The Accidental Web Conferencing Manager: Success Tips from a One-man Shop. Todd Irvin, United Way Worldwide

Transcription

1 610 The Accidental Web Conferencing Manager: Success Tips from a One-man Shop Todd Irvin, United Way Worldwide

2 The Accidental Web Conferencing Manager March 25 th, 2010 Todd Irvin Training Manager, United Way Worldwide

3 Goals Today Help you discover the roles and processes you may need within your organization for managing web conferencing. Review UWW s process that evolved for managing web conferencing Suggest best practices for managing webinars/online meetings at your organization 2

4 My Role As a corporate IT Trainer: User of web conferencing tools to deliver live online training and demonstrations. o Training users on our standard and customized applications. (Basic office automation software, CRM software, web-based internal applications, etc.) Training new Producers how to use web conferencing tools. 3

5 Webinar versus Online Meeting? (What s the difference?) Webinar Larger audiences (100+) Registration setup and advertised Delivery team (Producer, Content Manager, Moderator and Presenters) established. Operator-assisted teleconference number may be used Voice over IP usually broadcasted (audio over Internet) Typically delivered from webinar room Usually recorded and archived Archived link usually posted following webinar Online Meeting osmall number of participants (<30) ono registration typically setup odelivered from hosts PC ohost usually does everything themselves odepartment teleconference number typically used for audio 4

6 Typical UWW Webinar 1. Participants login to a lobby, and listen to the audio (music) through their phones or computer speakers and watch marketing slides until the webinar begins. 2. Moderator welcomes the audience and turns the session over to the Presenter(s). Some Presenters are located in the webinar room, some may be off-site. 3. Question/Answer period at the end or answered during session. Formal and informal polls may be used during the session. 4. Webinar ends, and participants are asked to take a Webinar Evaluation. 5

7 Challenges (problems) I Inherited No one dept in charge of managing webinars Ad hoc workflow Not clear who does what, who s in charge Logistical information in silo s (not centralized, in spreadsheets, s.) Participant support lacking Lack of technical knowledge Time involved producing Volume of Webinars increasing Lack of standards Participants calling anyone they can for help Presenters not prepared Content not formatted properly Scheduling conflicts Grapevine comments Producers expected to do too much! Producers overextended, turnover Emergencies becoming the norm 6

8 My Preliminary Goals as part-time Webinar Process Director Know what s going on Define who should be doing what Be able to step in at last minute Support participants (before, during and after) Spread the work around Provide central access to information Reporting Be able to easily answer How do I do a webinar? 7

9 Step 1: Established a Webinar Process Team 1. Established a Webinar Process Team (Team of 1 is not a team, it s an Island ) a) Meets bi-weekly. b) Webinar roles defined (thanks Karen Hyder!) and initial process created. c) Support documents created, updated, centralized. 8

10 Step 2: Webinar Request Process developed a) How to do a Webinar document written for managers (Handout 1) b) Webinar Request Form created (Handout 2) a) Web-based. All webinar requests BEGIN and END here. b) Contains all logistical information for the webinar. (It s a working document!) c) Webinar Delivery Team assigned within each Form, i.e. who is the Producer, Content Owner, etc. d) Supports automated workflow and notification features. i.e. s Telecommunications Advisor if the data or time changes. e) Supports Real-time reporting via Dashboard, Views, or Reports (so we know what is going on right now, tomorrow, 3-months ago, next year ) 9

11 Automated Workflow and Notification Rule Examples

12 Example Sample Upcoming Webinars View

13 Step 3: Web Conferencing training offered and Certified Webinar Producer Program created a) Monthly general and webinar producer training offered. b) Certified Webinar Producer Program Initiated (combines training and a mentor is assigned) c) Web Conferencing User Group established (meets monthly, both Producers and basic online meeting users) 12

14 Step 4: Created Web-Based Participant Evaluation System a) Same evaluation taken by all webinar/online meeting participants (Handout 3) b) Web-based (results available immediately following webinars) c) Take in 2 minutes: 5 Simple questions, plus 2 open-ended questions for gathering specific info. d) Let s me know how participants felt the webinar went, i.e. if they could hear well, liked the presenters, etc. 13

15 Summary of Solutions Know what s going on Define who should be doing what Provide central access to information Be able to step in at last minute Spread the work around Support participants (before, during and after) Reporting 1. Established a Webinar Process Team 2. Webinar Request Process (form) developed 3. Certified Webinar Producer Program and web conferencing training offered regularly 4. Support documents centralized 5. Participant evaluation system created 14

16 Wrap-Up Recommendations I encourage you to 1) Create a formal process for managing Webinars and Online Meetings 2) Track Logistical information in one easily accessible place 3) Automate notifications if possible 4) Develop a standard centralized evaluation for participants 5) Schedule training and keep training! 6) Create a Producers User s Group (and reward them!) 7) Create and maintain support documents in one central location 8) Review your process regularly 15

17 Success? 212 Webinars delivered during new webinar Producers Online meeting usage increased by 62% Support calls (to me) down 80% Selected by Adobe as a Customer Success Story for 2009! 16

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19 Hardware/Software Toolkit Software: Adobe Connect Pro (web conferencing software) Meeting Room Manager (meeting room scheduling) (CRM software, custom Webinar Request Form) Audacity (sound editing software, freeware) Snagit (screen capture software, also great for quick photo conversions) Hardware: JK audio THAT-2 Telephone Handset Audio Tap For capturing audio off a telephone and broadcasting it over VoIP. Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker USB Microphone for broadcasting VoIP in small conference rooms. Osprey 230 Video Capture Card For capturing live video for webcasting. 18

20 Other Topics Audio Considerations On-site, off-site, or both types of Presenters? Information or collaboration? Need to record? What s your audience capabilities? (Phones, high-speed internet connections, International?) 19

21 Other Topics Video in Web Conferencing Considerations What s your audience capabilities? (High-speed internet connections, International?) Equipment Presenters will need: Webcams, microphone and speakers or headset w/microphone. 20

22 How to do a Webinar and Roles Involved (High-Level Summary) The following steps are involved in presenting a successful webinar. The second page of this document is a summary of the different roles involved. Note that a person may actually be playing the part of several roles. The third page lists differences between a Webinar and an Online Meeting. Phase Step Role (Who) 1. Check Meeting Room Manager ( Project Manager for Webinar Room availability for proposed date/time. 2. Submit Webinar Request Form in Salesforce.com. (See G:\Templates\Webinars\Scheduling\Submitting a Webinar Request Form) 3. Establish delivery team consisting of Producer, Content Manager, Moderator and Presenter(s). Project Manager or Producer Project Manager Webinar Process Director 4. Create and setup Adobe Connect Meeting Room Producer/Asst Producer Pre-Webinar Phase 5. Setup Adobe Connect Event (if using registration) Producer/Asst Producer 6. Market Webinar details to participants. Project Manager 7. Provide Participant Registration Support Producer/Asst. Producer Webinar Support Team 8. Create and provide content to Producer Content Manager Presenters Project Manager 9. Upload content and edit room layout. Producer/Asst Producer 10. Prepare Off-Site Presenter(s) if necessary Producer/Asst Producer Project Manager 11. Rehearsal Delivery Team 12. Finalize Webinar flow and content Project Manager Producer/Asst Producer Delivery Phase Post-Webinar Phase 13. Deliver Webinar Delivery Team 14. Participant Support During Webinar Producer/Asst Producer Webinar Support Team 15. Review Evaluations and Q/A from Webinar Project Manager, Producer 16. Post Webinar Wrap-up (obtain archive link, update Salesforce Webinar Request Form with archive summary and archive URL) Producer 17. Market Archive Information Project Manager LS10_610_Irvin-B

23 The following table summarizes the different roles involved in a typical webinar. Remember someone may be doing the part of multiple roles. Role Responsibilities Project Manager In charge of the project. They are the main point of contact. Oversee the details of the project. Content Owner Creates and answers questions about content. Moderator Facilitates Webinar (optional). Usually introduces the Presenters. Acts basically as the emcee. Presenter (s) Presents the content during the webinar. Producer Manages Webinar Software Creates Online Meeting Room Sets up Event (Registration Options) Upload/modify content and layouts Manages delivery during Webinar Provide participant support prior to Webinar Asst. Producer Provide participant support prior/during Webinar Assists the Producer Webinar Support Team (Todd Irvin x471, Marcia Struniak x237, Patrick Gallen x530) Prior to webinar provides guidance to Producer/Asst Producer for participant support (registration, logging in, account setup issues). During webinar provides direct support to participants. IT Help Desk (x369) Network Administration (Hardware/Software/Telephony support) Room/Teleconference Scheduler (Marcia Struniak, x237) Learning Opportunities Advisor (Marcia Struniak, x237) Training Manager (Todd Irvin, x471) Webinar Process Director (Todd Irvin, x471) Schedules location and teleconference numbers Setup/Update Learning information on UWO. Update Archive page on UWO. Provide presentation skills, coaching, and technical skills. Oversees webinar process. Provides leadership and guidance. Shaded areas represent roles permanently established. LS10_610_Irvin-B

24 Difference between Webinars and Online Meetings Adobe Connect Pro is the software used to deliver Webinars and Online Meetings. Listed below are some of the differences between a Webinar and an Online Meeting. Adobe Connect Pro Characteristics Webinar Large number of participants expected Registration may be setup and link marketed for participants to register. Registration is typically marketed on United Way Online. Delivery team (Producer, Content Manager, Moderator and Presenters) established. May involve off-site Presenters. Operator-assisted teleconference number used Voice over IP usually broadcasted (audio over Internet) Typically delivered from webinar room Usually recorded and archived Archived link usually posted on United Way Online Online Meeting Small number of participants No registration typically setup Delivered from hosts PC Host usually does everything themselves Department teleconference number typically used for audio LS10_610_Irvin-B

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