In-Person Internal Meetings, Face-to-Face Touchpoints “Essential” in Flexible Work Environments

Employee EngagementEmployee wellnessNews

By Business Wire On May 29, 2024

Business leaders opt for “more impactful” and “less frequent” internal meetings, noting they’re a driver for company culture, employee engagement, and productivity according to new Cvent survey

Employee preferences for virtual, in-person meetings vary by age demographic, company size

A recent survey conducted by Cvent in partnership with The Harris Poll found that over three in four (78%) business leaders say that in-person or face-to-face meetings are ‘absolutely necessary’ or ‘very important’ within their companies. As companies continue to navigate return-to-office and hybrid work policies, nearly nine in 10 (89%) agree internal meetings are an important part of the future workplace.

“These results show that with more dispersed workforces and the reduction of daily organic in-office connections, companies are increasingly bringing their people together through a combination of curated in-person and virtual experiences to build a more engaging, collaborative environment.”

Cvent is an industry-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider used by 22,000 companies, associations, higher education institutions and other organizations to plan and host in-person, hybrid, and virtual meetings, including webinars. To independently identify the prevalence and importance of internal meetings, the Company collaborated with The Harris Poll to survey senior business leaders with decision-making responsibilities for return-to-office policies. The research – Cvent’s “2024 U.S. Internal Meetings Impact Report” – explores how C-Suite-level decision-makers view in-person, internal meetings alongside other top workplace concerns such as flexible working arrangements, meeting practices, company culture, employee engagement, and productivity.

Latest Hrtech Insights: HRTech Interview with Keith Bigelow, Chief Product Officer, Visier

“We’ve witnessed in-person meetings and events make a strong comeback over the last few years and wanted to understand what is driving the increasing investment in internal face-to-face experiences,” said Patrick Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Cvent. “These results show that with more dispersed workforces and the reduction of daily organic in-office connections, companies are increasingly bringing their people together through a combination of curated in-person and virtual experiences to build a more engaging, collaborative environment.”

“The results of this report further highlight that leaders and employees alike want to make these interactions as impactful as possible to deliver positive outcomes and a clear return on investment for all parties.”

Internal Meetings Need Purpose, Value to Engage Employees

According to the research, more than nine in 10 business leaders (95%) say impactful internal meetings drive employee culture, engagement, and productivity.

Other key findings include:

Efforts to convene employees will continue to grow: More than four in five business leaders (85%) say their company is increasingly trying to bring employees together in-person for impactful internal meetings.
In-person experiences are utilized for specific meeting types: All-hands or town halls (65%), one-on-ones (63%), onboarding of new employees (63%), team building (62%), and professional development (60%) meetings are typically held in-person.

Baby Boomers, Gen Z Have Opposing Viewpoints on In-Person vs. Virtual Internal Meetings

The survey also explored perceived generational differences when it comes to meeting preferences, with older generations gravitating toward in-person meetings more so than their younger counterparts: the majority of business leaders feel Boomers and older workers (ages 59+) (61%) and Gen X workers (ages 43-58) (61%) prefer in-person meetings.

On the other hand, more than half of business leaders (56%) believe Gen Z workers (ages 18-26) – often dubbed as “digital natives” – prefer virtual meetings. This cohort tends to be more comfortable with digital communication tools and more familiar with technology in general.

Other key findings include:

Questions remain for Millennial preferences: While 44% of business leaders felt this group prefers in-person meetings, 35% believe Millennials would prefer virtual meetings.
Preferences vary depending on company size: Small/medium-sized companies are more likely than their larger counterparts to believe these groups prefer in-person meetings (Gen X (63% vs. 40%) and Boomer and older (63% vs. 42%)). Conversely, large companies are more likely than small/medium-sized companies to report that older generations prefer virtual meetings (Boomers and older (36% vs. 23%) and Gen X (31% vs. 18%)).

Leaders Look to Increase Use of Event Technology, Meeting Management Tools Moving Forward

The research emphasized how technology can drive positive business results when it comes to managing and delivering more effective meetings. The majority (86%) of business leaders surveyed report that their company is rethinking the event management technologies it needs to be successful.

Other key findings include:

Increased usage of online meeting management tools: Most business leaders (84%) report that their companies have increased their use of online meeting management tools over the past three years.
Leaders seeing increased meeting success when leveraging event technology: The top benefits of using online event/meeting management tools include increased employee engagement during the meeting (50%), looking more organized and professional (48%), improved attendee experience (48%), and higher attendance rate (47%).
Event programs managed with technology drive greater ROI: Business leaders cited easier event management (45%), saving money/costing less (42%), and fewer technical difficulties experienced during the meeting (35%) as advantages of using meeting technology.

[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]