“Networking is a verb”

Freeman’s research shows that event attendees are looking for specific opportunities to connect around personal interests.

What’s the biggest disconnect between how organizers plan for social networking at events and what attendees actually need? In fact, there are some, according to Freeman’s latest 2024 Event Organizer Trends Report. Most organizers continue to follow several traditional networking models that attendees are no longer interested in, and addressing these gaps is critical.

Ken Holsinger, senior vice president at Freeman, said, “Overall, the only thing that has changed for primarily education-focused events is that even in health care and other scientific conferences, networking is really Attendees’ top priority” was not learning. , strategies and research, recently told convene Associate Editor Barbara Palmer.

When Barbara talked to Holsinger about the report, he told her that innovators—a group of event organizers who emerged from Freeman’s study as people who think and operate differently than their peers—know Going online is a verb, not an activity. Innovators “know they need to curate and create environments. At its core, they are making great connections for people. This doesn’t just happen at a social reception.”

Social receptions don’t solve the problem

This is one of the places where planners are operating out of alignment with attendee interests: 55% of event organizers list after-hours events like networking receptions as their top networking opportunities, but only 34% of attendees do the same Say they are interested.

“Real networking,” Holsinger told Barbara, “especially for the next generation, is a career-building activity. It needs to be viewed as almost career insurance. How do we unpack that and use it differently Way to think? Loud music, lots of alcohol and a little food are not necessarily conducive to the connections that need to be made and the new connections that need to be made.”

Macaroni, Cheese and Sneakers

Attendees are more likely to network around shared career challenges and shared interests, the report said. However, only 29% of planners prioritize creating themed party opportunities, while 44% of attendees are looking for such opportunities.

When I spoke with Barbara DiRocco, senior director of conferences and events and Randy Roberson, vice president of leadership development for the American Association of College Business Officers, about our September/October cover and CMP series of web stories, they shared this for attendees Provides the opportunity to network at the Annual Meeting around shared identities and the challenges that may arise as a result. The program includes four networking and collaboration sessions targeting young professionals, LGBTQIA+ professionals, leaders of color, and women leaders.

Kerry Leigh Kerr, Senior Director, Global Accounts, Presidents Club, Helms Briscoe convene One of her STEM education clients had lunch at an annual conference one day and got “rave reviews” – the lunch tables were set up by topic/interest, “from ‘Math’ to ‘Leadership’ to ‘I’m New’ and all. Here’s to “I Love Macaroni and Cheese” (just kidding!).

Freeman’s research shows that attendees are also looking for specific opportunities to connect around personal interests. “People connect over the things we’re passionate about — food, pets, family travel,” Holsinger told us convene. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s sneakers.” At the IMEX America show in Las Vegas from October 8 to 10, he had the opportunity to meet other people who also love sports at the show’s “Shoedown” event. people.

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“This is how we connect with people. We don’t connect with people because of our titles, resumes or roles. We connect with people we like based on shared interests and hobbies,” Holsinger said. “This is not a gimmick, this is real.”

At this year’s PCMA EMEA conference, held in Barcelona from September 30 to October 2, attendees’ badges will only have their names printed on them – no titles or affiliations. Encourage participants to write something that interests them below their name to spark conversation.

Who is responsible?

In our recent salary survey and upcoming meetings market survey, event planners said one of their biggest challenges is staffing shortages, so it’s hard to say whether this data point in the Freeman report is attributable to that, Or a lack of understanding of networking is now more important to attendees than learning, or both: Only two in five event organizers have a dedicated team or individual to manage networking at their events. The majority (60%) “distribute network responsibilities among their teams or do not actively manage the network at all.”

Remember the subset of organizers that Freeman identified as innovators? Nearly half of this group has a person or a small team dedicated to network-related activation. “We think they are on to something,” the report said.

Michelle Russell is the author of “ held.