In these times, shaped by immense change in general and remote working in particular, personal exchange is more important than ever. One possibility for fast information distribution is livestreaming, which in the past was often associated with a high investment of time, money and resources. Today, live events (livestreams) in Microsoft Teams are opening new ways to expand your opportunities quickly and inexpensively: 

Suitable formats for live events include video marketing, employee assemblies, press conferences, shareholders’ meetings, ad-hoc events and end of the year celebrations, among others. The big advantage is that that the events are easily accessible from anywhere (with an internet connection), with every kind of device and in which hundreds or even thousands of participants or employees can be reached, far extending the capabilities of a simple meeting room! 

 With our praxis examples of live events in Microsoft Teams we want to support you to digitize your own event formats. 

 Let’s start by looking at some terms: 

 Differentiation of the terms Microsoft Teams, Meeting and Live Events:

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based tool for working in virtual Teams. At the core of the application is the chat function, where members can exchange communications quickly. If a discussion is necessary, a meeting can be planned or started immediately online. Also, files can be saved in Teams so everyone has the same information. Additionally, a range of Office- and Microsoft Tools can be integrated without interface, enabling team members to collaborate on documents in real time. 

 Meetings

Just like appointments, meetings can be directly created and planned in either Teams or Outlook. Within a meeting, up to 250 participants can communicate via their camera and/or microphone. Furthermore, it is possible to share screens, change control between presenters, record the meeting, write notes, create a transcript, or exchange files and information in the corresponding meeting chat. All participants in the meeting have the same rights. As there is no centralized moderator, every participant is responsible to deactivate his or her own microphone when required.   

 Live events

Aside from meetings, live events can also be planned and executed in Microsoft Teams. The main difference from a normal meeting is the distribution of different roles. There is a distinction between producers, speakers and participants. Producers can start events, control and share content, speak, and moderate incoming questions. Participants can only listen and ask their questions in the chat area. The maximum number of participants for a live event is 10,000 people, which can be from within or outside of the organization. When setting up the event, the producer can decide to make the event accessible for certain people, the whole organization or make it public. Up to 250 speakers are possible within an event. 

Best Practice – What are meetings and live events used for at knk?

At knk we normally use meetings for all our digital team-conferences. In those meetings there is an active exchange and discussion, especially with the cameras engaged. Often, we use the option of sharing our screen. Further creative and informal examples are: 

Exchange with colleagues à knk Digital Pantry, Digital Coffee Break, Pub-Quiz or digital afterwork:

To keep up exchanges between colleagues in these times of remote working, we introduced different digital formats that every employee can take part in if he has the time and the inclination. This includes the “Digital Pantry”, the “Digital Coffee Break”, the “Digital Pub-Quiz” or the “digital afterwork” at our virtual knkBar. The Digital Pantry is an invitation to a remote lunch, where colleagues can meet to have a chat in their lunch break. The Digital Coffee Break works the same way but takes part in the morning or afternoon. And in our Pub-Quiz, colleagues gather after work, to chat, play and unwind from the workday with a bottle of cola, a beer or a drink of their choice.  

Live events on the other hand are used for training, webinars or employee assemblies (status meetings). Specific examples of these formats are: 

Transparent à Addresses by the management board:

As often as required, our management team passes on important decisions to the whole staff in an online streamed live event. Moderators and participants can be directly involved from their desk by simultaneously commenting in the chat. The participants require only the Microsoft Teams software, and external participants, only an internet browser. The number of participants can be scaled according to the usage situation. Thanks to the recording function, the live event can easily be made available afterwards to employees that couldn’t participate at the time.  

Live-Compass:

The live-compass format is our monthly status meeting, where operational news is communicated to all employees. Within the live-compass event, speakers from different departments report on their activities and progress.  The categories include, for example, the monthly financial report, news from the knkAcademy, or a recent operational topic. Every live-compass lasts about an hour, is recorded and afterwards made available for all colleagues to watch. During the hour, employees can ask questions about the different slots in the comment section. Questions are collected and posed to the speakers towards the end of the session.  

Knowledge transfer à #knowledge2go:

knowledge2go (short k2g) is a 30-minute format for knowledge transfer under the slogan “with another & for another”. Our k2g-sessions take place every second Friday of the month. The sessions cover a diverse collection of topics and offer a platform for the exchange of knowledge and information within the whole knk Group.  Every employee can propose topics for inclusion, can tune in and listen or presenter. The speaker can also choose whether to hold the session in German or in English. Just like in our other live-events, participants are given the opportunity to ask questions that are answered at the end of the session. The event is also recorded and made available to all employees. The recordings can also be used for the onboarding of new employees.  

(Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash)