The COVID-19 pandemic has made online conferences more popular than ever – from a health and safety perspective they are the safest way for people to network while adhering to the lockdown rules and regulations.
However, there are still safety considerations you need to take into account when you are planning an online event.
What are the risks you need to think about when planning your next online event?
Who can access the event?
- Control who can attend the event by requiring registration for all attendees
- Only share the link for the event with the attendee when they have completed registration
- Add a password or other authentication requirement for attendees to access meeting rooms
Deter any disruptive activity
- Use a video conference and online meetings solution that includes security features
- Make sure your settings are adjusted to account for security
- Consider disabling settings that allow your attendees to present their screens or interject without permission. This can greatly reduce the risk of malicious disruption
Set expectations for how you want your attendees to act
- Share guidelines with your attendees on how you expect them to behave during the online conference
- Communicate your policy on unregistered attendees, video recordings on the day, and how you will handle disruption
- Make sure all attendees are clear on their personal responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of the event
Protect your personnel
- Use caution at all times
- Avoid sharing sensitive personal information on any of the individuals hosting the event and where they are broadcasting from unless it is absolutely necessary
- Consider carefully the subject matter of your event, how it is advertised, and where you are broadcasting it from. Limit information that may personally identify someone or other items that might enable someone to disrupt your live event.
Don’t worry too much, Disruptions to online conferences are rare. A note of caution though, as virtual events grow in popularity there are some risks that should be kept in mind before you host an online event.