Q: We are considering shortening our 6 hour workshops to 4 hours and want to know if there is any research to support this decision. We need to make the business case to our CEO. My sense is that people want shorter workshops due to shorter attention spans as well as the difficulty in being away from work for 6 hours. We want to benchmark pricing as well. One thought is to shorten the workshop, but leave the price the same. Any thoughts?
A: This is an interesting question--which raises some additional questions. First, it would be important to know whether you have asked your past participants about the ideal length for workshop sessions. It is very important to do this--and their responses should be among your most persuasive reasons for wanting to make a change. If they say they would prefer a shorter session than 6 hours, then you might very well want to consider this. Also, it would be important to know how much of that time is instructional/learning time and how much time is spent in breaks, lunch, etc.
It also assumes that you can deliver the content they need at the level of quality they require in a shorter amount of time. LERN seminars are 6 1/2 hours in length, but this includes two 15 minute breaks and an hour break for lunch, meaning that instructional/learning time is 5 hours. This is about the maximum time for a one-day event, as people are not able to maintain sustained focus for much longer than this. Before making any changes, survey your past participants to find out what they think would work best. This will put you in the best position to argue persuasively with your CEO.
Regarding price, you are not charging by the hour. Your fee should be based on the value of the information that people receive. If you can give them the same value and learning experience in a shorter time period, then you do not need to change the price, even if you reduce the length of the workshop.