Q&A
Balancing act
CIM spoke with cievents general manager (Australia) Fiona Batten about juggling a career with a family.
Q: How did you get started
in the industry?
A: I get my motivation from
making a difference to the
people around me. My biggest
accomplishments at work
have come from seeing people
who have worked with me
going on to head up some of
the cievents global offices,
and other senior roles in the
company. If I played just a
small part in their growth and
success then it’s a reason to
continue to do what I do.
A: I was fortunate enough
to get my first job at Qantas
where I spent a further 12
years in various roles within
the Qantas group.
Q: Why do women make
up the majority of those
working in the events
industry?
A: At the risk of generalising,
I have always felt that
women tend to multi task
well and for some reason,
women are drawn to careers
that require that ability.
Event management requires
that ability without doubt,
along with passion, desire
and a sense of fun. Who
wouldn’t want to work in the
events industry?
Q: How do you motivate
those working under you?
A: Those who know me
know I am very authentic
and really care about the
people around me. I have
always stayed true to who
I am no matter how senior
my role. Building trust and
developing my team to be
the best they can be is what
matters to me and my team
know this.
Q: Given there are so
many women in the
industry, how does
motherhood change the way people work? Q: How important is the
company culture in maintaining a work/life balance?
A: Every minute counts from the minute you become a mother.
You learn very quickly to maximise time when you have it and
be as productive as you can be. You become very disciplined and
structured very quickly to make it work for your personal and work
life. Being a working mother can lead to feelings of guilt and stress
because of your divided attention, so focusing on a plan, getting
organised and finding the right balance is a priority. A: Companies that create cultures where employees feel comfortable
having some control over their own work hours reap the benefits. At
cievents we are committed to continuing to look at ways which we
can support our staff and give them flexibility. ciFlex was an initiative
we introduced some 18 months ago to offer hours that support more
work/life integration. This is just one initiative and a small step in our
pursuit to offer more flexibility.
Q: How have you balanced motherhood with your career? Q: Australia has seen rapid growth in the events sector – what
would you like to see more of in the future?
A: My children are now teenagers and I can’t say it has got any
easier – it’s hard. You have to love what you do and that’s how you
make it work. If you don’t love coming to work every day then it’s
just not worth it. You have to also learn to accept that imbalance is
sometimes unavoidable.
It’s a constant juggle but you have to work for a company who
allows you to be a mum when you have to be, without guilt. I rarely
missed a carnival, presentation assembly, mother’s day morning
tea or anything else that came up – I even went on canteen duty
occasionally! Those events are too important to miss and if your
company doesn’t value it then they just don’t get it.
Q: How do you motivate yourself?
A: With this rapid growth, where technology appears to be at
the forefront, there is opportunity for better integration between
technologies. I would also love to see more integration of events
within the overall marketing strategy of business. The power of live
events as a communication tool, brand experience and sales driver
should not be underestimated. As a society we crave to be part of
a community, be part of something, this is no different in business
and a well thought out strategic event can move mountains!
Q: One piece of advice you would give to your younger self
starting out?
A: Be brave, take risks!
32 Convention & Incentive Marketing, Issue 4, 2017 www.cimmagazine.com