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Nicola Macdonald, Editor
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A
s anyone who works in exhibitions knows, it’s not
like other industries. Once you’re in, you’re in.
But – and, believe me, I experience this on a weekly
basis – ask anyone how they got into the world of
exhibitions and they will reply “well…I guess I kind of fell
into it”. It’s such a common response that it is practically
our industry’s catchphrase.
So, how do we tackle this? That’s the theme running
through this issue, from a panel on recruitment, retention
and wellbeing at the AEV Conference (p24), to research
by the Event Academy (p26) to discussions around
effective leadership (p35) and company culture (p50).
Building a robust yet flexible company culture is
a challenge every business faces, but for the events
industry it’s undeniably even more important.
Exhibition professionals work on thousands of events
and sites throughout the world, and many have dealt
with upsetting experiences during the course of their
working day. We’re an industry that has dealt with death,
terrorism, intimidation and exhaustion and we must have
processes in place to support our employees in dealing
with these challenges.
Luckily, everywhere I look, we are having this debate.
Whether I’m talking to business leaders or attending
conferences and industry events, it’s the topic on
everyone’s lips. We’re unparalleled in our willingness to
be open about our best practices with industry colleagues
and, although there’s still some way to go, I’m optimistic
that together we can make exhibitions a better, safer and
more supportive working environment.
Enjoy the issue,
August — 05