This global publishing company used the electronic PowerVote voting keypads during a meeting with its employees
The Human Resources department of the publishing company held a meeting with all of its employees in November 2007.
So as not to limit itself during this meeting to a simple presentation, the event was organised in the form of a competition, with questions being asked on the company. All participants were invited to take part in the quiz, thanks to the electronic PowerVote voting keypads.
According to the Director of Human Resources, during this type of event, the audience’s involvement is proportional to the system’s ease-of-use: “The tool used arouses in large part the participants’ curiosity, and this voting keypad encourages participation while at the same time facilitating communication.”
Organising a meeting for several hundreds people, gathering information, and ensuring that the answers instigate immediate exchanges can together seem an impossible task without the use of interactive voting keypads. This was a priority for the HR department of the publishing company in preparing for this meeting to which all of its employees had been invited. It amounted to a huge challenge for the organisers, for this was the first time that the company was gathering together “all Group personnel in our country,” explains the Director of Human Resources.
An interactive competition
Taking advantage of the work carried out on the group’s corporate values, the general management, as well as the HR department proposed gathering together all staff during a one-day macro-event. “The proposed goal consisted of reflecting upon our company and sharing a day with all of the group’s professionals,” explains Mr Crooke.
The Aranjuez Casino in Madrid was chosen as the venue for this event, and several presentations were held. Management members presented to the participants the goal and the developed actions, while members of the HR department explained the company’s policy on reconciling one’s professional and family lives. “Since we didn’t want to only carry out the classic presentation of an agency specialised in this type of event, without any type of interactivity, we proposed a competition in the form of questions on the company,” explains the Director of Human Resources.
This competition was held at the Aranjuez Casino, with the Assistant General Manager of the company acting as the presenter. Three volunteers were recruited among the participants to also act as presenters. However, a voting keypad was given to each employee to allow the entire audience to participate by answering the questions. “In this manner, the participants and the audience were able to vote. In addition, a prize was awarded the audience member who answered the most questions correctly,” explains Mr Crooke.
According to the Director of Human Resources, this activity was made possible thanks to interactive voting, “which facilitates the participation of all audience members, while rendering dynamic an activity that otherwise could only have been carried out on stage”.
According to Mr Crooke, the audience’s involvement is proportional to the system’s ease-of-use. He underlines that, “The acceptance of this system depends in large part on the tool used, which arouses the audience’s curiosity, for it encourages participation while at the same time facilitating communication.”
A positive experience
This meeting constituted a double challenge for the HR department. Firstly, this was the first time that the publishing company was gathering together all of its employees and secondly, it was also the first time that the interactive PowerVote voting keypads were being used. “We hesitated to use a new tool without first knowing how it worked. It’s true that we were pleased with the system glimpsed at ExpoManagement. We had noted its simplicity and its ease-of-use. That’s why we decided to use the electronic voting keypads. What’s more, we requested the assistance of the PowerVote technicians to resolve any incident or answer our questions,” explains Mr Crooke.
Despite the system’s simplicity, the Director of Human Resources at SM admits that “taking charge of its set up, programming and coordination would have been difficult or impractical”.
Tags : audience response system, human resources, interactive meeting, publishing company, wireless voting keypads
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