The Basics: Workday, a financial management and human capital management software vendor, hosted its annual Workday Rising conference from Oct. 14-17, 2019, in Orlando. George P. Johnson Experience Marketing produced the event in partnership with Laura Bell Way, Workday’s director of marketing events. To help each of the event’s 13,000 Workday employees and customers get the most out of the experience—which included a massive expo hall, networking areas, and education sessions—timed tours were created for small groups of 20 at a time.
The show floor was designed to promote connections, with areas such as the MeetUp Cafe where attendees could attend prescheduled meetings around a certain topic, and the Feedback Lounge, which asked guests to voice their opinions through Post-it notes. “People would engage with each other as they were sharing their feedback and noticing others with similar or differing feedback, which promoted discussions,” explained George P. Johnson’s Shannon Malliet.
Additional areas showcased Workday’s charitable and sustainability-focused initiatives through interactive games.Photo: Courtesy of George P. Johnson Experience Marketing
Steal-Worthy Innovations: For the 2019 event, 16 activation areas on the expo floor centered around inclusivity and diversity, including one highlighting Workday’s Opportunity Onramps initiative that brings young people from underserved communities into the workplace. This year’s program focused on veterans; 80 jobseekers were given passes to the conference, and other attendees volunteered to help them edit their resumes and conduct mock interviews. Attendees could also write notes of encouragement.
Other interactive activations addressed unconscious bias and microaggressions through Workday’s VIBE campaign (which stands for value, inclusion, belonging, and equity). In one area called “Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes,” attendees were shown a pair of shoes and asked to guess who wears them. “You see a pair of high heels and you automatically assume it is a female, but then we reveal these shoes are worn by a transgender person. You see a pair of high-top tennis shoes and you assume it is a young male, but we then reveal these actually belong to a middle-aged woman,” said Malliet. “With each pair of shoes, most people associated a specific stereotype, and the exercise brought those to the forefront for attendees.”
Other areas asked guests to guess job titles based on a diverse set of headshots, a selfie area where each attendee wrote a statement on what makes them special, and a giveaway card game that explained inclusive behaviors in the workplace. “When one completes the action [on the card], they can pass the card along to another person,” said Malliet, adding that additional areas showcased Workday’s charitable and sustainability-focused initiatives through interactive activations and games.
Those tenets were also put into action with a mother’s room, plus a reflection room offering meditation, yoga, and south baths. New this year were two amusement park-style trams to help attendees with physical limitations travel through the massive event. ASL translation options were also added. 
New this year were two amusement park-style trams to help attendees with physical limitations travel through the massive event.Photo: Courtesy of George P. Johnson Experience Marketing
Lessons Learned: Attendees want personalized learning experiences and chances to connect with like-minded peers, noted Malliet. “As programs grow in size and scale, the benefit is the opportunity for more robust and varied experiences—but there is the possibility of losing the intimacy of gathering with your peers,” she explained. “We continue to work on programs that ensure all of our attendees can find the content and experiences that are most relevant to them—and on ways to help them find and connect with others to enhance their value in attending.”
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