With the new year now having gained full momentum, many compliance teams are looking ahead to one or more large-scale meetings later this year where they have been granted a precious agenda slot to conduct some form of compliance training. Maybe it’s an hour at a national sales meeting or 30 minutes wedged into a POA. Whatever it is, it’s an opportunity not to be wasted.

If this is the challenge your team is facing, you probably realize that simply presenting compliance guidance using a slide deck is not the answer. Instead, you might be thinking about using a game or some other activity to create a meaningful learning experience that will engage the meeting attendees and help them connect compliance with the situations they encounter on their jobs.

If so, here are some questions to consider when deciding what type of activity to use and how to plan for its success.

What do you want the attendees to take away from your session? Remember, they are likely processing a lot of other information during the meeting, and your time is limited. Trying to cover too much will dilute the impact of whatever activity you choose. For example, focusing on speaker programs, conference attendance, and joint interactions all in one session is likely too much. Always highlight where people can go for more information or if they have questions.

Who are the attendees? Several questions are rolled into this one. How many people will be in attendance? What are their roles and experience relative to the content you want to cover? Are there logical team structures you can leverage during the session? The answers will help you determine how to achieve a high level of engagement for everyone and the amount of technical and facilitation support you may need.

How can you integrate your activity with the rest of the meeting? You don’t want your activity to feel like it’s disconnected from the rest of the meeting (any more than you want employees to feel like compliance is disconnected from their work). Consider how your content, tone, and visuals can be aligned with the larger meeting in which you are taking part.

How much time do you have for your session? More complex activities can take more time. You need to account for setup, instruction, the activity itself, and any feedback or additional insight you want to provide. We recommend a dry run before the meeting to help you recognize just how much you can realistically accomplish in the time you have.

What is the meeting format? Will attendees be in-person, virtual, or a blend of both? For in-person attendees, what will the room layout be? What tool will virtual attendees be using to connect? Many activities can work for either in-person or virtual attendees with the proper design. But that’s not something you want to figure out on the day of the meeting.

What are your technology needs? Understand the technical needs of any activity you are considering and the resources you will have available. For example,if you want to conduct an in-person activity that relies on each person using a Wi-Fi connected device, what’s the capacity of the room’s Wi-Fi? What devices will people have with them? Are there any URLs, settings, etc. that need to be cleared with IT prior to the activity? Is each facilitator comfortable with the technology? Having technical support on standby can reduce any down time, and if a production company is involved, they can potentially help handle some tech needs. Again, a dry run ahead of time can uncover potential issues.

How will you evaluate the results? Conducting a training session at a large meeting presents an opportunity to gain valuable information about the learning needs of your audience and the impact of your training efforts. While games typically provide a score, more sophisticated tools can provide you with analytics that allow you to drill down to individual question and learner results. You may also consider conducting pre- and/or post-activity surveys/assessments and looking for evidence of behavior change (eg, examining changes in help desk calls, reported violations, etc.).

How much time and what resources do you have for development? Having less of either does not necessarily mean you have to settle for less impact. Off-the-shelf solutions can take less time and fewer resources to implement, but still create a high level of engagement. Likewise, when more time and/or resources are available, you can consider custom solutions that speak more uniquely to the specific challenges your employees face.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully this has given you food for thought. You can also reach out to us at NXLevel Compliance to leverage our 20 years of experience helping biopharmaceutical and medical device compliance teams make the most of their moments at the next big meeting.

Thanks for reading and feel free to reach out to us at info@nxlevelsolutions.com.