Efficient implementation of hybrid settings Hybrid meetings with vitero inspire

A hybrid event is characterised by the fact that the participants take part in the meeting in different ways, both remotely and on site. While some of them connect online, the others are in a face to face group for the on-site meeting.

Fueled by the Corona pandemic, hybrid working is becoming more and more common in everyday working life in all industries. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to set up a suitable solution for hybrid meetings.

Depending on the number of participants, a hybrid event requires different technical requirements. For smaller meetings, ideally all participants should have a laptop or other mobile device, and the meeting rooms should be equipped with a high-quality hands-free solution that is connected to one of the laptops. Furthermore, a large display or beamer and a video conference camera are helpful. The same framework conditions should be created for all participants. For larger groups, it is advisable to allocate roles in which a moderator takes the lead. Software should be technically designed for intuitive use, promote interaction between the participants and enable a structure in the events.

Hybrid settings make it possible for spatially separated teams to exchange ideas with colleagues on site in the group as well as with colleagues connected online. In this way, hybrid event models provide participants with more flexibility in their everyday working lives through location-independent participation – regardless of whether all colleagues meet together in the office or whether individual participants connect online. This makes it easier to combine everyday work and private life. But hybrid event models also have advantages for exclusive events. They can be held internationally, for example, if only individual participants can attend from another location.

A particular challenge with hybrid events arises when the majority of participants are together in a presence room, i.e. in a face-to-face group, and only individual participants are connected online. For these participants, it is then much more difficult to take part in a lively discussion and collaborative work. This also makes it more difficult to maintain transparency. In addition, the participants in the hybrid meeting have different basic requirements because they are in very different environments. This affects the level of participation of the participants and the effectiveness of communication. Incentives for more attention must be created here. Another challenge is called the split-attention problem. It encompasses the difficulty that arises for a moderator in a hybrid event. He must take special care to include both groups of participants equally: The presence group and the virtual participants. At vitero, we have specifically looked for an intuitive solution to the current challenges and have developed the hybrid mode in vitero inspire – available as of release 4.2.

vitero has developed the hybrid mode for hybrid events. This has several advantages. The remote users as well as the face-to-face users are permanently represented in the virtual room and visualised in the same way. Nevertheless, all participants have their own control over when their live image is transmitted. Either way, it is always visible who is speaking and the moderator always has all participants in view. This facilitates joint discussions. Our functionalities, such as queries or collaborative applications, promote transparency and interaction in the meeting. Our experts also give you the best advice on how a hybrid event can best succeed and how to avoid overburdening the moderator or trainer.