How Instead of Canceling Our Event, We Took It Online

2 and a half years.

That’s how long it took our team to conceptualize and plan our first digital adoption event, WalkMe Realize in San Francisco, which was supposed to take place on March 10th - 11th.

Only last year, the category for digital adoption solutions was created. After almost a decade of hard work, here we were, leading the charge in helping companies realize the full potential of their software investments. Realize was more than just an event.

But when the coronavirus struck, we knew that the health and safety of our employees, customers, and partners was our top concern and that we couldn’t possibly host an event for hundreds of people.

On March 4th, just four business days before the event, we canceled our reservation at City View at Metreon and announced Realize Live, the first virtual digital adoption event held on March 11th.

Since then, we could not have predicted the rapid spread of the virus and the damage it has caused. We are entering a new reality. This causes me to reflect on how we can maintain our business goals and connect to people while we face such uncertainty.

I compiled some of the lessons I learned from WalkMe’s quick pivot from a sold-out in-person event to organizing a top-quality online experience. I hope these insights can help others confronting the same situation.

1. Health First

Canceling our first event was one of the hardest decisions that Dan Adika and I have had to make. And in the past nine years, we’ve had some tough calls.

These are the moments that define a company’s values.

We could’ve waited to see if the situation would improve and still try to bring people to San Francisco to the event. But Dan and I both knew that in good conscience, we had to put health first, no matter what losses we’d incur. Other business leaders have recently been put in the same position. It’s reassuring to see the unified response to cancel or postpone live events in the best interests of health and safety.

2. Momentum, Momentum, Momentum

When the MWC conference was canceled in February, we had an idea to create our own online event Mobile Live. There were so many attendees and presenters with valuable insights to share, and we knew we wanted to play a role in fostering that connection. That was small-scale compared to Realize Live, but the values of innovation and using technology as a bridge motivated us to move quickly. Life is unpredictable and we find ourselves in a constant mode of change.

But instead of sitting on the sidelines, use the energy of change to propel your company forward.

3. Do Not Compromise on Quality

Online events may seem faster to prepare and require less attention to detail, but that is a misconception. In today’s world, online events will hold the same weight as physical events.

When we transformed Realize into an online experience, our vision never changed. We set out to create the finest premiere digital adoption event, hands down. Moving an event online is only a format change, it has no bearing on the level of value or quality you can deliver.

4. You Can’t Succeed Alone

As a company, your greatest strengths and successes will come from your employees. A strong team comprised of intelligent, optimistic and forward-thinking employees can take your organization to heights you never imagined. When we announced Realize would be online, our team immediately sprung into action. In less than a week, they worked together from Tel Aviv to San Francisco with enthusiasm and determination to produce the first-ever digital adoption event.

5. Technology as a Bridge

We are fortunate to be living in a world where conducting a meeting with colleagues three timezones away takes only seconds to organize and create. For Realize Live, we utilized technology to reach as many people as possible. After the initial screening, we scheduled additional viewings for APAC and EMEA. We wanted to give everyone who couldn’t join us the first time around, the opportunity to participate. Technology has to be leveraged to meet people where they are. Today, being able to connect digitally and bridge the gap between humans and technology is more important than ever.

We could not have predicted the events of today, nor can we foresee the future. While there are still many uncertainties left to come, how we deal with these unknowns does lie in our organizations’ ability to lead with compassion, unity, agility and innovation.