Why are so many companies implementing or updating their strategic meetings management programs right now? The simple answer is to increase visibility, reduce risk and maximize return on investment. The longer answer is that all these benefits have become a higher priority as we emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic and get back to business.

Full visibility

After scrambling to pivot to virtual in 2020, many companies are wondering what the role of virtual meetings should be in their meetings programs moving forward. They are asking themselves questions like:

“Were some of those virtual meetings as effective as the in-person versions?”

“Is there a case for keeping some meetings virtual or should we just make a full return to our in-person program?”

“How many meetings did we have in 2020 and how much money did that save us?”

Without a solid meetings management program in place, the data to answer these questions can be tough to get your hands on. How many meetings are happening, what is being spent and what is the return on that investment? This is the essence of strategic meetings management and smart companies all over the world are making this a priority to ensure they have they data they need to make strategic decisions about the future of their meetings and events program.

Reduce risk

The decentralized nature of many meetings and events programs can be the source of considerable risk from a financial, legal and security perspective. Most organizations have a variety of meeting stakeholders from internal events teams and external agencies to executive assistants and various ‘part time’ meeting planners in HR, Sales or Marketing who may be responsible for certain categories of meetings. This approach makes sense for the business for a variety of reasons, but it often also results in exposure to risk around budget approvals, signing of venue and other supplier contracts, and the ability to maintain data about the location and safety of employees as they attend these meetings. A well designed strategic meetings management program can allow companies to keep their decentralized approach while removing the risk with easy automated processes like budget approvals, contract reviews and a central source of data for all meetings.

Drive efficiencies through automation

Too often we see companies using ad-hoc manual processes in meeting planning, with repetitive tasks duplicated across the organization . Executive assistants spending time arranging travel that matches the meeting schedule and the meeting owner compiling and cross checking rooming lists in excel. An SMM program should develop a clear process and use automation to improve efficiency and eliminate many of these tasks completely. Not only will this save wasted time and money, but will lower the potential for human error and elevate the attendee experience.

The first step in this process is to put a system in place to collect data about what is being spent on meetings and events. This will provide vital information about how many meeting are being held, where, who is attending and how much is being spent. It is also important to collect supplier information like which hotel chains and airlines are being used the most. Once you have all this data at your fingertips in a user-friendly dashboard, the next step is to look at the data and identify the opportunities to maximize your purchasing power. Perhaps there are several meetings a year in a particular city, but a different hotel is used each time. That is an opportunity to identify the property that works best for these meetings and negotiate a preferred rate in return for moving all your meetings in that city to that property. And this is just the beginning.

Let’s chat about upgrading your meetings management!