BALANCING ACT

Many of us are working harder than ever to keep business moving forward while the meetings industry remains under scrutiny. This means longer hours, higher stress levels and a lot more headaches. Relax, take a breather and read on to see how a few local event pros keep their reality in check and their life in balance.

• Step away from the Blackberry
Just because your clients and co-workers know you have a BlackBerry, it doesn’t mean you have to answer immediately. Technology is meant to make your life easier, not theirs.
I have one rule: leave your work at work. Don’t take your problems home with you, or worse, your client’s problems. Admittedly, I’m only able to achieve my goal about 25 percent of the time and I am constantly thinking about my work, my office and my staff (which is good and requires a focus and constant attention for sure).

• Plan it Out
Color coordinates you calendar so that each type of activity has a certain color assigned to it: purple for friends, green for money-generating activities, orange for networking, etc. If you do this, you can clearly see where you are spending the bulk of your time and can readjust where you see fit. Today’s Outlook calendars provide amazing efficiencies.

• Stay Healthy
Planning ahead is essential. Some vendors find it hard to fit exercise into their schedule with routine, especially during the busy season. First you need to establish a routine and don’t quit because you mentally feel like your body is tired. If your body isn’t healthy then your mind wont’ be healthy and that’s a disservice to our clients, our team and our family. Also as we get into our busy season don’t forget to also get some sleep.

Vacation Blogs

I wanted to share a few of my favorite blogs that I like to creep on and check out.

If you are thinking of taking a trip, you might find some helpful hints on any one of these blogs. I have tried to assemble a group of various type of travel experiences for you. I don't want to overwhelm you but check some of these out and find one that stimulates you to think about your next destination. Hmmm, I think I will settle in at Park City, UT this holiday season vacation as I want to hit the slopes before our busy January and February. Good luck on your plans.

http://vacation-travel-talk.blogspot.com/
http://traveltide.blogspot.com/
http://makewayforjo.blogspot.com/
http://www.travel-babel.blogspot.com/
http://besthotelreviews.blogspot.com/
http://newyorkdailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://parisculture.blogspot.com/
http://spainguides.blogspot.com/
http://air-travel-kit.blogspot.com/
http://cruisediva.blogspot.com/

Meetings and CSR

Meeting Planning and Corporate Service Responsibility


This is the time to think about giving back ….Among the benefits of being a member in a company, trade association or a community is the opportunity to receive such things as employment benefits, professional growth and development experiences or the sense of safety and security within your neighborhoods and relationship building within your community. If you are among the decreasing amount of people receiving such wealth, there are ample opportunities to give back, share or stimulate those in need. Giving back, playing it forward or simply put helping those in need is something we all could do just a little bit more of.

Think this article is about meeting planning? Indeed it is, but the case needs to be built. Corporations, Associations and yes, even groups of friends, church goers or people that enjoy certain sports, tend to travel to all kinds of global destinations. Just think if each group gave up or collected $10 from every attendee and left something behind in the chosen community what a better place the world would be. This type of feeling is being embraced more and more by corporations and associations. Some examples are more akin to team building so there can be duel benefits for example:

Build a Bike ~ groups go into a community and determine what children organization has a need for bicycles. Regardless of the time of year, (summer, Christmas) the group can be broken into groups of 5 or 10 and each group’s challenge is to build a bike for charity. This becomes an exercise with the group where your natural leader will rise to the top, technicians will develop and step forward, those creative folk might add the final touch with certain decorations and voila there is a final product, a leave behind for the community in a big way. Most groups are 200-500 people and just think, that is a lot of bikes.

Experience ~ Here is another, instead of a high dollar dinner for a group of 300, a company decided to hire a caterer, worked with a nice retail clothing store, closed the store to the public and provide each of the attendees a gift card for $100. As they shopped throughout the store’s multiple levels and in some specific departments, they dined on creative and themed food station. Days prior at registration, each attendee was given a name and a picture on the back of their name badge. They were originally instructed to bring a T shirt from their respective destinations for a child in the community of their meeting. These were collected at registration. They didn’t know that they were shopping for a specific child within the community (part of a homeless shelter). This new twist made them really think about their purchases and how to stretch their dollars. This concept of giving first without knowing what you may get in return has always moves the attendees. At the end of the allotted shopping time, desserts were being served as the children joined in the group and had to find their match. This provides for such personal pleasure while being sponsored by your employer.

Making it a better place ~ Groups can swarm in on a remote location, rural community and make it better by building a home, a church or a recreation center, they can take a few hours and plant trees or spruce up a community park. Work with the local animal shelter and have your group volunteer for even a few hours clearing the kennels, socializing with the felines, actually walking the dogs or bathing and combing or brushing the animals make the heart beat a little stronger. Many companies and associations are adding these types of activities to their programming to provide the attendees an opportunity to not only experience the destination in a unique way but also to leave a mark on that community. Meeting planners across the globe are challenged with adding such activities to their agendas and have created wonderful experiences for the attendees.

This is our world, our communities, whether corporate, trade association or community based. Invite your group attendees to spread the wealth so to speak and participate in these activities so it will indeed make the world a better place.

Sabbatical Opportunities

I have been so blessed with a stable group of professional people surrounding me for many years. These ladies and gentlemen (mostly ladies) have given so much of the time and energy that part of their overall compensation package is to receive a one month - time off sabbatical. What is that most say, thinking that word is synonymous with University level professors but here in my office it means full pay, get out of the office with no responsibility to do anything other than work. Rest, relax, recuperate, have fun, travel, whatever, just do it.

Each full time employee receives this benefit at their sixth year anniversary and unless crazy unknown circumstance prevent it, they are to take their sabbatical sometime during that following year. Cool, most people say and it is. Try it sometime and you will come back refreshed, invigorated and ready to tackle the next mountain but it doesn't just happen. Let me share a snapshot of what really happens in an office.

First there is the planning and celebration and then the departure and most importantly the return. The planning and shifting of work is a challenge but welcome by all as they too will have a turn at this disappearing benefit. So accepting a little extra work load is expected and welcomed by all. Hard to balance for sure and usually well done by all. The celebration is one that is easy and yet hard to do as much as everyone congratulates and wishes the person well, of course they will be missed and no one wants to interrupt the peace so checking in or calling is not encouraged. Bye Bye out the door with great cheers and in some cases tears and then the return. We like to schedule a brown bag lunch or a pot luck so that everyone can settle in and hear of all the adventures and experiences.

I'd like to congratulate our Katie Elsberry, a conference planner, an association manager and a technician on our team as Katie is one of those exceptional gals who does it all, always and without fail. We all are missing you and are waiting for you to walk through the door again but in the mean time....if you are ready, don't call, just enjoy whatever it is you are doing.

Flexible Alex

Recently, I learned that one of my valued employees (Alex), who is out on maternity leave, has decided it is difficult to manage the new baby (Renee), home and work so work has somewhat lost out...at least for the time being. We are all saddened by not having her positive presence on a daily basis but have been able to work out a mutual arrangement whereby she can retain her employment and work part time from home. I think this is mutually beneficial and might I also add, I think the clients will appreciate her dedication to each of them.

While Alex begins to learn about and balance the role of motherhood, wife, employee, daughter, sister, aunt and all those positions, she will remain an integral part of our extended team. This is not the first time, nor do I suspect the last that we will have to demonstrate flexibility with our team members, but it is the first time I am sharing in a public forum such as our blog.

Employees are the heart, the core of any company and when you find good ones, those with loyalty, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and those that go the extra mile, you want to be as helpful as you possibly can with them when they are struggling. And usually you will see the entire team band together to be supportive as well.

This is not only good business but it is also good for the heart and soul of the individuals impacted and of the company. We are no longer in an environment where tenure is enough to keep someone employed. So for those that stand up, get noticed, stretch beyond their comfort zone, I will cheer you on forever and be there for you.

So folks stretch yourselves and make sure your employers notice all that you are doing above and beyond because you just never know when you will need to have some flexibility to get you through something expected or unexpected.

We will miss Alex's smile but our hearts remain full knowing she will be returning one day (soon we all hope).

Sleepless Nights

There are many nights that go by with little or no sleep. Many people try various things to obtain a restful sleep. From relaxation to sleep aids to heavy medication to systems of reading a few pages each night to even watching the close of the news or Jay Leno's show. Once you get to that REM state, enjoy. It seems to evade me frequently so I just get up, put some low music on and either watch TV hoping to fall back to sleep, read or write. One of my most recent scribblings was published it the Southwest Meetings and Convention Managing - their Winter issue and it was all about how we can position ourselves to survive what lies ahead. I don't know if it is right or wrong, helpful for some but there lies some ideas and actions to take to keep everyone in our industry moving forward. I hope you can get something out of it. Here is the URL if you're interested, I have printed it below for your ease.
Open Mic: Positioning for the Up Swing

http://sw.meetingsmags.com/article/open-mic-positioning-swing

Katherine Christensen, CMP, DMCP
Issue: Winter 2010
As our economy begins to strengthen, it's time for those of us in the industry to position or reposition our businesses, products or services with our markets. I recently shared with some business owners what our team did over the hot, dry Southwestern summer. We didn't hibernate over the slow summer; instead, we retooled our look, feel, product offerings, and services and diversified our business. Our team is now relaxed and refreshed, with revitalized service offerings.

Customers don't flock to you if they don't know what you do, how you do it, how you can offer them a valuable service and why your service is distinguished from another-unless they know about you, hear about you and see you involved.

Whether you are a caterer, a transportation provider, a decorator, an entertainment group, a meeting planner or a hotel or venue sales manager, you need to be on the top of your game, especially now. Here are a few time-tested principles that are a good reminder for everyone in your office.

1. Know your customer and market. You should be confident that there is a demand for your product/service in your community or marketplace. Successful businesses know their customers and make adjustments according to community-, market- and culturally specific factors and trends.

2. The product or service itself is an important marketing tool. In a highly competitive field where similar businesses are selling similar products, business naming and branding becomes even more important. Every employee is an extension of the marketing department. Make business cards for everyone and they will be distributed with great pride.

3. Partner with a complementary business for lead referrals (ie, a venue with a caterer). Promote your products and services through advertising campaigns, public and media relations efforts, TV and radio commercials, Internet advertising, and direct-mail initiatives.

4. Promote yourself as an expert. Additional ways to create brand and service awareness include writing or contributing to articles as an expert in your field.

5. Keep customers coming back through in-store or on-line promotions, loyalty programs, coupons and special offers, and involvement in your immediate community (sponsoring sporting, chamber, or charity events, etc.) or industry (speaking at conferences, tradeshow booth discounts).

6. A website is without a doubt an essential tool for finding and keeping customers. Showcase and describe your product and services. Set up a blog, get on LinkedIn and Twitter and start chatting.

7. Marketing collateral provides potential customers with information about your company. These include brochures, white papers and sales videos. Post them on your website or embed videos in your blog. Remember, keep it to the point.

8. Implementing a marketing database is a great way to log your marketing progress and keep track of customers and leads. Develop a centralized system for everyone in the company to contribute their contacts and leads and provide status updates.

9. Establish a referral system with complementary businesses. Another way to get referrals is through your existing client base. Ask customers to write testimonials, act as references or offer an incentive program for them to refer your services to others. Think about including every level of employee in an incentive program.

10. Identify innovative approaches for bringing in more business. One mistake in running a business is remaining static. If you want to remain competitive you must find new ways for reaching your target demographic, as that demographic is constantly changing, too.


Get Connected:

Katherine Christensen & Associates Inc. // www.kc-a.com

PRA Destination Management Arizona // www.pra.com

Kate & Company Events // www.kateandcompanyevents.com

Katherine (Kate) Christensen has owned and operated her Phoenix-based businesses since 1991. Whether it's riding the tide of the tech explosion in the late '90s or living through Y2K, 9/11 and the recent rough economic seas, she has come back stronger after each global blip and bump. She writes and speaks regularly for the industry on the professions she is involved with and about all facets of the industry, from running a complicated event to managing businesses.