Agency discussion
Inspiring the people
MARTIN FULLARD LEADS THE FIRESIDE DISCUSSIONS AT THE GLOBAL EVENTS SUMMIT,
CHAMONIX, ON THE EVENTS INDUSTRY’S GREATEST ASSET: IT’S PEOPLE
he Agency Leaders Global
Event Summit, in
partnership with Cvent,
once again took places at
luxury skiing chalet Les Rives
D’Argentiere, Chamonix, 24-26 March.
The group and I talked long and hard
about the state of the industry, from
talent and commission, to consolidation
and the future of the industry (I would
need 100 pages to fill you in on
everything) but the one subject that
everyone was most passionate about was
people.
People is what we are in the events
industry, and having the right ones is
key. If an agency looks after its team then
they can be sure the team will look after
the clients. Everyone in the chain, then,
will hit their targets.
The industry occasionally requires
long hours and burnout is a consistent
spectre and add to that the need to look
after top talent, and agencies are
constantly forced to find innovative ways
to keep staff enthused and focused.
Among those at the fireside discussion
was Richard Waddington, chair of the
Events Marketing Association (EMA)
and non-executive board member of
Pure Events. He says: “While cash is
king in the short term, the feelings of
being respected, valued, and involved are
far greater motivators in creating,
retaining and growing a ‘happy tribe’, it’s
all about the culture you want to foster.
“The most important element on
retaining staff is how you treat them:
involve them. Communication and
engagement is paramount, the team
needs to feel part of the journey and not
just a cog in the wheel. Personal
development plans should be an ongoing
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
/
“People
is what
we are in
the events
industry,
and having
the right
ones is key”.
Below: 1 – Les
Rives D’Argentière;
2 – Rountable; 3 –
View of Mt Blanc
ISSUE 100
process, not just an annual event.”
What challenges does Waddington
foresee? “The biggest challenge I see for
both small and medium agencies, and
in-house teams, is that the department
heads or owners are generally too
involved and ‘in the weeds’. This needs to
change; you have to invest to make it
change and make time to be able to focus
on your most important asset: your
people and your culture.”
When we are looking after our
eventprofs, do we need to treat those
from different generations differently,
surely millennials are just people? Or do
they require different incentives to
deliver quality events for clients?
Dom Garner, co-founder of Ten
Thousand Hours, says that we shouldn’t
be distracted from what eventprofs really
want: achievement. He says: “The banal
conversation around wellbeing and
mindfulness within the events industry
has somewhat detracted from solving a
key issue at hand. Confusing perks and
benefits for what truly motivates today’s
employees: knowing that their work is
making a real difference.”
Conversely, Jacqui Kavanagh, CEO at
Trinity Event Solutions, says that she has
introduced a raft of benefits to keep her
team enthused, but that she ensures
timing is key.
She says: “We are a diverse
group of professionals in the events
industry, from creative to very
logistically - and procurement-led
specialists. Therefore, there is very
definitely not a one size fits all solution
to keeping our staff fresh. At Trinity we
look at our team as individuals and
therefore have a toolbox of incentives
that work best for us. The key thing is to
implement short bite-sized targets.
Time-based targets are clear and
achievable, and it also means they don’t
have to wait until Christmas for reward
for good work in March.”
The collective feeling from the
group is that it is up to the individual
agencies to ensure they look after their
teams, and to incentivise them
accordingly. External influences from
association bodies, for example, would be
unmanageable. Rest assured, though, the
agencies that joined the Summi in
Chamonix, couldn’t be prouder of their
teams. And they now know a great ski
resort to take them to as well.