The Buzz is Back
Trevor Foley feels the buzz , but says we need to act faster to feel the full vibe of a successful return to business
H aving attended International Confex at ExCeL London in March , it ’ s fair to say that the industry ‘ buzz ’ – in the UK at least – is very much back . Indeed , Confex itself is testimony to the grit that the industry has shown in getting itself to a position today where it can buzz again .
Four years ago , Confex was hit by snow , two years ago the spectre of Covid was very much in the air and last year the Covid hangover meant that industry support wasn ’ t fully recovered . Everyone was pleased for the event this year , so well done Mash Media for hanging in there .
The positive stories from so many quarters at Confex can only bode well for making our industry more attractive in a post-Covid world . It is more and more clear that we must espouse the way in which we work with and support the communities we serve . We do provide hugely valuable environments , connections and business tools for all industry sectors and consumer groups alike .
In a positive way , event talent at mid and senior levels is now more fluid as confidence grows . Industry players at the mid and senior levels do not want to leave the industry , but individuals do want to find the right environment for their skills . They want to find the right culture fit and chemistry mix . Many talented industry players aspire to work for particular companies that they see meeting with their own ESG ( environmental , social and corporate governance ) and CSR values . We are a small industry and whether or
Above : Trevor Foley
“ The industry ’ s greater focus on community serving is leading to some creative new event formats ”
not an individual company is riding high or is not ‘ flavour of the month ’, quickly spreads through the industry .
The ‘ buzz ’ factor has positive and negative facets to it . On the plus side , in what is a candidate market , many businesses on all sides of the industry ( organisers , venues and contractors ) are making great efforts to make themselves attractive to prospective employees . This is being seen at the company values ( CSR , ESG etc ) level and also in making it clearer to those prospective employees how they are making their products and brands attractive to their teams and to the markets they serve . The industry ’ s greater focus on community serving is leading to some creative new event formats , new services at existing events and in new roles such as Community Managers .
One organisation told me at Confex that their right time , right place event was 2.5x over budget on revenue . It seems a general ‘ rule of thumb ’ that exhibitions and conferences will be circa 80 % of their pre-Covid size this year .
However , we still face some huge challenges . Finding talent at the lower levels ( sub € 50k ) is extremely difficult . I spoke to a mid-size organiser recently with 70 + sales and marketing vacancies . Also , another organiser who lost a digital marketer to an organisation outside the industry who offered the individual exactly double their salary .
I ’ ll finish by saying that the buzz needs to be accompanied by a greater speed in the hiring process . I ’ m seeing far too many companies lose out on good talent by just not being quick enough .
Finally , it is fair to say that while junior functional roles remain a challenge to the industry , there is lots of talent with a general management skillset , event directors , portfolio directors , divisional or regional directors / MDs looking for the right place for their talent .
Let ’ s keep buzzing .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 2 2022 35