Clients are also at the mercy of the climate of the economy in their industries or verticals. They do not want to spend money in excess if their industry is struggling or if the company has downsized. They want the confidence to ensure year-end earnings are healthy and profitable. Often, meetings, recognition and promotion programs can fall in the shadow of immediate business needs, resulting in a culture where employees feel uncertain.
Why meetings and recognition programmes still matter
While the perception of unnecessary spending can be seen as a negative or a ‘nice to have,’ the value of these connections, when done correctly, can prove to have the opposite effect.
Before hitting the ‘cancel’ button, enlist the thought leadership of your partners and consider how a more strategic approach to meeting management could help maximise impact without increasing spend, not only the fiscal impact.
Even with budget constrictions, there is always room to reimagine how you convene. The most critical first step is to identify how to measure the return on investment and return on experience for your attendees – is this greater than the impact of cancellation? In addition, have you considered all the non-financial impacts and perceptions of cancellation from attendees? Employees are aware of the spending put into meetings & events, it must be impactful and beneficial to them.
Practical ways to reduce meeting costs without reducing impact:
- Commit to the decision to keep in person events and plan early on
- Get creative with destination selections based on attendee demographic and locale.
- Adjust the agenda, combine meetings to maximize buying power and executive travel time.
- Design regional or road show events to decrease travel spend.
- Decrease individual activities and make room for more group events.
- Maximize your organization’s facilities and company HQ offices, look at the event through a different lens.
- Commit to a multi-year, multi-property, long term meeting strategy.
- Offer a tiered approach that incorporates incentives and gifting and smaller incentive programs.
Real-world Examples of Delivering Value on a Tighter Budget
Many organisations are quick to assume that reducing budgets means compromising on the attendee experience, but this is rarely the only option. Some small changes to event planning can often deliver significant savings while maintaining all of the objectives of the meeting.
For example, a business with teams that are spread across the UK may choose to replace one large national conference with a series of regional events. This reduces travel and accommodation costs while making it easier for employees to attend. Similarly, organisations can combine multiple internal meetings into a single event, allowing leadership updates, training sessions and networking opportunities to take place over one or two days instead of several separate events.
Another effective approach is reviewing the agenda itself. Rather than reducing the length of an event, planners can focus their time on removing lower-value sessions and dedicating more time to interactive workshops and networking. These changes will often improve the overall attendee experience while making better use of the available budget.
Measuring success beyond the event budget
When budgets are under pressure, it is even more important than ever that you demonstrate the value that meetings and events deliver. Rather than measuring success purely on a cost basis, organizations should always be considering the wider business outcomes.
Successful meetings can strengthen employee engagement and can improve communication, while reinforcing strategic priorities. Gathering attendee feedback and measuring participation levels provides a far clearer picture of an event’s success than its budget alone.
By keeping a tight focus on both return on investment (ROI) and return on experience (ROX), organizations are then able to make informed decisions about any future events while making sure that budgets are invested where they will be able to create the greatest impact.
In person events are a terrific way to turn the page and focus on future forward. Clients need to structure content to show their commitment to their employees to drive culture and employee retention. Employees that feel valued and connected to their business are more likely to serve as brand ambassadors for your company and increase company profit for years to come.
