How can we connect during a pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the conference and business meetings industry. Opportunities for professional networking were limited, and executives largely relied on their pre-pandemic networks to share knowledge and best practices during this tumultuous time.
At first, digital conferences and Zoom happy hours tried to fill this gap, but attendees quickly tired of the mediocrity of connecting via video, and industries began to retreat into the isolated siloes of pandemic life.
Meeting the emerging needs of pandemic-era executives was a design challenge. To meet the needs of these users, I helped developed the Executive Cohort program, which launched in October of 2020. By the end of the first year, nearly 200 executives had completed the program and left overwhelmingly positive reviews.
What was the process of creating this program, and how did it meet the design challenge?
Research
We began our foundational research with 1-on-1 phone calls with our organization's most active partners, sponsors, and participants.
The interviews suggested that most executives were not interested in the digital formats that had initially emerged at the onset of the pandemic, especially digital conferences.
They did confirm our suspicions that executives were feeling isolated from their peers.
Define
These were the four main challenges we saw for professional convenings in the early pandemic era.
Safety
For public health reasons, in-person events were suspended at that time, and faced an uncertain future.
Engagement
Digital conferences left attendees bored and unengaged. The phrase we heard over and over was, "Nobody wants to sit in front of their screen all day."
Facilitation
The small-group meetings, like Zoom happy hours, tended to be too informal, without intentional facilitation.
Depth
We felt that people needed to meet online several times, over a period of time, in order to equal the connection that comes from meeting in-person once.
Ideate
We developed the idea for a convening format whereby 10 executives were invited to join an Executive Cohort, which would meet in facilitated meetings once-a-week for 6 weeks to connect with each other, share knowledge, and discuss their work. Each participant would pay a fee similar to the cost of a pre-pandemic conference. The idea met the requirements of the challenge:
Safety
The format was virtual, so no in-person gatherings would be necessary.
Engagement
The meetings were brief and engaging. No one would need to sit in front of their screens all day.
Facilitation
The facilitated meetings would be more formal than a Zoom happy hour, ensuring that all participants would have a chance to contribute.
Depth
The meetings would repeat every week for 6 weeks, reinforcing the connections and commitment between participants over a long period of time.
Printed Booklets
We felt that it was necessary to provide the participants with something physical — something that would each receive so the experience could be shared. We discussed a few different options - maybe coffee or tea…a book or collection of books - eventually we decided that a printed booklet with all of their photos, bios, and contact information would be best. These booklets contained information provided to us during each participants onboarding process, and were shipped to them at least 10 days before their program began.
There was some concern, at first, that it would be difficult to get executives to be open and collaborative with each other in this setting, so I used the visual design of the books to establish a playful, whimsical brand for the program with bold colors and abstract shapes. We included personal hobbies among the participants information to establish a familiar, personal tone for the sessions.
Build
Externally, I created a landing page for the program. It was designed to have the following sections:
Banner overview above the fold, with a single call-to-action button encouraging visitors to apply to the program
3rd party validators in the form of company logos representing past participants
An overview of the program format and topic focus areas relevant to our industry niche
A sample schedule, reinforcing the program format
Testimonials from past participants (this was added later)
A description of the program fees
A participant application form
Click to magnify
Internally, I built out custom modules within our CRM to accommodate the new program.
The CRM helped us identify potential participants of past programs that might be good in an Executive Cohort, then facilitated the initial outreach and automated the scheduling of phone interviews.
Then the CRM tracked potential participant deals through 7 stages of lead generation and onboarding.
Cohort sessions were grouped together in distinct cohort-level records, making the sending of calendar invites to participants easy and coordinated.
Invoice creation was automated, though we kept the invoice notifications and reminders manual.
Deal pipeline tracked in CRM
Iteration
Every Executive Cohort was asked to fill out an exit survey at the conclusion of their program, which helped us improve the program over time.
One of the major improvements we added was a private social network for the Executive Cohort participants to join. This allowed them to share files, links, and discussions asynchronously between cohort sessions. It also provided a platform for all Executive Cohort alumni to connect after the program was complete.
Conclusions
The success of the Executive Cohort program is evident from the reviews left by program participants. Here are two of my favorites.
“I’ve never experienced a networking forum more valuable than the Executive Cohort program. Even if not every person on the cohort has a direct link to what my company does, every person has a direct link to something that interests me on a personal, and/or professional level. I’ve rarely learned so many new interesting things in just six weeks as I have in the two cohorts I’ve participated in.“
Emma Skalka
Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Victor Stanley
“It is rare to really establish an ongoing relationship with experts, creative minds and very inspiring people, especially in these challenging times. Although 6 sessions seemed a lot, I wish we could have continued to meet regularly. Becoming friends with some of the cohort members and the exchange of ideas and advice with all others was more than a rewarding experience.”
Thomas Hohenacker
Former CEO, Cleverciti