How Officeworks brought together 1,000 employees during a pandemic with Joinin

Officeworks' multi-city team member conferences were threatened when lockdowns hit. So, they turned to Joinin for help capturing the fun, engaging essence of the event and recreating it online.  

Officeworks is one of the best-known and loved brands in Australia. They've been providing office and school supplies, furniture, technology, and more to the Aussie community for over 25 years, and currently operate 167 stores across the country.

They’re a large, widely dispersed company, so keeping teams connected and informed is a big priority. Usually, they do this by running annual ‘Year Beginning Conferences’ and ‘Half Yearly Roadshows’, where they provide operational, financial and leadership updates to up to 1,000 employees Australia-wide.

In 2020 and early 2021, that just wasn't an option. And when trying to find a way to continue to engage and inform their teams in a personalised way during lockdowns, Officeworks Event Manager Sophie Christie and her team faced several roadblocks:

• Uncertain and ongoing travel restrictions

• Bans on large groups and events

• No internal experience holding large online events

They knew their only option was to go online, but they just didn't have the know-how to make it happen and do it well on such a large scale.

The right recommendation at the right time

Sophie and the Officeworks events team knew their existing online meeting platforms couldn’t handle their two annual staff conferences. After failing to find a suitable option through their IT channels, they turned to their trusted event agency, who had extensive experience with online events. The agency immediately recommended Joinin.

Our event agency had used Joinin a lot before, so they recommended them to us – and I'm very happy that they did".

Sophie Christie, Event Manager, Officeworks

After jumping onto the Joinin platform for the first time, Sophie was seriously impressed – the customised portal stood out straight away, and the ease at which Officeworks team members could sign in and watch the event without complications or delays was a huge bonus.

"We really liked how the Joinin portal could be completely branded to what we liked. It was a lot more polished than other platforms."

Sophie Christie

Sophie was also pleased to discover that Joinin support was just as good as the software itself. Both during the organisation phase and on the day of the first event, Officeworks received quick, responsive support and found communicating with the Joinin support team incredibly easy.

When it came to hosting their second event six months later, Officeworks were able to simply repeat a lot of their previous efforts and roll out the event quickly and easily. The user-friendly nature of the Joinin platform meant after hosting just one event, Sophie's team already felt like online event experts.

Features that made the difference

Of the dozens of features Joinin offers, Officeworks found a few played crucial roles in their event:

Branding & Customisation

The team could completely customise the portal to Officeworks brand and colours for a more polished look.

Live Chat, Polls & Q&A

The audience was able to get involved and be more engaged in the presentation through live participation features.

Multiple Presenters

The key presenters could all speak, engage with the audience, and watch the rest of the event through ‘waiting room’ and ‘go-live’ features.

"It was really easy to have our presenters waiting and be able to put them live on the platform when needed. From a production and organisation side, that made things a lot easier"

Sophie Christie

An overwhelmingly positive experience

Not really knowing what to expect from their first major online event, the Officeworks team couldn't have guessed how well it would turn out – and the benefits it would offer.

Same result, less effort

Traditionally, the conferences were live events that would be repeated across multiple cities. By going online, Officeworks only needed to hold the event once. It turned a multi-day event into a 1.5 hour one, and significantly decreased the overall cost.

A wider reach

Officeworks were easily able to record the event and make it available to be watched online by those team members who were unable to attend live, or who wouldn't have originally been included in the live event. The audience grew by thousands.

A custom experience

Rather than another low-quality event held on a platform not made for large audiences, Officeworks was able to put on an event that felt special and different – like a "real" event. The Joinin features and capabilities made it feel more fun, more professional, and more polished.

Great team response

The format was incredibly well received by the wider Officeworks team who tuned in. The feedback was that it was fun and engaging, and it felt like an actual event occasion, not just another online call.

"It was very powerful for the team to be able to log into something that's all Officeworks blue and branded – it's just a bit more fun and a much better experience."

Sophie Christie

The future is virtual

Joinin has made it possible for Officeworks to put together customisable and affordable events with incredible ease. After two successful online events and recognizing they can reach thousands more team members by going virtual, Officeworks are excited about the possibility of streaming and recording more events in the future. 

And when they do go online again, there's no question about what platform they'll be using.

"I'd highly recommend Joinin. We had a brilliant experience with them, and it was an absolute no-brainer to go back to them again.”

Sophie Christie

Want to wow your team, clients and prospects with an engaging, professional and affordable online event? Now you can.

Discover how easy online events can be with a free trial of the Joinin platform.