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Blog
A Walk You Need To Take
Posted on 8 April, 2013 at 6:01 |
Between associations pounding the drums in Washington,
advocacy experts spreading the word in forums near and far, and social media
threads offering diverse opinions on what’s right, wrong, what could and should
be done when it comes to elevating the stature of the meetings industry,
there’s only one thing for corporate meetings professionals to do to take the
issue beyond mere words: get a voice in the executive suite. Some gaudy numbers have been attached to our industry to
confirm its relevance. But the people you work for care more about an effective
product launch than the 1.7 million jobs our industry creates; more about a
sales meeting that delivers information and motivation than the industry’s $458
billion contribution to the GDP; and more about a good turnout at a trade show
than the $64 billion in tax revenue provided by meetings. The work of associations and advocacy experts is a key piece to the puzzle and highly valued. But executives don’t necessarily need to be told the economic impact
of what their planners do. They need to understand, for example, that
membership in trade organizations ostensibly to make meetings professionals
better at their jobs should be supported, not curtailed. When incoming MPI
Tampa Bay Chapter President Margaret Williams tells me many of her members’
companies won’t subsidize their memberships, either something is wrong with MPI
or something is wrong with an infrastructure in which professionals are
not encouraged to refine their craft, grow and learn. The executives are either
much smarter than we are, or are totally missing the boat – which could highlight
our inability to prove our worth. In the plethora of social media discussion this past week,
one planner took the stance: “My role is to find the best venue, ensure
meeting rooms are set in the best configuration to accomplish their goals, and manage
all logistics to ensure the meeting runs smoothly. I seldom get involved in the
strategic side. When a manager contacts me, they already have a clear idea of why
they are having the meeting. I read all the stories about how planners need a
seat at the table. I believe that if I were asked to do that, I'd be unprepared
and wouldn’t have the time or resources. I don’t know the intricacies of our
business and don’t need to know them to be a great meeting planner.” My response to this was mixed. On the one hand, if a person aspires
to be a great planner and nothing more, and loves doing it, more power to her. However,
the problem is that she runs the danger within the organization of being viewed
in a certain light -- not necessarily a bad one, but at a level at which she
loses the chance to elevate her role, to assert more control over her position,
and runs the risk of being labeled non-essential or replaceable when cutbacks
are mandated. I've seen HR people and financial people lose value in their
organizations because they didn't truly understand the markets of
their companies, so not knowing “the intricacies of our business” is not acceptable. What that entire conversation brings home is that we as an industry
have more at stake than the professional interest levels of some. In order to
ensure the continued ability of this planner to do her meeting planning work
harmoniously and rewardingly, we as a community need to stay close to those
above us in the executive hierarchy and try to engage in Bigger Picture
conversations, whether the top brass and/or the planner herself wants to take
advantage or not. It behooves every meetings professional to figure out how to
get a foot in the door of the executive suite. What do you get involved in –
and when? What do executives want to hear and what are they not concerned with?
In what language do you speak to them? Time is of the essence – no sharing of weekend stories or family photos here. If executives
understand value in the form of statistics, results, ROI and new business
prospects, then stop claiming a lack of time to evaluate return and figure it
out! Just like seeing so many great technologies available for
meetings but understanding the practicality of using only a few, so too is the
situation when it comes to promoting the value of the meetings industry. Don’t
worry about lofty facts and figures on our economic impact; no marching on the nation’s capital. Within the confines of your day-to-day roles,
know that the best, and perhaps only, march you need to make, with orchestrated
strategy and intelligence, is the one right down the hall to the corner office.
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3 Comments
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Reply
estelle macdonald
11:49 on 12 April, 2013
After many years in the industry, it was a great pleasure (and some relief) to read this point of view. Many Thanks! best,e

Reply
mark grimm
13:21 on 12 April, 2013
I think planners can do better at making their case to top execs. Think about the things the top execs value most and then provide proof to them that you are delivering that value with what you do. Can't be vague and must have data to back claims. Here's some thoughts on how trainers do it: http://markgrimm.com/WhatWeOffer/presentation_topics8.php

Reply
Jessie States
14:03 on 15 April, 2013
It's true that not much research has been done on an overall scale about how much meetings contribute to the corporate bottom line. The U.S. Travel Association found that every dollar spent on business travel returns $13, but that really isn't meetings specific enough.
That's why we've been encouraging our members in the areas of strategic meetings management—not just to prove themselves worthy of executive status within their companies but to measure the business value of their meetings.
Our research shows that more than 95 percent of industry professionals have some method of measuring the value of their meetings (usually participant satisfaction), but only 5 percent measure the BUSINESS value of their meetings—or contribution to the organizational bottom line.
We've created a toolkit to help our members start a business value of meetings measurement program, which takes the industry professional through the five steps of measurement—1) addressing the misperceptions (it's impossible, it's too expensive), 2) getting stakeholder engagement, 3) setting objectives, 4) creating measurements and 5) analyzing and reporting.
The tool is free to all MPI members and can be accessed at www.mpiweb.org/bvom.
That's why we've been encouraging our members in the areas of strategic meetings management—not just to prove themselves worthy of executive status within their companies but to measure the business value of their meetings.
Our research shows that more than 95 percent of industry professionals have some method of measuring the value of their meetings (usually participant satisfaction), but only 5 percent measure the BUSINESS value of their meetings—or contribution to the organizational bottom line.
We've created a toolkit to help our members start a business value of meetings measurement program, which takes the industry professional through the five steps of measurement—1) addressing the misperceptions (it's impossible, it's too expensive), 2) getting stakeholder engagement, 3) setting objectives, 4) creating measurements and 5) analyzing and reporting.
The tool is free to all MPI members and can be accessed at www.mpiweb.org/bvom.
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