The Challenge: Manual processes and outdated systems that left too much room for error.
The Entomological Society of America (ESA), the world’s largest organization serving entomologists and related disciplines, manages an extensive annual meeting with nearly 3,400 attendees across the industry. With more than 30 concurrent breakout rooms and a high volume of speaker materials moving at once, ESA faced significant pressure to keep the event running smoothly.
The ESA team was looking for a system that would enable them to:
- Eliminate unnecessary risk: ESA needed a stable system that would remove the vulnerabilities of outdated servers and manual file handling.
- Improve visibility and oversight: The team lacked real-time insight into speaker uploads and session readiness, making it difficult to make quick decisions.
- Create a better speaker and staff experience: Speakers, moderators, volunteers, and AV teams had to navigate a challenging setup process.
The Solution: Eventscribe’s Speaker Ready System that Improved Flow, Minimized Risk, and Empowered the ESA Team.
With Eventscribe’s Speaker Ready System in place, ESA was able to redesign its entire speaker workflow around simplicity and dependability. Uploads no longer depended solely on physical hardware, allowing speakers to submit materials with far fewer steps or hiccups. Speakers were also able to make last-minute changes and upload their content without burdening ESA staff.
The ESA team also leveraged the Speaker Ready System’s:
- Direct upload link that reduced speaker presentation upload congestion during high-traffic periods.
- Intuitive workflow that empowered both student volunteers and moderators alike to take control of presentation materials.
- Enhanced reporting tools that provided detailed insight into speaker behavior, traffic patterns in the upload room, and session readiness.
ESA’s AV team also benefited from a more streamlined setup, since they no longer needed to ship laptops, manage software installations, or juggle hardware logistics. Cadmium’s onsite support provided further continuity and peace of mind, allowing the AV team to focus on other mission-critical components of the event.
The Result: An Efficient Workflow and a Foundation for Continued Innovation.
With the Eventscribe Speaker Ready System in place, ESA experienced immediate improvements across their events operations. Upload moved faster, lines shortened, and speakers were able to make last-minute edits. All of this was made possible without having to burden staff during peak periods.
The ESA team valued how the solution:
- Accelerated speaker intake, enabling faster uploads and shorter wait times during high-traffic days.
- Improved oversight that offered real-time insight into who uploaded their content, and which sessions needed attention.
- Reduced staff and AV workload, allowing teams to focus on attendee experience rather than troubleshooting issues.
“The Speaker Ready System completely streamlined our workflow and eliminated the manual steps that used to slow us down. Our moderators, volunteers, and speakers adapted instantly, and the entire process felt more organized and predictable. Having the Cadmium team onsite gave us the confidence that every detail was handled before issues ever reached us.”
- Becky Anthony, Associate Director of Programs and Meetings
About ESA
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA has nearly 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists. Learn more here.
About Cadmium
Cadmium empowers associations to harness the power of learning experiences by providing an integrated suite of solutions that streamline event management and continuing education. We understand that learning is about transformative moments, and we're here to help associations share those moments, create community, and drive meaningful change. For more information, visit us here.
