The International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) recently polled more than 150 meeting planners around the world to find out what features are most important to them now and in the future.

“While the overall objectives and goals of meetings have generally remained constant, there are clear indicators that the adoption and use of technology, the physical design of meeting space, and the emphasis on experience creation will be increasingly important,” Mark Cooper, IACC CEO, said in a statement. “Compounding the pressure on meeting planners to adopt and incorporate these tangible meeting elements is the increased requirement to demonstrate the value of meetings to their leadership, peers, or clients while simultaneously operating in an environment of shrinking budgets. It is critical for meeting venues to respond accordingly and provide those elements that are increasingly sought after and important to the overall meeting objectives.”

According to the survey,

—75 percent of responding meeting planners report that their current role involves more “experience creation” versus two to five years ago
—More than 77 percent of respondents report that access to interactive technologies, such as tools to encourage audience participation, collaborative communication platforms, and others, are more important now versus the last several years
—47 percent report the importance of flexible meeting space now versus in the past

The survey participants also indicated that technology and space flexibility dominate selection choices.

“Responding meeting planners report that an increasing percentage of budgets are devoted to securing and implementing new technologies, such as event apps, beacon technology to track traffic and attendance, and video conferencing capabilities,” the IACC wrote in the report. “Recent years has been marked by [a] considerable change in the meetings industry in terms of the spaces people want to meet and run conferences and events in. This report highlights a significant awareness across a wide range of stakeholders, to the increased need for delegates to collaborate more and for the delivery of meetings and incorporation of collaborative technologies, to support this change. The focus for venues when considering this need, should not be on the meeting room alone, but on the spaces outside of the meeting room, for networking, socialising, and dining.”

For learn more, please read the report (PDF) by the IACC.

(Image: Helgi Halldórsson/Creative Commons)

Sumita Raghuram, an associated professor of human resource management at Penn State, believes you should be mindful of employees who have left your organization.

“These ex-employees, who we call organizational alumni, can be very important for you,” Raghuram said. “They are the ones who can be your ambassadors.”

In other words, if you’re nice to the ex-employees, those same employees carry that goodwill into their new jobs. And when ex-employees have a positive feeling about their former employers, they may become future customers and send new business to the ex-employers.

“They can also come back to work for you as boomerang employees,” Raghuram said. “They are a very powerful force and we cannot ignore that.”

Raghuram suggests one way to increase goodwill is to make an effort to keep the employees when they announce they’re departing.

“When an employee quits, they are sensitive to how they were treated when they left the organization,” Raghuram said. “For example, did anyone care to tell them that they will be missed or try to stop them from leaving by offering genuine inducements? What we find, once again, is that a strong retention effort can reinforce the effect between relationships with bosses and alumni goodwill.”

It’s said this industry is built on relationships and Raghuram’s research helps reinforce this belief. How do you stay in goodwill with your ex-employees? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

(Story source: Penn State/Matt Swayne)

(Photo credit: Camdiluv ♥ via photopin cc)

Before everyone gets antsy, this is not the new re-brand. I just wanted to make sure that was clear before I lost everyone. I had an interaction with someone from a different department at our university and it gave me a great look on our industry.

We were discussing something that none of us are ever in short supply of… storage. As I stood in a literal warehouse that was definitely not full, he was explaining to me how he was completely out of space. After a few minutes he said, “If I am able to (make space) this one time, they will expect me to be able to pull a rabbit out of my hat every time.” To which I replied, “Or you can decide your job is actually to be a magician and get good at it.”

Of course, this wasn’t a great way to work through this conflict, but this satirical comment gave me another metaphor for our industry, a magician, and who doesn’t want to be a magician? As I thought about it more, there were a few things that were very analogous and could help venue managers work through their careers.

A Magician Has a Great Assistant. When a magician does a trick, there is usually no more important piece to it than the assistant. While the magician is explaining the trick to everyone, the assistant is really the one that is contorting his or her body, stepping through the hole, or ducking at the exact right time. Much like the magician, a venue manager must have a great staff supporting them. This is absolutely crucial to being able to be effective. Whether it is an administrative assistant, a group of coordinators, an entire building of personnel, or even very effective third-party partners, these assistants are the ones that actually make it happen. We all have created great plans, but we depend on these folks to understand and implement them. We have to make sure we put as much emphasis on our “assistants” as we do on ourselves or our show will not go as designed.

A Magician Can Pull a Rabbit Out of His Hat. (Or any trick similar) This was the one that got me thinking in this direction. Spoiler Alert: The rabbit doesn’t actually appear out of thin air. The magician strategically has a rabbit (or whatever appears) strategically in waiting for the perfect moment. Just like the magician, the venue manager always has to have something up the sleeve ready to go. Whether it is a “make it right” card for a patron that dropped concessions, another dozen pieces of barricade to change on the fly, or that piece of swag that makes the tour manager’s day, the venue manager is always ready to make it appear out of thin air. These items alone aren’t very special, but they can make or break the day.

A Magician Spends Hours Perfecting His Craft. The magician doesn’t perform a trick flawlessly the first time it is tried. Neither can we as venue managers expect to be able to perform at our highest level if we have not put in the work to practice. This can be tabletop drills, working the front lines with our staff, or reading the most current articles. I am a firm believer that you truly master a task when you have to teach something to someone, so take one of your less experienced team members and teach him or her the how and why behind what you do. Whatever it is that keeps you sharp, do it! Then when the time comes to perform in front of the crowd, you will be show ready.

(Image: Sybren Stuvel/Creative Commons)

The U.S. Department of Labor plans to release its final “overtime rule” next month. The rule would expand overtime pay eligibility for salaried employees, and anyone making under $50,440 a year could get overtime pay. As you can imagine, there are a lot of concerns.

“Small business owners should have a plan in place for each of these employees, as they may become eligible for overtime pay,” Paycor Executive Vice President Stacey Browning told AccountingWEB.com. “Depending on their current salary, their role, the classification of their role, and the number of hours they work, each employee will have a different outcome. You should start by creating a list of every exempt employee and their compensation to make the best decisions for your organization.

“Having an accurate calculation of hours worked per week will be very important as you seek to comply with these new regulations,” Browning continued. “Employers will need to have a time and attendance tracking solution that helps them accurately manage their employees’ hours through a unified system with payroll. Enabling employers to run real-time reports on hours worked and employees’ rate of pay will be a critical advantage.”

The final rule should be issued before May 16, which means employers will have to comply by July 15, 2016.

To learn more about the rule, please visit the Department of Labor website. And please let us know in the comments section what you’re doing to prepare for the rule change.

(Image: Lena Vasiljeva/Creative Commons)

You, as an IAVM member, are our most important asset. Without your commitment to the association and to the venue management industry, we wouldn’t be here. Because of your support, we are featuring member profiles in our I Am Venue Management series. If you are interested in participating in the I Am Venue Management series, please visit http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story.

If I wasn’t doing this I’d be a: musician. I started playing when I was a kid and still enjoy playing and listening to music as well as going to concerts.

Most impressive person I’ve ever met: My parents. They’ve always been my biggest supporters and have continued to inspire me every day.

I unwind by: spending time with my better half. She and I enjoy traveling, cooking, trying new beers, going to concerts, and hanging out with friends.

On my desk right now is: mostly an organized chaos of papers, files, and Post-it notes as well as a handful of random keepsakes—a Petco Park replica stadium, a few bobbleheads, an original piece of our floor, and a Wheel of Fortune piece signed by Vanna White!

My favorite IAVM program I ever attended was: I have a feeling it’s going to be this year’s upcoming Venue Management School (VMS). I’m looking forward to learning from some of the best in the business, sharing best practices, and meeting colleagues from all types of venues.

One trait an up-and-coming venue manager should have is: be active, be involved, and be eager to learn. Do the Mentor Connector Program, join one of IAVM’s committees, follow venues and venue managers on social media, and read and stay up-to-date on news and trends. There are a lot of easy ways to gain knowledge and experience that don’t cost a lot of time or money!

One of my goals for this year is to: continue to enhance our safety and emergency response protocols and to stay up-to-date with the ever-changing security landscape.

How do you stay current with industry trends and developments? I read a lot! I read and learn from FM magazine and the conversations on VenueNet as well as online blogs and articles. One can learn a lot simply by reading about how other venues put on events, go through renovations, create customer service successes, or handle day-to-day operations.

Who are three people you’d invite to a dinner party and why? The first would be John Wooden so I could pick his brain on leadership and UCLA basketball (go Bruins!). The other two would be John Lennon and Ted Williams so I could listen to their amazing stories about music and sports.

Sam Dores is assistant athletics director, facilities, operations, and event management at Long Beach State Athletics.