As a marketer responsible for organizing and managing webinars for demand generation and thought leadership, you no doubt have your registration and attendance goals, you’re focused on creating appealing content, and you’re on the lookout for effective ways to keep the audience engaged. Webinar project management is certainly complex, from logistics and speakers to post-webinar content and nurturing.

But here’s a secret: You can make it a much more rewarding project if you partner with your HR colleagues and position webinars internally as an employee engagement opportunity for leadership development.

What’s in it for a webinar program owner?

According to Forbes, 70 percent of professionals in corporate America agree that presentation skills are critical to their success at work. Yet, 75 percent of those who give presentations say they would like to be better at it. As a marketing expert, you know that being a polished presenter is an acquired skill that comes with practice, but webinars organized in collaboration with the HR team is a perfect opportunity for everyone to hone those skills.

Yes, you may need to provide guidance and training, but that’s a worthwhile investment. Your speakers will become more polished and effective, and by helping to remove their anxiety about public speaking, you will likely attract more people who are willing to sign up for speaking engagements!

A variety of speakers means a variety of perspectives. Their subject-matter expertise will make your events stand out as more personal, more engaging, and — as a result — more effective. Additionally, using internal subject-matter experts for your webinars helps position your organization as a thought leader in the space.

But it’s not just about the speakers – there are plenty of opportunities for creating post-webinar content, such as session summaries or short video clips. There are opportunities for social promotion and tapping into your colleagues’ social networks. Just put on your marketing hat when you look within your organization for ideas.

What’s in it for HR?

Organizations that rely on external candidates to fill management positions have almost double the turnover as those that rely on internal promotions. But when companies focus on developing internal talent, they are able to retain entrepreneurial, self-motivated, purpose-driven employees, increasing not only employee retention but also ROI — saving the cost and time associated with hiring and training new employees.

The smart strategy for developing talent and growing leaders is to find opportunities that help them to support critical business objectives, as opposed to sending employees off to external educational programs and hoping they return with transformational insights about themselves and the world.

What’s in it for an individual?

As recently published in Harvard Business Review, 82 percent of employees and 62 percent of HR directors believe that workers will need to hone their current skills or acquire new ones at least once a year in order to maintain a competitive advantage in a global job market. Such skills growth could come in many shapes and forms, including opportunities created by employees themselves. Subsequently, there are many benefits in a marketing/HR webinar program:

• Growing your professional skillset. Becoming a better speaker, a better writer, a better networker will pay off in so many ways. By joining a webinar project, you will get support, advice, and feedback to grow your confidence as a speaker, writer, or social influencer.
• Building your personal brand. Not only are you polishing your skills, but you are also creating a digital footprint by being promoted as a speaker or listed as an asset on your company’s public platforms. And that helps you to grow your leadership presence, position yourself for career growth, and build your professional network.

In conclusion, webinars have become a business reality and are well-recognized as an effective marketing tool. But there is an unrealized potential of webinars as an employee development opportunity. Coordinating webinars between marketing and HR is a win-win situation for individual employees, and the company as a whole.

Ready to step up your game? Connect with our team to get a personal consultation!