THE LAST WORD

A leap of faith combat toolkit for 2021

Prior to 2020, events professionals were familiar with event challenges, knew how to mitigate risks and to plan for unforeseen circumstances, while managing a successful event.

When the impact of Covid-19 and its ripple effect on our lives and livelihood became known, we found ourselves in unfamiliar territory, trying to navigate our personal and business survival on so many levels.

We have learned to reflect; we have reassessed our business models, but we are resilient to open the industry and to ‘proof the concept’. Initiatives such as the #RestartExpo and the RECHANGE 2020, are best practice events that provide valuable guidance on how events can open in a safe and responsible manner.

A new year is synonymous with new hope, and from a human behaviour perspective it allows us to #restart and to investigate new opportunities. We are cautious about the prospects of 2021, as we have learned the #recovery will be much slower than anticipated. We are all gasping for a breath of new ideas as we greet 2021, while some of us have even considered new career opportunities. Fortunately, for many of us, events are part of our DNA and we will ‘soldier on’ regardless of how fierce the survival battlefield will be. Therefore, I do not want to share the top trends for 2021, or another checklist on how to make your business work. I am sharing a ‘combat toolkit of faith’ with some familiar and not so familiar ‘tools’ to provide comfort during 2021.

Tool 1: Change your behaviour.

As human beings we feel uncomfortable when we are confronted with change, as this takes us to the unfamiliar and out of our comfort zone. The good news is that we can adapt to new circumstances when we make a cognitive decision to do so. Going forward, we need to learn how to be more flexible and how to acquire new skills, fast. Change requires us to be emotionally more mature and intelligent, especially as the workplace culture has changed and became more integrated with our home lives. We know that mental health and burnout needs to be managed, and this can create opportunities for business event managers to design events where people can learn how to adjust to the ‘next normal’. Assess how you have done business in the past, how did it change, and how these changes may be implemented by you in your new business events model.

Tool 2: Collaborate.

When we collaborate, we co-create, which mitigates the challenges and frustrations of negotiations. In 2020 the Events Industry Council has set the example on how industry stakeholders can collaborate and design new strategies to open the industry. We need to continue to build on initiatives like this. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) ‘Safe Travels’ protocols must be embraced and supported by all nations, as this will provide comfort and certainty to all travellers. Globally, PCR testing has become the norm, and Health Passports might soon become part of our tourism regulations. This provides new opportunities for event owners to collaborate with health authorities and technology companies for the development of safe seamless event operations and logistics. Therefore, assess how you can either vertically or horizontally integrate or align your events business with strategic partners.

Tool 3:

Value through innovation: The traditional events design approach might have changed, but this allows for new opportunities to develop an enabling environment where people can meet. Fluid event spaces to reach new audiences and the marketing of new products can create such opportunities. The business person of tomorrow will carefully assess if it is really worth the time, money and effort to attend an event, and if they would rather do this from the comfort of their homes or offices. Consider the value of the events you organise, how this event makes people feel, and how accessible the event needs to be, either in person or digitally.

Tool 4:

Don’t forget the planet: The new protocols and regulations have the potential to cause more harm to the planet than before Covid-19. The Event Greening Forum provides an array of guidelines on how to comply with the safety protocols, while taking care of the planet. Sustainable event management, where we consider people, processes and the planet, needs to be aligned with your new events business model.

Tool 5: Transformation is here to stay

In many business management handbooks we learn that if transformation is successful then we can transform the minimum resources into the maximum outputs. In South African we are familiar with the Tourism Sector Human Resource Development Strategy that guides the human resources transformation of the sector. In events, the digital transformation associated with online and hybrid events has become popular. More skills and research are needed to learn how we can use technology such as virtual- and augmented reality to mimic life experiences at our events, without causing screen fatigue.

We might not know what 2021 will hold for us, but we need to trust our knowledge, skills and experiences which have guided us to become the event professionals we are.

Foster good relationships, be flexible, listen to the sciences, trust your ‘gut’, take a deep breath, and follow your ‘heart’ with courage in 2021.

Who is Dr Nellie Swart?

Nellie Swart is an Associate Professor in Tourism at the University of South Africa, and a Certified Meeting Professional. She holds a DCom in Leadership Performance and Change. Nellie authored and coauthored accredited journal articles, book chapters, a number of accredited conference proceedings, and has organised local and international conferences.