UK based exhibition organisers lost almost a third of their employees between 2019 and 2022 .
Total global employees dropped from 10,060 in 2019 to 7,690 , the Association of Event Organisers ’ ( AEO ) talent survey found .
Organisers participating in the Employee Benchmark and Salary Survey 2022 , included Clarion , CloserStill , Diversified , Easyfairs , Immediate Live , Montgomery group , Nineteen Group and RX . Between them they furloughed more than 800 staff , with fewer than 600 returning post pandemic .
In a challenging recruitment market the AEO set out to uncover the issues preventing the industry from attracting and retaining staff .
The research uncovered concerns about how competitively the exhibitions industry pays , concerns about a lack of diversity and increasing desire from candidates for greater flexibility .
Marketing and operations roles were the hardest to recruit with pay expectations and working environments critical to staff satisfaction .
Online surveys were sent to all 80 eligible AEO members asking about current salaries
-31%
Total global employees 2019-2022
Talent drain
The AEO ’ s Employee Benchmark and Salary Survey identifies the critical issues in recruitment and retention of staff . With the UK exhibitions industry ’ s workforce 31 % smaller than 2019 , the report aims to identify the realities of the issues facing the sector . Emily Wallin reports
DEI policies , flexible working , which departments have the highest attrition and those most challenging to recruit .
The survey ’ s results present harsh realities the exhibitions industry needs to address , the AEO said .
Chair of the AEO ’ s development board , Alison Willis says : “ As an industry it is critical that we understand our positioning and external perception , so that we can uncover where our talent is coming from , what makes
86 %
Organisers exceeding pre-existing salary bands to recruit effectively in 2021 / 2022 our industry attractive to talent and - on the other side – the barriers and reasons for people leaving .”
The report states : “ AEO membership recognises that it suffers from a lack of diversity and many feel that the industry would benefit from more inclusivity .
“ This project was commissioned to understand how we are positioned as an
10 — November