News

Pivoting in a time of crisis | May 2020

21 May 2020

May 21, 2020

A message from YC&E’s Executive Director, Suzanne Shaw

We at Yale Conferences & Events hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. Over the last couple of months, we have all been closely watching the immense impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the world. Our personal and professional lives have been upended and we’ve had to adjust to a “new normal”.

The pandemic has challenged meeting and event organizers to find innovative new ways to bring people together safely during this period of quarantine and social distancing. Many organizers are pivoting to virtual events instead of cancelling or postponing them. And while the value of in-person meetings will never go away, there are silver linings with pivoting to virtual and hybrid meetings as there can be a broader reach and it can be more affordable for some. New event design options, tools, previously untapped services and creative solutions can now be added to leverage our traditional way of hosting and managing events and programs for the future.

YC&E staff have been busy mastering the art of planning and executing virtual events so that we can continue to provide our clients with stellar service. Recently we helped a client transform an in-person summer course to a virtual event by supporting their marketing and registration needs. We are excited to continue learning everything there is to know about virtual events and using this knowledge to help guide our clients through these challenging times.

In addition to our own personal and professional worlds, the broader hospitality industry as well as our colleagues at other institutions have experienced a major shift in business. What we all love to do is bring people together for a purpose through events. And we will continue to do so with virtual planning and hybrid meetings until we can come back to the traditional way of meeting with new guidelines.

Although this is not the message I imagines I would be writing this May (a month before what was to be our busiest summer on record), I take comfort in seeing all the incredible stories of people working together for the greater good during this crisis. The way the Yale community has come together to take care of one another has been truly inspirational.

We remain confident in our community’s ability to persevere in the face of this public health crisis. Please continue to take personal percautions and be kind to one another. Looking forward to seeing all of you, face to face, when the time comes.

Stay healthy and safe,

Suzanne

Weathering the storm together

Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, there are also countless inspiring stories of how poeple across the globe have come togehter to look after one another. From conducting leading-edge research to find a cure, to offering dorm room lodging to first responders, Yale has been working on several united fronts to combat COVID-19.

Yale Conferences & Events is honored to be working closely with various Yale departments and community partners to navigate the unprecedented challenges we are facing together. Recently, we assisted the University with the first responders housing project by pivoting from our “normal” summer program housing operations to emergency housing during a pandemic. YC&E’s As

sistant Director of Operations, Nathan Lubich, talks about this important University project below.

Pivoting from summer program housing to emergency responder housing during the COVID-

19 pandemic.

We sat down (via Zoom, of course) with YC&E’s Assistant Director of Operations, Nathan Lubich, to talk about supporting Yale’s commitment to making 500 beds available on campus for members of the Yale and New Haven communities who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team was honored to aid these heros who are keeping our community safe.

In about five days, YC&E staff modified our typical summer housing operation into an emergency responder housing services office. Nathan mentions how we were fortunate to have a successful summer housing office and workflows in place to use as a starting point. Yet, to ensure we complied with best practices for social-distancing and with the safety of our staff and our guests a priority, many of our normal processes needed to change.

Hosting Zoom meetings and webinars in 2020: helpful tips

In today’s virtual world, it can be tough to figure out how to make the best of you r team meetings through a computer screen. We encourage you to theink about taking the best practices from your in-person meetings and bringing them into a virtual setting. Here are some helpful tips for Zoom Meetings:

Prior to meetings, you should check calendars to make sure those who are needed can attend.
Whoever is hosting the meeting should also send out an agenda in advance to give everyone a chance to review whawt will be discussed and if they are responsible for bringing anything to the meeting.
If you are an attendee of the meeting, you should review the agenda and be prepared for anything you may be asked to contribute.
As you might do if you were in the office, if you have a chance to get to the meeting 5-10 minutes before it’s scheduled, use that opportunity to catch up with your colleagues and stay connected.
During the meeting, make sure to mute yourself if you’re not talking, try your best to be in a quiet area free from unnecessary distractions, keep off your phone and from working on other tasks, and don’t interrupt others while they are speaking.
To close each meeting, the host should point out any key takeaways, action items or deliverables and who’s responsible, and make note of when the next meeting will take place. Keep it simple!

Working from home: staying productive, motivated,

and healthy

With many of us working from home these days, creating a place

in our homes to get our work done and stay motivated has become a priority. While a home office is ideal, not everyone has a spare room to use and so more creative solutions are necessary!

Once a workspace is set up, techniques to help de-stress, re-energize, and focus are essential as we live life at a safe social distance.

Discover how our YC&E colleagues have set up their workspaces at home and what they’re doing to stay productive, healthy, and sane!

We want to hear from you!

Now more than ever, it’s so important to stay connected to those in your networks. We’d love to hear how you are doing and what you thought about our first newsletter of 2020. Send us a message.

For the most up-to-date information on how Yale Conferences & Events is navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, follow our social media accounts. We are constantly sharing important University updates and practical information on planning and hosting virtual meetings and events.