The Made in Group, consisting of Made in the Midlands and Made in Yorkshire, have temporarily replaced Best Practice events with virtual meetings. This will include virtual Q&As, panel discussions and masterminds. The group hopes to put two or more of these types of events on a week, offering expert advice and discussions for Made members.
Due to the current pandemic, many events and exhibitions have been cancelled across the world. This includes the annual Made in Group exhibitions, however, instead of postponing the events in a time of uncertainty, the group have introduced an innovative, immersive way to hold the event without the risk. The new virtual expo will take place across two weeks in August under the name of Backing Britain Live 2020.
However Made not only holds two annual exhibitions, but they also hold regular best practice events throughout the year - which is around 30 in total. These events are held to enable members to share best practice, network and learn more about different businesses. To minimise risk further, Made have decided to hold a selection of virtual webinars so members can still tap into this benefit during this time. CEO of the Made in group, Jason Pitt said:
“Clearly we aren't able to hold breakfast mornings at the moment, but we want to do something. In the backend of the Made platform, we now have a feature called virtual meetings. This is fully integrated with Zoom, so members can hold meetings and it enables us to hold events for our members.”
The group is currently compiling relevant events such as discussions with patrons and welcoming members to have panel discussions. So far, the group has held Q&As on Expert Legal Advice and COVID-19 support advice from Lloyds Bank. In addition, the group also had a panel discussion on employee welfare with the likes of E3 Recruitment and Glesson recruitment. Jason said:
“We need to brainstorm, share ideas and collaborate to create a mesh of information and knowledge. We are starting off with what we think people want to hear, but we also want to know what you would like to watch and if you wanted to be part of a panel discussion. Also, if you are knowledgeable on a subject you think it would be beneficial to members, we would like to welcome you to be part of a Q&A.”
The group will be announcing these types of events every week.
Recently the group introduced Masterminds, another webinar-style event to be held on the backend of member microsites in addition to the panel discussion and Q&As. Jason said:
“I think during this time it is more important than ever to stay connected. Made Masterminds will see 6 people, in various groups, meet up once every fortnight virtually. The idea being that we share knowledge, discuss our biggest challenges and support each other.”
“We will set up these meetings and notify the participants, to ensure further connectivity will also be setting up Whatsapp groups. All you would need to do is head over to our help page on the website and fill in the form to express your interest.”