A multi-session event is an event series with multiple sessions that employees can register for in one click.

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Simplify creating sessions, sending comms and surveys, and tracking registrations and attendance all on one page.

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Learn how to set up a multi-session event for offsites, onboarding, L&D programs, and more.

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What is a multi-session event?

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A multi-session event has different sessions within it related to a similar topic. Some examples include a team offsite, a week-long onboarding program for new hires, or set of mandatory training sessions. 

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The benefit of creating a multi-session event is that your guests can easily RSVP to the entire series with just one click on Slack or the Epoch event page. They will also receive calendar invitations for each session all at once. Data from all sessions will be aggregated on the same insights page.

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RSVPing to a multi-session event

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An employee can interact with multi-session events on Slack, the Epoch web app, or calendar. 

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Registering on Slack

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An employee can register for all sessions or choose the sessions they want to join.

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If the event organizer has chosen to limit registration to 1 session, an employee will only be able to register for one.

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Registering on the Epoch web app

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An employee can identify multi-session events on the Discover page by looking for the unique badge on the cover photo and number of sessions next to the event date.

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An employee can register for all sessions or choose the sessions they want to join.

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If the event organizer has chosen to limit registration to 1 session, an employee will only be able to register for one.

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Registering on calendar

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If an admin chooses to create calendar events for the sessions, guests will be added to the sessions they registered for. If an employee wants to register for a multi-session event on calendar instead of Slack or Epoch, they will need to respond to each session separately.

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If the event organizer has chosen to limit registration to 1 session, an employee will only be able to register for one.

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Creating a multi-session event

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1. Go to the Dashboard.
2. Create a new event.
3. Give the series a title and description. 
4. Select Multi-session under "Event type”.
5. Click Add session.
6. Give the session a title, description, start time, end time, and location. 
7. Create as many sessions as needed for your event.
8. Choose if you'd like to limit registration to 1 session.

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Note that all event settings after these steps apply to the entire series.

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This means that capacity and waitlisting applies to the entire event series, guests will be invited to all sessions, and a single feedback form will be sent after the series has ended.

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The only exception is self check-in. If it's turned on, check-in notifications will be sent to registered guests for each session.

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Editing a multi-session event

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There are 2 important things to note when editing a multi-session event:

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Event type can't be switched after an event is published

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Once an event is published, it is not possible to change the event type between single and multi-session events. If you need to do this, please archive the event and create a new one.

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Past sessions can't be edited

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Once sessions have passed, the details cannot be edited. This is similar to single events that have passed.

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If the series hasn’t ended yet, you can always add more sessions.

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Guests will need to register for new sessions after they're added. We suggest setting up a reminder to registered guests to notify them that new sessions are available.

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If a guest was invited, they'll automatically be invited to the new session.

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Sending an announcement for a multi-session event

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1. Go to the Dashboard.
2. Go to Communications in the side bar.
3. Select the multi-session event you’d like to send the announcement for.
4. Select one or more Slack channels.
5. Write the message for your announcement.
6. Schedule the message for now or a specified date and time. 
7. Click Send. The announcement will send a single event block for all sessions.

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Viewing insights for a multi-session event

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Sessions 

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You will see a new section at the top of the insights page showing a breakdown of upcoming and past sessions. You will see how many guests are registered for each session, as well as how many guests were marked as attended for each session.

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Guest list

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Scroll through each session to see the guest list details.

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Note that questionnaire responses will be the same across all sessions for a guest.

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The CSV will include a column for the session name. Note that guests will appear multiple times in the CSV if they RSVPed to more than 1 session.

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Frequently asked questions

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How does the waitlist work for multi-session events?

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The waitlist applies to the event series. If a guest is registered for at least 1 session, they will take up a spot in the event.

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When a spot opens up, the guest who is released will receive reminders to select sessions and fill out the questionnaire if applicable every 24 hours at 12:00 PM UTC.

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What happens when I change the start time for one or more sessions?

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When the start time is changed for an event or session, we will match calendar behaviour which resets guests’ statuses to a “pending” state. If a session's start time is changed, guests’ statuses will be changed to pending.

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If an admin chooses to send event update notifications, guests will receive a:

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• Slack notification
• Email from calendar, corresponding with the number of sessions changed 

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What happens if I limit registration to 1 session but guests try to register for more than one on their calendar?

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If a guest is already registered for 1 session and attempts to register for another session, their status will be reverted to their previous status. Notifications will be sent on Slack and email notifying the guest that they must cancel their spot in the first session in order to register for the other one.

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What happens if I invite guests when a multi-session event is in progress?

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If a guest is invited or RSVPing while an event is in progress, they will only be added to upcoming sessions. 

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What do invitations emails from calendar look like for multi-session events?

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Invitation emails for single and multi-session events are the same, except there is an additional line in the description that indicates the session is part of a multi-session event. This is linked to the event page.

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What happens when I archive a multi-session event?

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The series will be removed from Epoch. All calendar events will be deleted.

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How does the address appear for a series if it’s different across sessions?

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If sessions have different addresses, “Multiple locations” will appear for the series on the Discover page and Slack.

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If the address is the same for all sessions, the address will be displayed.

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How is a guest’s status for the series determined if they have different RSVPs across sessions?

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In some places, you will see a guest’s RSVP to the event rather than individual sessions. This is how the status is determined:

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• Going: Guest is registered to at least 1 session. 
• Incomplete: Guest registered through calendar to at least 1 session, but did not fill out a required questionnaire.
• Waitlisted: Guest is waitlisted for at least 1 session.
• Maybe: Guest is maybe for at least 1 session and confirmed to no sessions.
• Pending: The start time was changed for at least 1 session.
• Invited: Guest was invited to the event by an admin and hasn’t responded yet.
• Not going: Guest is marked as not going for all sessions.
• Attended: Guest was marked as attended for at least 1 session.

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How does registration cutoff work for a multi-session event?

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The registration cutoff date and time applies to the event series. This means a guest can’t register for any sessions after the cutoff date and time has passed.

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If a guest changes their RSVP from "going" to another status after the cutoff time, they can register for that session again as long as they are registered for at least 1 session in the series. This is because they are already considered part of the event as a whole.

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Coming soon

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We’re always looking to improve on our product. Here's a preview of things we’re working on to improve the multi-session event experience:

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• Select event type before creating an event: Making it more clear that an event can't be switched between single and multi-session after it's been created.
• Duplicate sessions: Make creating sessions faster by duplicating an existing session.
• Waitlist for sessions: Set different capacities for sessions.
• Target attendance for sessions: Set different target attendance for sessions.
• Separate guest lists: Invite different guests for sessions, making it easier to add guests to only the sessions they need to be a part of.

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If you have any other feedback you’d like to share with the product team, please reach out to support@epochapp.com.