We have experience with a range of virtual collaboration tools, and can integrate with whatever tools your organisation is already using.
Zoom is our videoconference tool of choice because of its reliability and ease of access. **
You may have heard good things about community engagement platforms like Bang The Table and Social Pinpoint.
These are what we call an “asynchronous” engagement tool, which means that people don’t participate at the same time. They are certainly a valuable tool when integrated into a broader engagement and collaboration strategy.
Then there are collaborative whiteboard tools like Mural, Miro, Google Jamboard and Microsoft Whiteboard that try to replicate the experience of a collaborative workshop with sticky notes and whiteboards.
The challenge is their steep learning curve. If you are trying to enable online collaboration within your organisation, and want to invest in a tool for the long-term - these tools may be suitable. But we don't recommend them for external engagement or collaboration due to the learning curve. You don't want the tools to become a distration.
+ Will people participate right now? Aren’t they busy with other things?
Our experiences have shown similar results to our in-person events. In some cases, we’ve had more participants through virtual collaboration because people haven’t had to travel.
Many communities are craving meaningful and purposeful connection right now - perhaps your organisation could play in role in making that happen.
+ Will we hear from all voices or just the tech-savvy participants?
The limitation of digital collaboration is it is only accessible to those with internet access and device. We would usually recommend a mix of digital an in-person collaboration, buit obviously this is not possible right now.
We can add value by ensuring you do hear from all the different voices who do participate in your virtual collaboration. In fact, we’ve found the virtual event format actually makes it easier to hear from all voices. Breakout groups, the chat box and polls allow quieter voices to share their perspectives in different ways.
+ Does everyone just call in from their own home for a videoconference?
Yes, everybody calls in from their own device - whether that’s a mobile phone, tablet or computer.
+ Do we need a virtual facilitator or can we do that ourselves?
The benefit of a virtual facilitator is you can concentrate on engaging with others, rather than managing the technology and structuring the conversation. Virtual facilitation is not easy. At times the facilitator will have up to 7 windows open on their screen at once to properly manage the technology.
If you would prefer to facilitate it yourself, you may get value out of our Virtual Collaboration Masterclass or our Virtual Collaboration Coaching Service.
+ Can we really achieve the same results virtually?
It’s normal to be nervous and doubtful about the use of a virtual environment. We certainly were when we first started doing this.
But we’ve seen for ourselves that you can achieve a similar level and depth of engagement virtually as you can in person. The experience isn’t exactly the same, of course. But what you lose in terms of face-to-face energy, you gain in real-time collaboration. Plus there’s no travel. No parking. And no catering.
