Presidential election tensions spill into the workplace
Managers believe political conflict among colleagues in the United States will only intensify in the wake of a divisive election, a new survey shows. Here are some suggestions for dealing with tensions in the workplace and at events. Author: Curt Wagner Before November 5, one in three voters - more than 75 million people - had cast their vote in this year's hotly contested presidential election. Tensions among constituents led to workplace conflicts. Morale and productivity at U.S. companies have plummeted as the contentious presidential race has stoked workplace conflicts, so much so that many are letting employees work from home this week in anticipation that tensions will not ease on Election Day. A new ResumeBuilder survey of more than 1,000 U.S. managers shows that two in five plan to have employees work remotely during election week. About 3 in 10 people said the election sparked conflict among employees, and 7 in 10 feared tensions would rise after Nov. 5,…
5 strategies for high-connectivity events
It’s no longer enough as event organizers that we create space and then step back and let our attendees do their social work. We have to make it easy for them. Author: Beth Sulmont Stickers that show whether they're a cat person or a dog person, or a button to share something they're really good at, are easy and fun ways to incorporate sharing into your campaign. Our lives are becoming increasingly digital, and most of our communication is now done through typing. Whether texting with friends and family via Zoom, Teams or Slack at work, or chatting using AI tools, we all spend a lot of time "talking" without even opening our mouths. It scares me a little because it's so simple Digital interactions make it more difficult for us to communicate face-to-face. By typing we can edit and improve our text and add GIFs and emoticons to make our chats more interesting and engaging. Most importantly, research, including…
How to promote companies exhibiting for the first time
Introducing new exhibitors to an event can create buzz, encourage repeat attendance, attract new visitors, and help position the show as a go-to source for product discovery. Author: Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes New exhibitors should be easy to find in a dedicated area with an enticing name, such as Innovation Alley at The Car Wash Show™. Want a way to leverage new exhibitors, whether they're startups or established brands, to your event? Make sure your promotion strategy includes: Kimberly Hardcastle Geddes location, location, location Long gone are the days of placing new exhibitors in the “start-up” area in the back corner of the exhibition hall. Attendees want to discover products and companies they have never seen before, which means new companies need to be easy to find. Give a dedicated area an attractive name, such as Innovation Alley at the Car Wash™ or Eureka Park at CES, and incorporate it into pre-show promotions to increase on-site recognition. Also consider catering to younger…
Leaders Conference 2025 Speaker Kishore Mahbubani talks
At the 2025 Leadership Conference, four main stage speakers will encourage audiences to expand their thinking. The conference spoke with Kishore Mahbubani, former President of the United Nations Security Council and an authority on geopolitical change, to discuss how business can be used as a platform for global understanding and cooperation. Author: Barbara Palmer “Climate change is a real challenge that all humanity must face together,” said Kishore Mahbubani, a former UN Security Council president, author and Singaporean geopolitical consultant. In addition to four days of interactive education and networking events designed to sharpen skills, share best practices and prepare meetings professionals for future challenges, the 2025 Leadership Conference - will take place from January 12 to 15 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas - will welcome four keynote speakers to the main stage, invited for their groundbreaking perspectives and ability to inspire audiences to expand their thinking. Main stage speakers include Scott Galloway, professor of…
Chefs conference sparks culinary conversations from coast to coast
A new gathering of culinary professionals is ready: Chefs Conference, a bicoastal event debuting in Philadelphia in April and led by hotel law expert and chef Mike Traud, J.D., Ed.D. In October, chefs, restaurant professionals, hotel-related PR firms and food journalists will gather in Los Angeles for the West Coast edition. Traud said they will meet at the headquarters of online food ordering platform ChowNow, which has "a beautiful space" that hosts many events celebrating and educating the restaurant industry, in line with the conference's mission. convene Via email. Traud said the chefs conference was inspired by his previous decade-long role as president and founder of the Philadelphia Chefs Conference, hosted by Drexel University’s Department of Food and Hospitality Management. “It represents the growth of the conference and its goal of connecting chefs and restaurant industry professionals from all regions through dialogue and education.” The one-day Los Angeles program — capped at 150 participants and “really focused on the experience…
One of the keys to preventing team burnout
Work can be difficult, but it shouldn't always be difficult, according to new research from a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Executive Education. Author: Michelle Russell New research shows that giving employees too many difficult tasks in a row makes them more likely to quit. Three-fifths of this year’s respondents convene Annual Salary Survey Oversight Meeting Staff – An average of four team members compared to two in last year’s survey. Those who manage others should take note of a recent Wharton article @Work, which explores how leaders can prevent employee burnout and avoid quitting by highlighting the research of Dr. Maurice Schweitzer. Schweitzer, a management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his colleagues pored over five years of an organization's data to understand what causes employees to quit. Their main takeaways: "People who are assigned a series of difficult tasks in a row are more likely to give up…
What makes a great place to work
Author: Michelle Russell According to Best Places to Work, the best places to work are where employees feel accepted, valued and appreciated. According to workplace culture company Great Place to Work, great workplaces are defined by four qualities: employees trust their employer, take real pride in their work, enjoy working with colleagues, and experience a consistent workplace atmosphere. Regardless of their status. A role, identity or position within an organization. Through research and data analysis, Great Place to Work identifies eight elements of corporate culture that great workplaces focus on: credibility According to the Great Place to Work study, 83% of employees at Top 100 companies say management practices what they preach, compared with 42% in the average workplace. Managers who are trustworthy, credible, and personable have a positive impact on employee retention, overall workplace satisfaction, and motivation to go the extra mile. When employees say their managers are honest and ethical, they are five times more likely to want…
What art can teach us about the web
Finding a common interest—whether it's an elephant sculpture, a painting, or something else—is a way to elevate conversations and foster connections. Author: Michelle Russell Great migration of elephants. The parade passes through Newport, Rhode Island, and then to New York City. (Corey Favino, courtesy of American Elephant Family and Newport Restoration Foundation) Michelle RussellEditor-in-Chief Recently, I participated in the Great Elephant Migration. Well, one night in early September I was stuck in traffic on a Connecticut highway and a group of life-size elephant sculptures strapped to a flatbed truck pulled up next to us. They are on their way to Manhattan from Newport, Rhode Island, where 100 of them are now on display in the Meatpacking District. On an earlier visit to Newport I had seen signs and read about elephant walking gear, so when I was surprised to see an elephant suddenly appear in the next lane, I It's nice to put them in context. The Great Elephant Migration…
Make sure it’s safe to report bad behavior at your event
A new study shows that while employees are more aware of their organization's ethics policies, that doesn't necessarily mean they feel more comfortable reporting problems or policy violations. We spoke to a consultant to find out how organizers can create and communicate effective support systems at events. Author: Jennifer N. Dienst One in five respondents to a new report from the Institute for Business Ethics said they were aware of sexual harassment in the workplace. The Institute for Business Ethics' latest report, "Ethics at Work: 2024 International Employee Survey," released this month, includes responses from more than 12,000 employees in 16 countries who were surveyed about their views on their organization's ethical values. There is good news and there is bad news. First the good: According to the study, overall employee awareness of their organization's ethics program has increased compared to 2021 data. For example, employees' awareness of access to advice or helplines - a key part of "creating a…
For women, workplace gains ‘fragile’
McKinsey & Company’s 10th Women in the Workplace study shows there’s still a lot of work to be done to achieve gender equality. Author: Kathy Gale According to McKinsey & Company’s 10th “Women in the Workplace” study, women account for 29% of executive positions, up sharply from 17% in 2015. This year, McKinsey & Company celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Women in the Workplace report, the largest study of women’s work in corporate America and produced in partnership with Lean In, a global community dedicated to advancing women’s careers. Over the past decade, more than 1,000 companies and more than 480,000 women have participated in the study. The report's findings over the years have not always painted a rosy picture or a straightforward path to progress. in an article Harvard Business Review (Harvard Business Review), Ruchika T. Malhotra, inclusion strategist and author Inclusion with purpose: An intersectional approach to creating a culture of belonging at workrecalling the scene when…
New approach to help understand risks of extreme heat
Recent developments and tools can help conference organizers more easily calculate and communicate the risks of extreme heat to attendees. Author: Barbara Palmer Governments and nonprofits are stepping up efforts to provide tools and resources for calculating the risks of extreme heat and making the public aware of the risks. Heat stress is the No. 1 cause of weather-related death, killing more people in the United States over the years than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined, according to the World Health Organization. But compared with the dangers of floods and storm surges from hurricanes or wildfires, the health risks posed by extreme heat are not well understood. Part of the problem is that extreme heat lacks obvious physical markers — such as excess rainfall or smoke — to signal danger. "When a hurricane hits or a wildfire hits, there's no doubt what just happened, but it's more difficult in hot weather because we don't have the same context cues in…
Event organizers double down on sustainability
According to our upcoming annual meeting market survey, three out of five planners are including sustainability requirements in their RFPs, in addition to stepping up other efforts to examine the carbon footprint of their events. Author: Michelle Russell Compared to last year's Meetings Market Survey, nearly twice as many event organizer respondents included sustainability requirements in their RFPs. According to the latest issue of Arthur D. Little's magazine, last year saw a backlash against ESG investing and climate change regulation in the United States, and "similar examples of watering down or delaying sustainability-related regulation have emerged in some parts of Europe." prism magazine, entirely dedicated to sustainability. despite this, prism noted that evidence from business “suggests that commitment to sustainability continues and actually increases as sustainability becomes central to business strategy.” For the business events industry, do the results of our latest conference market survey, released in the upcoming November forecast period, offer any insights? While many industry studies indicate…
A new way of thinking in the business events industry
A key link between DEI and sustainability is a shared commitment to challenging the status quo. Although technology can help us solve some problems, technology alone is not enough. We need to think and act in new ways. Author: Sharif Karamat All of the wood for the Portland International Airport expansion roof (more than 3 million board feet) was sourced from landowners and mills certified for forest-friendly practices. (Photography by Emma Peters) All I read was praise for the newly expanded main terminal at Portland International Airport (PDX). Designed to evoke the feeling of walking through a Pacific Northwest forest, the redesigned terminal features a spectacular 9-acre timber roof, 72 mature trees and dozens of skylights that let natural light filter in through the tree branches. Sharif Karamat, CAE,President and CEO of PCMA and CEMA What's happening behind the scenes during construction of the $2 billion expansion project designed by ZGF Architects is equally inspiring. Finding so much wood from…
“Events are the thinking machine of the world”
Paul Dickinson, a pioneer in sustainability reporting, spoke at the first Convene 4 climate conference in Barcelona in early October. Felix Rundel in a strategic alliance between PCMA and the European National Convention Bureau, taking place in Barcelona on October 3-4. Rundel, co-founder of strategy and creative agency futurehain, who moderated the conference, acknowledged the “advanced and expert level” of the curated audience. “We’ve gone beyond raising awareness — it’s preaching to the choir,” he said. “We have a limited time to make the profound changes to our environment that are necessary for a sustainable future for business. But we also have a unique window of opportunity because we are now at the stage where we are ready , make connections, prepare to collaborate…and then grow the movement.” Rendell points out that five or six years ago, we might have had a climate change conference in a singular way: "'We have a climate crisis. Technology can solve it - hooray!…
What matters is not you, but the company culture
Learn more about the culture of planners from their responses to this question: “What’s the one thing you’ve asked for or wanted to ask for from your boss, besides a raise?” "Clearness of goals and objectives - what do we really want to achieve? How do we know when we get there? Is there a 'there' out there?" “Don’t exclude me too much from other company matters – they may be more relevant to my position than we realize.” "Ask support staff for help. Encourage team members to speed up response times and communication with colleagues and members." “Recognition, days off, more employees.” "When she hands it over to me, there's more explanation/hands-on training. Compassion, trust, and consistency." “More downtime and not expecting me to be reachable via email.” "Respect all employees." "Let me be me." “Decisions need to be based on data or some kind of evidence, not just the style of the week.” “Have more realistic expectations about…
Use the pull method and sticky notes to tackle work
Here's how a team of IT professionals uses spare office walls and sticky notes to prevent individual team members from being overloaded, and how to move projects forward or kill them. Also: How can you do the same thing. Author: Michelle Russell CEMA Summit attendees use post-it notes at a spontaneous think tank meeting in August. (regardless of media group) In his latest book, Low Productivity: The Lost Art of Achieving without BurnoutGeorgetown University computer science professor Cal Newport talks about his work on MIT Management Review. This is the story of a team of IT professionals tasked with building novel digital tools to help scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was immediately drawn to how they used a simulated approach to solving challenges – using sticky notes on the wall, another example of the power of this seemingly simple tool in a group setting. In his latest book, Cal Newport discusses how…
“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…
Is it time to revamp your social media strategy?
Know how to measure success Accurately measuring the impact of your efforts is critical to refining your social approach and proving its value. Do you have the right insights to determine whether your content is effective? To demonstrate to executives, boards and those approving budgets, as well as any skeptics, that social media is a critical channel, reporting using clear ROI measurement tools to track and demonstrate results must be done. For the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), an MDG client, having the data needed to assess and develop strategies enables: 489% increase in impressions 121% increase in engagement Increased link clicks by 121% Video views increased by 789% Connect with the community Social media thrives in communities, helping associations and other event organizers build loyalty and develop long-term followers that keep coming back. An organization’s social media presence shouldn’t fall silent after an event—it needs to remain active year-round. That’s why ongoing content and dedicated community managers are…
Inclusion and respect for indigenous peoples
A growing number of conference organizers and destinations are increasing their efforts to recognize and include Aboriginal people, their knowledge and culture in their events. Author: Convene Editor A 50-foot tall carved cedar totem pole stands in Seattle's Pioneer Square Park. On its website, Visit Seattle acknowledges that the city was founded on homeland — the “traditional territory of the Coast Salish people.” Each year on the second Monday in October, many Americans observe Indigenous Peoples Day, which honors the history and culture of Native communities and celebrates their continued presence and contributions to the country. In recent years, convene A look at how events, venues and destinations can more intentionally include and recognize Indigenous peoples, whose stories are woven into the fabric of communities around the world. In honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, here are links to some of these stories: October 13, 2024
Why are these women-only social spaces so popular?
Convene breaks down the secrets behind the chic style of the Equality Lounge pop-up for businesswomen. Author: Jennifer N. Dienst Female Quotient hosts its signature Equality Lounge at major events such as Cannes Lions. exist conveneIn the September-October 2024 CMP series, we explore why traditional networking methods don’t work for women and how a growing number of women-first spaces are working to do just that. One such company is The Female Quotient, a company known for opening pop-up equality lounges at traditionally male-dominated high-profile events such as the World Economic Forum, Cannes Lions and CES. Thalia Bender Jr. FQ was founded in 2013 and current CEO Shelley Zalis was attending the Consumer Electronics Show when she felt "tired of being alone and lonely," so she invited the other female attendees at the conference (an estimated 3% at the time) to participate. Industry - show with her. Fifty women showed up and a movement began. "The second I was surrounded by…
Building connections is the secret of this event
Sessions to help attendees reconnect in the wake of the pandemic have become an important part of Index Philanthropy’s annual meeting programming. Author: Michelle Russell At last year’s conference, attendees shared practices that were changing within their organizations, recording them on sticky notes and posting them on walls organized around topic areas. Exponent Philanthropy is an association of nearly 1,600 members who are all lean funders, meaning nearly all of its members are very small organizations and three out of 10 have no support staff at all. Lauren Kotkin, senior director of education at Exponent Philanthropy, said an inside joke about the organization's founding nearly 30 years ago was that "someone sat at a meeting and held up a sign that said, 'You alone face millions. People? '" Given the solitary nature of Exponent Philanthropy's members, connecting them is central to its strategic plan, and this focus is reflected in the networking opportunities structured around Exponent Philanthropy's annual meeting, which…
Event attendees “don’t want to waste any more time”
Creators of Braindate, a platform that connects event attendees with shared interests to find out what attendees are currently looking for. Author: Barbara Palmer Attendees of C2 Montreal 2019 continue their Braindate sessions. (Provided by Montreal C2) People “can’t stand impersonal, one-size-fits-all activation,” said Christine Renaud, founder of the Braindate platform. The platform has been helping event attendees make meaningful connections for over a decade. Renaud is CEO and co-founder of Montreal company e180 and founder of Braindate, which uses software to connect people to share knowledge about specific topics with each other in conversations. Since C2 Montréal used the platform in 2013, braindates has brought thousands of individuals and groups together around the world for live, virtual and hybrid events. convene Reno asked what she had learned from the purely digital experimentation forced by the pandemic: “My main takeaway from the past four years is very simple: Christine Reno People don't want to waste any more time. They are…
Advanced Networking in Higher Education Activity Courses
Author: Michelle Russell "When you're gathering with more than 2,000 people, you need help to guide you," said Barbara DiRocco, senior director of meetings and events for the National Association of College and University Business Officials (NACUBO). (Illustrations by Ryan Hachem) “What we used to call networking was really networking,” Barbara DiRocco, senior director of meetings and events for the National Association of College and University Business Officials (NACUBO), said of the association’s annual conference. "At breaks or receptions, people tend to socialize with people they're traveling with or people they already know," she told us convene On a recent video call, she was joined by NACUBO Vice President of Leadership Development Randy Roberson. "This is not the Internet." Robertson said that over the past five or six years, NACUBO has taken a more intentional approach, understanding that attendees want to connect with others for different reasons. “We’re always bringing people together” around what they have in common, he said,…
C2 Montreal’s people-centered vision
Author: Michelle Russell Regarding C2 Montreal's various formats, CEO Anick Beaulieu said: "The diversity of contacts and touchpoints creates fertile ground for friendships, partnerships and transactions to take place." The CEO of Montreal-based events company C2 told Anick Beaulieu she experienced "complete imposter syndrome" while speaking at an architects conference in Abu Dhabi recently. convene during the video interview. She said there were "some of the best architects in the world" in the audience. "I was like, 'Oh, my God. What am I doing here?'" Beaulieu said she realized the other presenters were showing images of "raw environments - no humans - very beautiful lines, a great Scandinavian feel." It occurred to her: “What we’re doing” — speaking as the head of one of the world’s most forward-thinking business initiatives — “is building relationships.” Beaulieu said that when she reflected on this, she thought about how everything C2 does as an events company is about finding ways to increase those…
Event organizers offer new ways to socialize
Research shows that today’s event attendees want more than just a casual connection at an event. (Illustrations by Ryan Hachem) The stories we linked below make up Convene's September-October season. Cover plate and CMP series. Find print experiences in our digital edition. We used to extol the virtues of meetings and conferences as places where serendipitous connections occurred. But recent research shows that today’s event attendees want more. Post-pandemic, they are choosing to attend events primarily to interact with peers and experts in their fields, and secondarily to educate. They don't want to leave the network to chance, nor do they want an over-programmed network solution. in the following story conveneIn this September-October CMP series, we share how event organizers are striking a balance between the two, creating innovative and flexible spaces and formats that foster meaningful connections. Earn CMP points Visit the CMP series of web pages to answer questions about the following web articles to earn a one-hour…
How women can build their own social network
Author: Jennifer N. Dienst Like the one shown at CES, Female Quotient’s Equality Lounge is designed to be a space where women can build connections and friendships within their industry and participate in dedicated programming. (Consumer Technology Association) Networking expert J. Kelly Hoey, author of "Network," says women need a different network structure than men. Build your dream network: Build powerful relationships in a hyperconnected world. Hoy tells us how successful men socialize convene“Not for successful women.” Women typically have narrow and deep networks, while men have broad and shallow networks, she said. Both have advantages and disadvantages: “A wide and shallow network is great for finding and spreading great ideas and opportunities, while a narrow and deep network has the advantage of having a tight-knit community of close friends and colleagues to rely on ," she said. The downside to having only the latter, she says, is that "it doesn't have enough room to spread your wings." High-achieving women…
3 things that keep event planners up at night
New research from the International Association of Development Consultants sheds light on the current challenges faced by planners, as well as their preferences and behaviors when it comes to site selection. Author: Michelle Russell Event planners worry about meeting rising attendee expectations while dealing with rising costs, reduced staff and shrinking budgets. There's a lot to unpack conveneThe 31st Conference Market Survey will be released in November, but here are the main takeaways: Planners are dealing with higher stakeholder expectations for their event experiences, while also grappling with costs ranging from food and beverage to audio to room rates. The rising problem - all these staff reductions, reduced budgets. But don't just take our word for it or our survey respondents' word for it. Development Consultants International (DCI) has released an insights report – “A Meeting Planner’s Perspective: Winning Strategies for Destination Marketing” – and its planners’ reactions echo those of meeting planners convene's survey recipients. The DCI study was…
Can you meet the needs of the next generation of attendees?
Author: Barbara Palmer The next generation of event participants is bringing about demographic changes and a dramatic shift in values compared to previous generations. Last month, the number of Gen Z workers in the U.S. workforce exceeded that of baby boomers for the first time. Ken Holsinger, senior vice president of strategy and research at Freeman, said that while the gap is small — there are 300,000 more Gen Z workers than baby boomers in the 127 million full-time workforce — the trend is growing Accelerate quickly. convene. By 2030, three-quarters of attendees will be classified as Millennials and Generation Z, he said. “The big story we’ve been focusing on is the conversation around the next generation,” he said, which is bringing not only demographic changes to the event landscape, but also dramatic changes in values compared to previous generations. To answer questions about how event organizers are adapting, the global events company this week released the Freeman 2024 Organizer…
Is it fair to compare generative AI tools?
Author: Barbara Palmer A Spark demonstration during edUcon helped participants become familiar with the AI tool. (regardless of media group) The conversation about generative AI has changed a lot since January of last year, when Spark Event Management founder Anh Nguyen, CMP, and #EventProfsBreakShit co-founder Shawn Cheng organized a meeting between AI workers at Convening Leaders The confrontation is about the challenges associated with the event and the human job without it. Since then, as more event professionals have become familiar with AI tools, the discussion “has moved away from whether AI is a useful tool for planners,” Sheng told us. convene“the question of how to use it better and which tools would help them the most.” To test this, Nguyen and Cheng held a second competition at edUcon in June, "AI Duel: Finding the Best AI Tool to Replace ChatGPT," which once again gave both participating teams the same challenge of 45 minutes of meeting. This time, the team…
How lead generation meetings determine interactivity
At LeadsCon Connect, organizers devised a gamified way to deliver on their promise of connecting attendees and exhibitors. Author: Kathy Gale A LeadsCon Connect participant attempts to complete his Networking Bingo game by performing the activities listed in one of the blackboard squares: Meet a LeadsCon speaker. This is another thought in our ongoing series about networking, inspired by the responses of PCMA Catalyst community members when we asked them how to create more purposeful networking at events. Stay tuned for more ideas online and in our September-October print edition. LeadsCon, held annually in Las Vegas since 2007, is one of the world's largest lead generation conferences, attracting more than 3,000 attendees, including Fortune 1000 marketers, key buyers and procurement teams. Access Intelligence, the producer of LeadsCon, was also hosting a smaller event before the pandemic hit and recognized it was time to rethink how to foster connections at this more intimate event. "Before COVID-19 hit, we had a fall…
A way to engage attendees and give back to the community
At Waste Expo 2024 in Las Vegas, organizers are building engagement brick by brick. Author: Michelle Russell Participants add Lego bricks to a Lego model of the Waste Expo 2024 logo at the Las Vegas Convention Center in May. “We are always looking for ways to provide attendees with interactive, Something that engages them and is fun,” said Sanchez, WasteExpo Group Marketing Manager at Informa Market. is an annual trade show focused on solid waste, recycling, organics, food waste recovery and sustainability in North America, his search culminated in a construction toy commonly associated with children: LEGO bricks. Christina Sanchez This idea? On the Lego wall in the lobby of the conference center, attendees can choose from 18,000 small Lego bricks purchased by experiential event agency 3D Media Group to help assemble the WasteExpo logo. Sanchez also manages marketing for Waste360 (Informa's provider of information, events, business and education for the solid waste, recycling, organics and sustainable communities) and WWETT…
The event’s casual dress code is tailored for socializing
Here’s another idea from our ongoing series about networking: NextGen event organizers participating in afternoon educational and networking programs are encouraged to wear their favorite T-shirts and be prepared to share why—a low-key way to break the ice. Author: Michelle Russell Carson Edwards Jr. (left) and other members of the PCMA Capital Chapter attend a "MeetingPlanning Power" event where the dress code (favorite T-shirt) was the icebreaker. An easy way to start a conversation with a stranger is to compliment them on what they are wearing. A recent event expanded on this idea, making participants' clothing a networking opportunity. Carson Edwards Jr., CASE, CDMP, shared convene Recently, he ran a project for 25 NextGen event organizers on how to use participants' attire as a point of contact. Carson, global sales account executive for Marriott International and president-elect of the PCMA Capital Chapter, hosted a “MeetingPlanning Power” event in Washington, D.C. on June 20, an email reminder to event registrants said,…
Does sustainability start from within?
The internal development goals set out a framework based on strengthening human skills to help people become positive forces for social change. Author: Barbara Palmer Internal development goals are set to equip individuals and organizations with the inherent qualities that will enable them to take action and create transformative efforts around climate change. Description of Intrinsic Development Goals (IDG) are 23 key human development skills across five dimensions, including terms and phrases such as "being," "relating," and "inner compass," which can be too abstract and difficult to Sure. Even Daniel Hires, chief marketing officer of the Internal Development Goals Foundation, the nonprofit that created the IDG framework, said that when he first heard about IDG, he thought it sounded "a little woo-woo." . convene in an interview earlier this year. Daniel Hales But IDG's intentions couldn't be more realistic. Based on global research in the fields of psychology, sociology and sustainable development, and developed as a companion document to the…
How has the DEI backlash impacted the events industry?
By Barbara Palmer Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a highly politicized topic, leading to anti-DEI legislation and cuts or elimination of DEI programs. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the use of race-based affirmative action in college admissions, which sparked “a surge of opposition to DEI bills and stifled DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives,” said Jolene Jang, an Asian American inclusion consultant in Seattle. Jang, who moderated a July 28 webinar, “The State of DEI: Is It Dying or Is It Evolving?” organized by the PCMA Capital Chapter, said the backlash is “everywhere.” Zhang Ruolin Jang listed a long list of companies that have made changes to their DEI programs, from Facebook, Google, and Zoom to the 86-year-old Tennessee Tractor Supply Company. Investments in DEI are also declining: In 2022, a third of companies invested in DEI-related people and strategies, while Forrester Research predicts that by 2024, that number will drop to 20%. In the association…
A more minimalist approach to business strategy
By Michelle Russell Entrepreneur, EdTech founder, author and thought leader Abir Haddoud will speak on the Convening EMEA main stage on October 2 on “How minimalism in business strategy can be powerful.” (Harcourt Paris) Abir Haddoud grew up in a small village in Algeria and moved to France alone at the age of 16 to pursue an engineering degree at a top French engineering school. After graduation, she joined a business strategy consulting firm and a few years later took a leadership position at a global animal nutrition company, becoming the youngest executive at the $2 billion company at the age of 27. These two career experiences gave her an outside-in and inside-out perspective on business strategy. “When you’re in consulting, you’re an outsider, so you give a different perspective—you have a global view,” she told Convening“But when you’re inside the company, you see things in a different way, and you’re really engaged in the day-to-day work.” For her, it’s…
CEMA Summit Poll Results Are Surprising
If you walked into the opening main stage presentation at the CEMA Summit, held Aug. 4-6 in the Seattle Convention Center’s Summit Building, you might have thought the corporate event marketers in attendance were celebrating a colleague’s birthday. They smiled and watched as dozens of balloons floated from the ceiling, perched above a round table. A person at each table used a crank mechanism to move helium balloons suspended from fishing lines up and down to represent responses to multiple-choice questions posed by Jeffrey Rogers, a host at Projectory, an event experience company whose mission is to inject excitement and fun into events through uplifting formats. Projectory co-founder Oren Berkovich said the “floating opinion” format is an interesting way to solve business problems ConveningCEMA audiences were treated to balloon voting – an analog alternative to gauging the mood of the room, typically achieved through standard online voting tools, where responses were aggregated and posted on a large screen in real…
Designing a “beautiful nest” for Deeper
By Barbara Palmer One of the most successful elements of Avalara's FUSE conference is The Fireside Theater, where guests and FUSE presenters engage in intimate conversations. In a nearly 40-minute conversation I recently had with creative director Bianca Ferrer about FUSE — the three-day partner conference her Houston-based firm, madpot creative, designed last year for software company Avalara — the word “network” didn’t come up once. This reminds me of something Ken Holsinger, Freeman’s senior vice president of corporate strategy, told me earlier this year about relationship-building design for events: “If you have to put the word ‘networking’ on an event, you’re probably not doing it right.” Judging by the results, FUSE did something right. Ferrer says it was the first event of its kind for Avalara, and its goals were twofold: to let partners know that the company considers them its most valuable asset and to increase their business. First, she reports, the feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive.…
Keep your smartphone in the right place at the event
Conflicted attitudes toward the impact of social media have fueled interest in analog experiences. By Barbara Palmer An attendee at the 2024 CEMA Summit uses a hand crank to raise a balloon so that they can vote on answers to a question. Event company Projectory used balloons to replace app-based voting tools at events. (Whatever Media Group) Maybe you feel the same way: Over the past decade, the percentage of American adults who say they use their smartphones excessively has increased from 39% in 2015 to 58% in 2022, according to a Gallup survey. The increase — nearly 50 percent in seven years — was found in a recent study The Washington Post The article, "You're staring at your phone too much at work, and it's costing you," points out that during work hours, you can't help but check your phone whenever you get a new message or notification, or when you're bored, which can lead to distraction and reduced…
Five global challenges facing event organizers
A new survey from Global DMC Partners sheds light on issues ranging from rising costs and budget management to the adoption of artificial intelligence in the business events industry. By Michelle Russell Just over a quarter of respondents to the global DMC Partners third quarter meetings and events survey said AV costs have risen 11%-30% over the past two years. According to the latest Q3 Meetings & Events Survey from Global Destination Management Company Partners (GDP), the biggest and most vexing challenge facing event organizers continues to be rising costs. GDP, a global network of independent destination management companies (DMCs) and professional event service providers, surveyed 164 meeting and event professionals between late June and early August, the majority of whom live in the U.S. and Canada, with 20% based in the U.K. and Europe. In addition to the diversity of the respondent base (37% were corporate/direct planners, two-fifths were agency/third-party planners, and nearly a quarter were associations and independent…
Are stricter return-to-work regulations reasonable?
In a ResumeTemplates survey conducted in the first week of September, one in 10 company leaders said they were increasing RTO days to pressure employees to quit, with half of them saying it was a strategy to avoid layoffs. In mid-September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that the company would end its hybrid work policy — extending working in the office at least three days a week to five days a week after New Year’s Day. Employees immediately protested the rule on social media. CJ Felli, a systems development engineer at Amazon Web Services, wrote on LinkedIn: "Amazon's announcement of a five-day return to work schedule is unfortunate because I'm interested in work, not real-life role play and virtue parading. If you have remote work opportunities, please message me. Everything is possible. I would rather go back to school than work in an office again." Andy Jassy Tamia Reed, a data center technician at Amazon Web Services, also expressed her…
Tourism Canada takes bold step with ASAE Day Tours
By Jennifer N. Dienst With Lake Erie as the backdrop, sustainability expert Leor Rotchild shared case studies of sustainable business events held in Canada during the ASAE Day Tour. Earlier this year, when the team at Tourism Canada was brainstorming how to add “oomph” to their branded events at the 2024 American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Annual Conference & Expo, they had an epiphany: Canada’s Pelee Island is just a 20-minute flight from ASAE’s host city, Cleveland. Rather than talking to planners about how great Canada is, they figured, why not take them there and show them around? Virginie de Fisher Cut to the afternoon of August 12, when Virginie De Visscher, Executive Director of Business Events for Tourism Canada, boarded a light aircraft with 13 ASAE attendees who had won a lottery to participate in a “breakout session” for a five-hour round-trip trip to the island on the final afternoon of the conference. Ontario's Pelee Island is Canada's…
It’s time to ditch those old generational stereotypes
According to a study, “Digital Etiquette: Mind the Generation Gap,” by Adaptavist Group, a global digital transformation expert group, more than half of employees surveyed believe generational labels are bad, and four in five respondents aged 65 and over have a negative view of categorizing employees by generation. The study, published in March 2024, surveyed 4,000 knowledge workers in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Germany. These workers reported that categorizing employees by generation could have negative consequences: 45% said it could lead to harmful stereotypes, 40% said it could lead to colleagues ostracizing each other, and 39% said it could lead to favoritism. At the 2024 Leadership Conference in San Diego, Convening’s digital editor and podcast host Magdalina Atanassova spoke with Jen Vaseleck, operations manager at Maritz, and Nikki Gonzales, chief of staff at Soundings, about how they foster connections between generations in their own workplaces. During the conversation (the full podcast recording is linked below), Gonzalez said she…
It’s time to ditch those old generational stereotypes
According to a study, “Digital Etiquette: Mind the Generation Gap,” by Adaptavist Group, a global digital transformation expert group, more than half of employees surveyed believe generational labels are bad, and four in five respondents aged 65 and over have a negative view of categorizing employees by generation. The study, published in March 2024, surveyed 4,000 knowledge workers in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Germany. These workers reported that categorizing employees by generation could have negative consequences: 45% said it could lead to harmful stereotypes, 40% said it could lead to colleagues ostracizing each other, and 39% said it could lead to favoritism. At the 2024 Leadership Conference in San Diego, Convening’s digital editor and podcast host Magdalina Atanassova spoke with Jen Vaseleck, operations manager at Maritz, and Nikki Gonzales, chief of staff at Soundings, about how they foster connections between generations in their own workplaces. During the conversation (the full podcast recording is linked below), Gonzalez said she…
Sharing food and interesting topics – two ways to improve interpersonal relationships
We received many ideas on how to do more targeted networking at events, but we can't list them all in the upcoming September/October print edition. So we're sharing contributions from event planners in our newsletter. Here's the first one. By Michelle Russell A member of PCMA shares how to visit four Las Vegas restaurants with a conference group to effectively spark conversation among group members. Response ConveningAsked at the PCMA Catalyst Community for an example of how events can help build meaningful connections, James Stanton, regional vice president of Helmsbriscoe, shared his recent experience attending the Lip Smacking Foodie Tour in Las Vegas. “There were four restaurants on the night, most of which were within walking distance. The menus at each location were carefully selected, and guests with food allergies and dietary restrictions were well catered for.” “From a social point of view,” Stanton writes, “it’s wonderful. Mainly because the power of food is endless, and we all have to…
Reusable cups make splash at Waste Expo 2024
The show manager for an educational session at North America’s largest waste and recycling trade show said attendees loved the reusable coffee cups, and the results proved the effort was worth it. By Barbara Palmer About a month before the planned opening of Waste Expo 2024, r.World decided to experiment with reusable cups. (Photo courtesy of r.World) Stackable, to-go coffee cups that aren’t meant to be thrown away, composted or recycled were introduced last spring by show organizers at WasteExpo 2024, North America’s largest waste and recycling trade show and conference. They’re reusable — designed to stay out of the waste and compost streams altogether, said Cory Karalekas, CEM, WasteExpo show manager, Informa Markets. Corey Karalecas More than 4 billion single-use cups are thrown away at live events in the U.S. each year, and only 9 percent of plastic is recycled, according to r.World, a company that provides reusable beverage cups to event venues and other businesses. In the event…
Event professionals offer advice on holding meetings in extreme heat
By Barbara Palmer According to The Guardian , an “unprecedented” number of record temperatures were reported around the world in the first six months of 2024. In July, more than 20,000 attendees descended on Las Vegas for EVO24, a global event where participants compete against each other in virtual fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. They arrived in the city during a historic heat wave, with temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit a few days earlier. In reporting on the upcoming virtual battle, the gaming news site EventHubs specifically reminded those attending the event, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from July 19 to 21, that extreme heat could pose a very real danger to them. EventHubs reporter Dakota Hills posted these reports on his website and shared them on social media, advising participants to avoid walking outside as much as possible and plan transportation and routes to the convention center in advance. Although event…
The sustainable development story of the great elephant migration
One hundred replica Indian elephants arrived in New York to spread the message of coexistence between animals and humans and sustainable development. By Michelle Russell The Great Elephant Migration exhibit will be on display in New York City's Meatpacking District until October 20. (Image credit: BrakeThrough Media) The editor-in-chief of Convene captured the elephant being transported to New York. I recently took part in the Great Elephant Migration. I was stuck in traffic on a Connecticut highway one evening in early September when a herd of life-sized elephant sculptures strapped to a flatbed truck pulled up next to us. They were making their way from Newport, Rhode Island, to New York City, where 100 of them were on display in the Meatpacking District. I had seen signs for the elephant installation on previous visits to Newport and had read about the exhibition touring the United States, so while I was surprised to see the elephants suddenly appear in the next…
What factors hinder sustainable development efforts in global events?
According to a recent survey, what progress has the event industry made on sustainability? First, the gap between North American planners and their European counterparts in prioritizing sustainability initiatives is larger than in previous studies. Second, four out of five event professionals believe that the cost of implementing these initiatives is too high. By Michelle Russell Brian Peterson-Roest, founder of Bees in the D, which installs beehives on the green roof of Huntington Square in Detroit, led a partial sustainability tour for PCMA’s edUcon 2024 attendees at the venue. Sustainability-focused events and tours are one way for events to “go green,” according to a recent survey. (Whatever Media Group) Global DMC Partners (GDP), a global network of independent destination management companies (DMCs) and professional event service providers, has released the results of its third quarter meetings and events survey. The survey was conducted from late June to early August and received 164 responses from meeting and event professionals, the majority…
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