With remote work now commonplace among the global workforce, spurred by the pandemic, continuing to this day and expected to grow by around 25% by 2030, in-person collaboration is more intentional than ever.

Gone are the days of daily water-cooler chats, conference room mix-ups and ‘war room’ setups for big, launch-day moments. Now, the rarity of face-to-face interaction comes with a reinvigorated approach of deliberate discussions that validate and justify the efforts to make the meeting happen.

While remote working isn’t going away anytime soon, as data from Gallup shows 35% of remote workers cite enhanced productivity, solidifying the working modality as incredibly beneficial, carving out time for in-person collaboration with key stakeholders – colleagues, clients and prospective partners – is a part of that broader recipe for success.

I’ve had the pleasure of operating within this best-of-both-worlds scenario: a remote-first primary workplace setting, yet having opportunities to explore business connections through in-person scenarios. I’ll break down a couple of these interactions and the takeaways that positively influenced my role as a public relations professional.

Elevating UNLEASH America’s Return to In-Person Glory

In 2020, many events went dark or explored virtual options in lieu of a typical in-person production; and while many organizations saw value in offering a virtual attendance offering and have stuck with that model to date, business leaders across the globe reveled in the idea of returning to a live option that is often critical to making deals, networking and formalizing lasting connections.

UNLEASH America was one of the events affected by the pandemic virtual shake-up, but they came back bigger than ever to Las Vegas with a fully in-person production in April 2023. Bospar began representing them during this time and worked over the past two years to make their annual U.S.-based events a roaring success.

I’m lucky to have attended in both 2023 and 2024 as on-site PR representation, managing the press room, booking and coordinating media and analyst interviews, and overseeing content development both pre- and post-event from a broader thought leadership perspective.

UNLEASH America’s focus on the future of work and ongoing evolution of the workforce alongside a digital transformation is a perfect representation of this in-person collaboration topic. Influential speakers from leading organizations spoke on topics like winning strategies to nurture and retain talent, catalyzing organizational transformation and fostering belonging, reinforcing themes about the new era of work. It’s inspirational to sit in a room with like-minded peers who are pursuing change for their organizations, listening to these insights from leaders at major household-name companies like HP and Caesars Entertainment.

The on-site experience proved fruitful, solidifying Bospar as a go-to source for any media needs at the event. With my oversight of the press room, I was able to form connections with a variety of the journalists in attendance, even offering support outside the job description.

Maureen Clough, podcast host of It Gets Late Early, said:

“Maddie made the show a great experience for me as a first-time media attendee. From helping me secure interviews with speakers at the event before it began, to ensuring all went smoothly onsite, to even helping me find a part of my lavalier microphone that mysteriously disappeared, she was instrumental in helping me maximize my time at Unleash. I can’t wait to come back next year!”

While I’m confident I could have made inroads with the group of on-site journalists from a remote location, the face-to-face interaction boosted the opportunity to build relationships.

Exploring the Power of In-Person Strategy Sessions

While we’re only just over halfway through 2024, in the PR world, we’re already thinking about 2025 (and beyond). How can we strategically plan for our clients’ success into the next year, and what major milestones must we hit along the way? Summer is the perfect time to jumpstart planning processes, and while that may be possible in a virtual world, in-person strategy sessions come with a level of engagement that can only benefit the task at hand.

I recently embarked on an adventure alongside a small group of colleagues to meet with clients in the pharmaceutical industry to plan for the year ahead. This involved preliminary research and strategic mapping to understand strengths and challenges from the previous year, and how we can evolve to readily meet their goals in new and exciting ways.

Most of this initial planning took place via Zoom calls to lay the groundwork for our impending in-person meeting, which set us up for success to come ready to collaborate and flesh out what might be possible and what needs further exploration.

The Grossman Group outlines benefits to these types of meetings, including two-way communication: the exchange of more than just words, including body language or other non-verbal cues. This can inform more impactful takeaways and encourage deeper, more meaningful conversations. For example, when presenting ideas in this planning session, I got an immediate sense of my clients’ engagement and interest by observing whether they were taking notes, their level of sustained eye contact, encouraging nods, etc. The in-person setting allowed me to make any necessary pivots to keep us on track and moving forward.

Outside the conference room, live engagement also promotes greater camaraderie than a virtual meeting might have. There’s a need for greater camaraderie, which has experienced a great decline post-pandemic. When we broke for lunch, we had the opportunity to talk about our families and summer plans, and we did a walkthrough of the office to better understand what their working environment was like. This gave us an inside look into the company and created opportunities for dialogue that developed a quick rapport.

Embracing Balance: The Power of Face-to-Face in PR

Now, this isn’t meant to villainize virtual events or meetings. They still bring a huge amount of value, allowing our remote-first agency to stay connected with clients, colleagues and prospects across the globe. With public relations a machine that operates 24/7/365, it’s critical that we PR professionals can work from anywhere, at any time, without the need for an in-person office setting.

However, face-to-face interactions, even if they only happen occasionally, often do foster deeper relationships and increase big-picture thinking. Indeed, according to joint Stanford Graduate School of Business-Columbia Business School research, in-person teams generated between 15-20% more creative ideas than their virtual counterparts. That can drive both business success for the PR team and the respective client.

It’s all about balance, and in this industry, a handshake with a kind hello can go a long way.