Maybe all of these events would make sense for your organization. But, how to choose the first? Here are a few things to consider:
- If you have a highly remote culture, remote office hours may be the most inclusive option.
- Is there time for people to drop out of their regular workday to attend a workshop? If not, a lunch & learn might be a way to get more people's attention.
- Is there a high interest in learning about GitHub, but not really any idea of how to get started? Workshops can be built to give everyone a positive, hands-on experience in a short amount of time.
- How will people find out about the event?
- Are there any similar event structures in place already that you could piggyback on?
- What have been some memorable, casual learning experiences in your experience?
- What are some specific nuances of your organization that could impact success of learning events?
When planning an event, the details become very important.
It's important that everyone leaves feeling like they've learned something. This is made easier by having a well-defined goal. "When they leave, they should have learned ________" is a good place to start, even though it's fair to assume that everyone will take something slightly different away.
Decide on the timing of the event, and of the parts within the event. Will there be a short introduction presentation? Will you leave time for questions, or dedicate it to a free-form space to play around? Whatever you decide for the schedule, make sure you communicate it to the participants as well. Some activities may take more or less time than you expect, and that timing may even change in different situations. Now's the time to discuss your expectations for timing, and any back-up plans in case things don't match your expectations.
Hopefully, you are already aware of some possible spaces to host your event. Ideally, the space would be large enough to hold the attendees you'd like comfortably, and would be easy to get to. Some questions to consider when choosing a space:
- How many people can it hold?
- How far in advance do you need to reserve the space?
- Will there already be plentiful tables and chairs, and will you need to arrive early to arrange the tables and chairs in a way that makes sense for your event?
Any time there's technology involved, there's a good reason to have a plan B. Make sure the space can accommodate the number of people you expect to come, as well as their technology. Some questions to ask while choosing a space could be:
- Will a microphone be necessary in the space?
- Is there a projector in the room, and does it connect to the main presenter's computer?
- Will there be enough power outlets?
- Will people need to bring their own computers, and if so, how will you make sure they know that?
As the event organizer, it's your responsibility to make sure that during the event, everything will be looked after. Different roles such as a speaker, emcee, or point of contact for those with questions can be helpful to make sure that things go smoothly. Apart from the larger, more obvious roles, make sure you have enough helpers to answer questions and float around during more hands-on events. It's important that the participants know who they can go to if they have questions, so consider introducing the helpers or having them wear something to help them stand out (like a GitHub sticker on their shirt).
Having a space and a schedule is good, but it's only worth the time if people show up. Defining a specific audience will help you format your learning goals, as well as advertise the event internally. If you need to track who attends, consider a sign-in sheet. You might also have some existing internal promotions that you can use to spread the word. Perhaps you'd benefit from people to signing up ahead of time, so you knew who may come, or from participants filling out a survey after the event, so you can gauge how useful it was to them or what to do in the future.
These short events are meant to be supercharges to help attendees continue their learning and curiosity. How can you grow excitement in this short amount of time, and make the memory special? Is there a post-event space where people can talk about any further Git or GitHub questions they might have? Consider ways that you can add energy and special differences to make this event something fun that people will want to attend again.
Will these be one-time events, or will you schedule a series? Lunch and learn events are frequently formatted into a series, with each event following a separate theme. Workshops may fit better into one time, or more seldom events, that can be targeted towards different teams at different times. Whether you initially plan for one or for many events, keep an open mind to how you can expand and iterate on more events in the future.