How McKinsey & Company Drove 2× Higher Active Participation in CIS Virtual Workshops with SpatialChat

Context: Enterprise-Grade Virtual Collaboration

McKinsey’s CIS teams explored SpatialChat for interactive internal workshops and client-facing working sessions. These were many-to-many collaboration formats requiring high engagement, and not just passive broadcast delivery.

The evaluation process reflected a serious enterprise buying motion. It included procurement and legal review, VAT and tax compliance checks for foreign SaaS vendors operating in Russia, and technical validation of platform performance and capacity limits. The objective was to ensure reliability, governance alignment, and contractual clarity before client-facing deployment.

The Challenge: Balancing Engagement, Scale, and Compliance

McKinsey faced three interconnected challenges.

First, engagement quality. Traditional video tools favor one-to-many formats and large grid calls, which can limit visibility, suppress spontaneous interaction, and reduce participation in workshop settings.

Second, the scalability-versus-interaction trade-off. Consulting sessions require high participation and subgroup discussion, yet occasionally need to accommodate larger audiences for structured presentations.

Third, enterprise governance. As a global consultancy, McKinsey required strict adherence to contracting standards, invoicing processes, VAT compliance, and reliability expectations.

The core question was how to run highly interactive workshops at enterprise standards without defaulting to low-engagement webinar formats.

Why McKinsey Chose SpatialChat

SpatialChat was positioned as the interactive environment for workshops and working sessions, complementing more traditional presentation modes when required.

Key decision drivers included:

• A many-to-many interaction model designed for active participation
• Spatial rooms enabling organic subgroup discussions without rigid breakout assignments
• Room capacity limits by design, optimizing performance for interactive sessions
• Stage-style presentation options for larger audience moments
• Pre-configured spaces that reduced setup time for recurring workshops

The platform aligned closely with McKinsey’s facilitation-driven consulting model, where dialogue, co-creation, and rapid alignment are critical.

The Experience: Structured Flexibility for Client Sessions

During pilot and early deployments, consultants hosted interactive working sessions where participants could form small discussion clusters organically within rooms. Multiple rooms were used strategically to manage group size and maintain quality interaction.

Facilitators conducted dry runs before client-facing sessions to ensure layout, flow, and technical setup were seamless. Once provisioned, spaces remained available for scheduled session windows, supporting repeat engagements. Admin controls enabled hosts to oversee rooms and guide participant movement without heavy intervention.

The result was a workshop format that felt closer to in-person consulting sessions than static video calls.

The Impact: Measurable Gains in Participation and Workshop Efficiency

Across consulting-style sessions, SpatialChat delivered meaningful improvements:

• 1.8–2.2× higher active participation rates compared to large Zoom calls
• 40–50% increase in average speaking time per participant
• 30–35% reduction in drop-offs during longer sessions
• 25–30% faster time-to-decision or alignment in structured workshops
• Post-session satisfaction score of 4.5/5 for engagement quality

Qualitative feedback reinforced the data. Workshops felt more collaborative and less performative. Clients were more comfortable contributing in smaller, spatially separated groups. Facilitators reported stronger energy and smoother session flow.

Impact on Delivery Model

By integrating SpatialChat into its virtual workshop delivery model, McKinsey CIS preserved the collaborative intensity of in-person consulting while meeting enterprise compliance standards. The result was improved client experience, more efficient working sessions, and a scalable model for high-engagement virtual collaboration.

For enterprise workshops and consulting engagements, this case demonstrates that interactive spatial design can materially improve participation and outcomes without compromising governance or reliability.