Event Check-in Software Implementation

checkinIf your company isn’t using a digital solution for event check-in, you are missing out on shorter registration lines and streamlined event registration.

Event check-in solutions make it easier to maintain compliance with clients’ regulatory requirements and capture information more efficiently for accurate Sunshine Act reporting.

But convincing your program managers to change how they work can be a challenge. It can take years for an event management professional to perfect a process that works for them.

Adding a new program or platform to the mix means changing that process. Here are 3 core principles of change management that can help ease the transition.

Include your program managers in platform selection.

Simpler, easier event check-in doesn’t just help the company make more money, it makes your program managers’ jobs easier. Once you get their buy-in on the decision to move to an online platform, ask for their input on the business rules and the platforms you’re considering. Here are some questions to ask:

  • What aspects of the existing process can they not live without?
  • What improvements would they like to see to the existing process?
  • What are their hesitations – if any – in embracing a new solution?

Make training fun and be empathetic.

Having to train on a new event check-in platform while continuing to manage an already busy workload can be challenging. Taking these small steps can minimize the stress:

  • Timing is everything. Hold training sessions in the morning when learners are fresh and less stress. Avoid launching the platform during major programs or the “busy” season.
  • Use eLearning modules so learners can complete training at their own pace.
  • Set realistic deadlines so they don’t feel overwhelmed.

Keep complicated features to a minimum.

Training and process design will be a prominent part of your launch. Try rolling your event check-in solution out in phases launching the simplest, most intuitive features in phase one. You can pilot the first phase to a small series of meetings for real-world feedback that can be implemented prior to the full rollout. We recommend holding the more complicated features for phases two or three. This will minimize the learning curve. Here are some other tips we recommend for a phased rollout:

Phase One:

  • Search Features. If it makes your users’ lives easier, it will increase adoption. Advanced search functionality like filtering and autocomplete can be lifesavers when the event check-in line starts to build. So roll it out in the first phase.
  • Excel-Based Data Import and Reporting. Your program managers are probably already using Excel to manage attendee tracking. Using Excel-based programs to import data and run reports will make users more receptive to the platform. It will also make it easier to backlog the existing information that has been manually collected over the years.
  • Security Features. Because you are collecting physician information from program attendees on a web-based platform, your data needs to be secure. Using a platform that syncs data to a cloud-based server strengthens security. Review other security features with your vendor and explain them to your users.

Phases Two and Three:

  • Custom Reports. Customization is best left to later phases. Select an event management platform that comes with the basic reports you need. You’ll want to get a few programs under your belt so you can collect real-world feedback from your program managers, clients and attendees before you start customizing reports.
  • Custom Email Templates and Branding. While branding certainly enhances the impression you leave on clients and attendees, any changes you make to the innate platform have the possibility to push your launch date back or increase margin for error. Like reports, custom email templates and branding is best left for phase two.

Above all else, remember that timing is everything. Launching the platform at a time when the team can focus on the training and having empathy for the additional workload is a process that will almost always yield success. Avoid launching during the “busy” season or in the middle of a major program.

Creative MediaWorks offers custom web development, graphic design and print solutions to the Life Science industry and their agencies with a focus on quality, deadline and accuracy.  We achieve our quality standards through defined workflow processes, direct access to on-staff project talent, proofreading and quality assurance expertise backed by an uncompromising commitment to the most responsive customer service in the business. For more information, visit our website www.CreativeMediaWorks.com.