. Ask them important questions on how they interact with your company and its products and services. This engages employees by allowing them to learn more about your company and its challenges from someone else’s point of view.
When you live stream your interview, make sure to record it so people can rewatch it if they missed out. It also helps to generate a transcript so employees can highlight important points. By sharing video interviews, you’ll be able to help onboarding employees gain a better understanding of your company’s mission and strategies.
What is Live Streaming for Employee Engagement?
Live streaming for employee engagement is a dynamic tool that allows real-time interaction, turning dull presentations into vibrant discussions. Imagine a town hall meeting where employees can instantly react, comment, and even participate in polls. It’s like having a digital conversation where everyone has a voice. Companies like Shopify and Google have successfully used live streaming to boost engagement, hosting virtual events that feel personal and inclusive.
Examples of Successful Employee Live Streams
Shopify’s Virtual Town Halls: Engaging employees globally with Q&A sessions.
Google’s Live Workshops: Interactive training sessions with real-time feedback.
Microsoft’s Hackathons: Streaming team collaborations to foster innovation.
Different Types of Employee Engagement Live Streams
The idea of live streaming might sound daunting, but it’s all about finding the right type for your organization. Different streams serve different purposes, whether you’re looking to boost morale or train your team.
Conferences
Conferences are a great way to learn valuable information about your industry, its consumers, and your competitors. However, you can’t send everyone in your organization to attend them. Therefore, most companies send a small handful of employees to attend. If the conference permits it, have the attendees from your company live stream important speakers and topics. This allows all of your employees to benefit from the conference without having to be there physically. If your company runs its own conference, make sure to set up a live stream so employees can watch and rewatch it online. Check out these virtual conference platforms you and your team can use to stream awesome events.
Team Building Streams
Turn team building into a virtual adventure. Host interactive games or challenges where employees can compete or collaborate. Think virtual escape rooms or trivia nights where teams work together to solve puzzles.
Training and Development Streams
A corporate live stream is one of the best ways to train employees. It eliminates the need to gather employees at one physical location, and it can save your company on training costs. Forget the boring PowerPoints. Use live streaming for engaging training sessions. Invite experts to host workshops, allowing employees to ask questions in real-time. It’s like having a personal tutor for everyone. During live stream training, let employees engage by asking and answering questions. Live stream training is especially useful for roleplays that require employees and trainers to interact with each other. By recording your training, you give employees the ability to rewatch training on-demand at their own pace. Once a training is recorded, there’s no need to spend time recreating it. If a clip needs to be updated, you can always go back and make the necessary changes. Adding Live Chat is also a great way to enhance the e-learning experience.
Company-Wide Announcements
Create a corporate live stream for big company announcements. For example, a startup has scheduled an IPO and needs to announce it to its employees. Instead of sending a wordy email, the CEO can set up a corporate live stream that connects with employees in an exciting and personable way. Allow employees to view the live stream, ask questions, and engage with each other. Make announcements feel special. Stream CEO updates or company news live, letting employees react and comment. It creates a sense of immediacy and inclusion, making everyone feel part of the company’s journey. Nubank went further: the bank hired award-winning singer Anita for its IPO live streaming event.
Virtual Social Events
Bring the fun back to work. Host virtual happy hours or holiday parties. Stream live music or comedy shows, and let employees join in from wherever they are. It’s about creating a sense of community, even when you’re apart. A great way to improve employee engagement and retention is by creating a culture that makes them feel appreciated. One way to do this is by hosting a virtual party. This can take the form of a virtual happy hour, employee recognition meeting, or team party. While most would prefer these to be in person, this isn’t always possible. Team members can be scattered around the country and have busy schedules. By hosting an employee party online, you can allow them to connect without needing to travel or take time off work. For example, your HR team could host a virtual happy hour in which employees in North America have the chance to meet employees in Europe. You can promote casual conversations, recognize employee achievements, and boost the overall morale of your employees.
Conclusion
Many people think of live streams as a way for companies to connect with their customers. However, this guide reveals that live streams are a great way to connect and engage with employees too. A corporate live stream can be used for interviews, conferences, announcements, training, Q&A sessions, product demos, town halls, and casual employee parties.
How Arena Can Help
If you need a tool that lets you create group live chats, send instant messages, ask questions, and create polls, consider downloading Arena Live Chat. You can also share important written updates during your announcement with Arena Live Blog. If you enjoy using these tools, check out Arena Customer Data Platform (CDP) to help you understand your customers’ preferences and interests.
Arena has been used by thousands of companies in over one hundred countries to improve their live events. Arena customer TV1;, a company focused on live experiences, began creating virtual business conferences as a way to keep attendees and employees engaged online. Arena has also been trusted by companies like Facebook and VTEX; to run live events.
For help planning a virtual event, download our free eBook for creating highly engaging live event scripts. For more information on enhancing your live stream, click the link below to download our free eBook.
