How CPA Australia seamlessly transitioned their events online - and improved audience experience
When lockdowns hit, CPA Australia had to shift their in-person employee town halls to 100% virtual delivery. They didn't want to compromise on quality but didn't have the internal resources to manage extra workload. So, they reached out to Joinin.
CPA Australia is an international member association, providing education, support, training and advocacy to their member base of over 168,000 global Certified Practising Accountants. They play a major role in developing capabilities, creating opportunities for progression and preparing members for an ever-changing globally connected world.
CPA Australia hold regular internal town halls for their global team of staff. Owned and hosted by the CEO, these events are a way to keep their people up to date on what's happening across the business - from key business model trends to KPI tracking, project announcements and launching new organisational values. The town halls typically run for an hour and include up to 600 attendees.
Traditionally hosted as in-person events and live streamed for those who weren't able attend, physical distancing restrictions put in place over 2020 and 2021 forced them to go 100% virtual. Transitioning into the new format, the Internal Communications team outlined a number of requirements for the new format:
Ability for attendees to interact via chat and Q&A
No increased workload for the small comms team
A high-quality visual experience for all attendees
Their existing streaming provider had offered a "one size fits all" package which had worked when the events were predominantly in person, but CPA Australia didn't believe would deliver the quality experience they wanted in a totally virtual environment.
"We want our internal events to aim for the same quality as our external events." - Jess Fletcher, Internal Communications Advisor, CPA Australia
Seeking quality online experiences
Knowing the outcomes and features they desired for their online events, CPA Australia started shopping around for a new option. The organisation had a pre-existing professional relationship with Crowd Convergence and another staff member recommended Joinin, their new online events platform, as a potential option.
Based off a trusted referral, plus the ease of use and flexible support Joinin offered, CPA Australia decided it was worth giving it a go.
"The backend of the platform and what you can do with it – it really makes sense.” - Jess Fletcher
Using a production company to record, film and produce the event, they were able to use Joinin to stream it directly to hundreds of staff. The quality and extensive features Joinin offered meant that they could improve the quality and experience of the event without creating extra work for the busy two-person Internal Communications team.
Everything - from branding to registration management - could be pre-approved and organised in the platform well before the event. Initial concerns regarding privacy regulation were easily sorted by the Joinin support team and the platform’s extensive privacy features.
Features that elevate events
Chat
Staff use the chat function to ask questions and engage with presenters during events, while the CPA Australia team have the power to moderate chat from the backend to keep things on topic.
Custom branding
On top of being able to upload and pre-approve branding pre-event, CPA Australia can also change the branding and "the look" of the platform to suit each event.
Analytics
With several numbers-focused business leaders, CPA Australia enjoys being able to see and analyse all their event data - including attendance, engagement and even the device used to access the stream.
Recordings
CPA Australia love that they can download the recording straight after each event without having to wait for it to be sent to them.
We want our employees to log into a really streamlined process that looks like it's been built just for them, which is what Joinin delivers." - Jess Fletcher
Small effort, big rewards
As of August 2021, CPA Australia had already held multiple events using Joinin as their streaming platform, with plans to do more. There were a few key reasons they keep coming back:
Simple & time saving
The whole process is incredibly simple, and they know the outcome is going to come out great. Their CEO and other presenters can focus on delivery without needing to worry about what's going on in the background, and the CPA Australia team can moderate and approve everything from the backend in real time. Joinin has enabled them to run seamless events, despite being a small and busy team of two.
High quality experience for all
As an international company, CPA Australia needed a streaming platform that would always work on different devices, locations, or internet connections. With Joinin they have a platform they know will deliver high quality experience for everyone.
Amazing support options
Knowing they needed some extra hands, CPA Australia chose a high support package. The service they receive from Joinin is second to none, with the team always working around any issues they have. It allows Jess and her colleagues to get on with the rest of their jobs without worrying about the technology.
"They're fantastic and they're flexible and they know us. And that's what's really important." - Jess Fletcher
The future of streaming
One of the key stand outs of the Joinin platform for CPA Australia was its simplicity. They noted that it's not overly complex and doesn't pretend to be something it's not - but it does what it's supposed to do incredibly well. For them, it's made it easy to get a great result; there's no need to put in a huge amount of work to get amazing quality events.
CPA Australia plan to continue using Joinin while limits on in-person gathering are still in place. While the business doesn't know what the future will hold for their events, there is interest from the team to embrace a more permanent streaming structure - and use Joinin to do it.
"It's great. We are looking forward to delivering many more internal and member events using Joinin." - Jess Fletcher
Discover how easy online events can be with a free trial of the Joinin platform.
