{"id":13547,"date":"2020-11-03T08:39:25","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T08:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=13547"},"modified":"2023-01-17T10:49:29","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T10:49:29","slug":"run-virtual-agm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/run-virtual-agm\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run a Virtual AGM in the New Age of Disparate Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a time when shareholders, colleagues and customers can\u2019t share the same physical space in the same way, annual calendar milestones such as businesses annual general meetings (AGMs) are being cancelled across the UK. Back in May, companies such as Barclays Bank<\/a> held their first ever virtual AGM in the history of their existence while the London Stock Exchange<\/a> pushed for more companies to be allowed to host AGMs in an online environment. The Canada Business Corporation Act (CBCA) allows for virtual events and the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) has also been pushing for virtual AGMs to become a permanent change.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, companies such as the iconic shoe brand Jimmy Choo have been blazing a trail, having hosted their first virtual-only AGM way back in 2016. Now is the time for organisations across the UK to follow suit.<\/p>\n

With an increasing number of public companies now being allowed all-virtual AGMs (or \u2018all-hands meetings’ if you\u2019re not a public company), it\u2019s important to know the scale of your AGM ahead of time in order to prepare and ensure you have the right technology in place to support a seamless and professional AGM which rivals the live version (albeit without the notorious \u2018free\u2019 lunch).<\/p>\n

The AGM in a virtual world<\/h2>\n

AGMs tend to get a bad rep. Often known as long, unengaging conferences delivering company updates and repeated information, running an AGM or an all-hands meeting that attendees will love is often a challenge.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the main aim of an AGM is to deliver critical company updates and to give stakeholders a voice. It\u2019s this latter point which can really come to the fore in a virtual environment. If you\u2019ve ever received feedback that your annual conference feels a little single-sided, or that there wasn\u2019t enough opportunity for questions, now is the time to mitigate that.<\/p>\n

Some stats have shown that attendance has spiked since some companies have offered an online equivalent to their<\/a> AGMs. Transforming your annual meeting into a virtual event could mean you uphold the true purpose of an AGM more effectively than you might in a traditional, physical conference environment.<\/p>\n

With video conferencing technologies becoming increasingly popular in replacing live events, businesses now have access to the technology they need to make their AGM or all-hands meeting more interactive, more engaging and more transparent in an increasingly remote working<\/a> environment.<\/p>\n

In this blog post we\u2019ll explore:<\/em><\/p>\n