Stacey Jackson, Hybrid Meetings Case Study

HYBRID MEETING CASE STUDY

A firsthand account of how one meeting planning company successfully adjusted its processes By Stacey Jackson

As the meetings, events, convention and hospitality industries entered 2020, no one had an inkling of what would occur in terms of facing the ever-changing process of conducting a live, in-person meeting. We could not even fathom that there would be a day when this may be a question mark for our clients, nor how it would affect jobs and the industry as a whole.

As a leading end-to-end meetings logistics company focusing primarily on live face-to-face meetings, Global Meetings & Incentives (GMI) recognized the need to adapt to the way meetings would operate in a COVID-19 era. We also recognized the need to collaborate with customers on processes that would allow them to return to live in-person meetings.

In July 2020, we began working with one of our key accounts on a series of district-level meetings around the country, including eight manager-level meetings and 40 sales meetings — replacing the national leadership and national sales meeting we would operate under normal circumstances.

Below are the steps that we put in place to make this a success for all, as well as lessons we learned throughout the planning, execution and onsite process.

As a first step, GMI partnered with our client to create a Back to Live Meetings task force comprised of the GMI team and the following departments from our client’s company: security, human resources, meetings and events, and sourcing. Through weekly calls, we discussed each process and created checklists to be used during execution.

HEALTH AND SAFETY Keeping attendees safe was our first and foremost concern. We needed to determine which corporate policies to establish in order to ensure health and safety at live meetings.

First, we understood that each individual and team had their own comfort levels when it came to traveling to and attending a live meeting. Before we moved forward with planning the in-person meetings, we conducted a survey of the entire sales force and leadership to determine the percentage of individuals who would attend virtually vs. in person. We learned that approximately 80 percent of the attendees were ready to travel and get back to live meetings.

Next, we created a health and safety checklist to be used during planning, onsite and post-conference stages.

SOURCING AND HOTEL SERVICES It became apparent that we needed a more detailed sourcing process providing additional information in order to make an informed decision based on the new environment.

• Health and Safety: Each property, city and state has its own set of recommendations and/or requirements during the pandemic. We required each property to provide us with their health and safety protocols and an outline of what steps they were taking to ensure their facilities were adhering to the

CDC guidelines as well as local guidelines.

• Meeting Space and Meeting Sets: Our task force required that all attendee meeting sets be at least six feet from one another. To meet that requirement, we needed medium-sized to large ballrooms, as we used a separate table for each attendee.

Because we offered our attendees the option to participate virtually, an extensive production component was added to our onsite requirements. Each meeting had a production team of four to six people in the back of the room running the show, Zoom meetings, cameras and presentations.

• Hotel Services: We learned that most of the hotels were operating with a limited staff. This greatly impacted the hotel’s ability to provide services that we were accustomed to, as well as the planning process.

• Sales and Catering: Sales departments have been reduced to one or two managers in some cases, causing hotel responses to be slightly delayed. • Housekeeping: Hotels are taking strict precautions when it comes to entering guestrooms. Housekeeping services were not being provided unless a guest made a specific request. • In-Room Amenities: Some properties have removed all in-room amenities, including hotel directories, hair dryers, irons and even some bathroom amenities. In many cases, remote controls are in plastic casings and then changed after each guest’s stay. • Room Service and Dining Outlets: Most properties have discontinued room service during the pandemic or, if they do provide it, it is contactless, with orders being placed via guests’ cellphones and then delivered outside the guestroom in an individual bag. We also found that some properties had only one or two dining outlets open, which became challenging during planning.

• Check-in and Checkout: Hotel companies promote their apps and in-room services for the check-in and checkout process. This enables the guests to bypass the front desk and access their room via their cellphones. If a guest had to visit the front desk at check-in, plexiglass barriers separate the hotel agent and guest, with hand sanitizer readily available. • Public Spaces: Abundant signage on the walls and floors directed guests to follow the appropriate distancing guidelines. Masks were required in all public spaces; handsanitizing stations were spaced throughout public spaces as well.

ATTENDEE COMMUNICATIONS Our task force agreed that attendee communication was of the utmost importance in the current climate. We ended up overcommunicating to ensure that our attendees were aware of the company policies and that safety was a priority. In the past, GMI provided confirmations to all attendees with general location information, air and ground procedures, and general onsite details. Now, much more information is required:

• Hotel health and safety procedures • Corporate Policies: Each attendee received our client’s corporate policies prior to the meeting regarding the new meeting requirements. As previously discussed, each attendee was given the option to attend in person or virtually.

They could also change their mind at any time during the registration process. • Travel Precautions: We linked the CDC recommendations and guidelines to all our communications, registration website and confirmations. Masks were required to be worn during travel and in all public spaces. In the past, we would provide ground transportation for each attendee to and from the airport. Collectively, we decided, due to the concern of our attendees, that everyone would be responsible for his or her own ground transfers. We provided guidelines in our communications and urged attendees to ride individually with a facial covering.

ONSITE PROCEDURES • Registration: • Traditional registration and onsite check-in changed dramatically. Gone are the days of shaking hands and hugging those you have not seen upon arrival. Instead, we provided attendees with PPE kits, name badges and any other required information at a table where attendees could pick them up individually. • We determined with our client that their corporate policy would require each attendee to sign a Health Attestation

Form each day. We provided this form on the meeting app that was available to all attendees. They would go on it each day, before entering the meeting room, to answer all questions regarding health and COVID-19. We also provided hard copies at the registration desk for each

attendee if the app was not accessible. • Individual PPE kits were sent to each meeting location, including a facemask, hand-sanitizing wipes, gloves and hand sanitizer. • The registration desk had signage regarding social distancing, hand sanitizer and a cup of pens that were all sanitized prior to their arrival. After a pen was used, our onsite team made sure it was not used again.

• Leadership and Brand General Sessions: In the past, since these meetings had the entire sales team together, they consisted of one main general session, smaller area general sessions and then smaller district or regional breakouts.

During these live meetings, through production, we either did the main general sessions live from the corporate headquarters or had these prerecorded for all meetings to view at the same time. Leadership also traveled to different meeting locations in person. During these visits, production was able to go to their meeting location and broadcast the presentations live to the other meeting locations.

• Food and Beverage: This was deemed to be one of the most challenging areas during planning. Some of the larger chains allowed buffets to be provided but with new guidelines: They were served by one attendant behind a plexiglass shield.

Breaks and beverages were another story. We worked with each property to design breaks that included either prepackaged items and/or individual snacks in to-go boxes. If possible, all coffee was served by one attendant. This did end up increasing the budget, as hotels charged attendant fees for that service.

• Offsite/Evening Events: We were able to do group dinners in locations where restaurants were open. Attendees were seated six feet apart at outdoor tables. If a meeting owner wanted a group activity, we looked at options like outdoor bonfires on the beach with boxed meals, dinner by the pool with no more than three people per table, or outdoor venues like TopGolf. Each meeting owner received feedback from their team before planning began, in order to gauge everyone’s comfort level.

• Daily Check-Ins: Each onsite GMI team member was required to check in daily with the project manager to give updates on how things were going onsite. Updates would concern the Health Attestation forms, F&B, social distancing, daily hotel staff check-ins, etc. If attendees had concerns, they were able to discuss them with our onsite GMI team member, and we could accommodate them in two ways: They could either go to their room and attend virtually, or depart at the end of the day and rejoin virtually from home the next day.

VIRTUAL ATTENDEES We received positive feedback on two things planned for virtual attendees only: a game and a meal gift or Visa cards.

• On one day during the week of the meeting, we organized a game for training purposes. The live attendees had the

game on the screen or in the meeting room, while the virtual attendees had two options to access it. If an attendee indicated during the registration process that he or she would be virtual, the game was shipped to the attendee’s home. And if someone decided to change from live to virtual at the last minute, the registrant was able to access the event via the meeting app.

• To include them in meals or evening dinners, we partnered with a company that sent links to all virtual attendees where they could access restaurants to order in for breaks, dinners and other meals We put a cap on the amount that could be spent each day, and in some smaller towns, we could provide them with an online visa card to use at a local restaurant of their choice. NAVIGATING THE CRISIS Continued from page 44 and designing an entire meeting or event with no date. They worked with their client to create the experience for an event that might happen in January, or might happen in June. In this way, the event-planning company maintains steady income so they can keep staff on the books.

Our industry is so creative, and we have so much to offer. We will recover and we will set the new standard for meetings and events. I’d love to connect and hear your feedback, your pivots, or ways you’re surviving and thriving!

Consulting, a firm designed to assist businesses and individuals to discover and amplify their authentic brand and image. She is an international speaker, brand strategist, consultant, hospitality influencer, SEARCH Foundation

Chairwoman and Ambassador for the Meetings Mean

Business Coalition. She can be reached at kate@katepatay. com. For more information on the SEARCH Foundation, visit searchfoundation.org. PANDEMIC-ERA PLANNING Continued from page 46 state guidelines for in-person gatherings. Ask for their assistance and input on how best to stay within those guidelines for your event. 4. Be flexible. I am hopeful that one day, in the not-so-distant future, our industry will return to normal. Until that time, know that if there is one thing that’s constant right now, it’s change. Be prepared to change meeting rooms, meeting setups, for a speaker to have to quarantine and not be able to attend your event, for 10 percent of your attendees to cancel SUMMARY In all, GMI is more than pleased with the outcome and feedback we received from our completed Back to Live Meetings projects. The attendees voiced their excitement to be back onsite with their team and able to collaborate and learn together in person.

We as an industry must be flexible with the new guidelines put upon us, reduced hotel staffing challenges and the everchanging quarantine requirements. If done properly, we feel confident that live meetings can return in a safe manner with all details being considered and managed.

Stacey Jackson is a Senior Meeting Planner at Boca Raton, FL-based Global Meetings & Incentives (GMI). She brings over 21 years of industry experience to GMI, a leading meetings logistics provider with emphasis on the

Kate Patay, CPCE, is the Chief Strategy Officer of Patay

pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.

RFPs IN THE COVID-19 ERA

Continued from page 45

top of the list, and going over things while moving through the facility helps spur questions, solutions and overall planning. In addition, you will be able to see for yourself what new signage has been installed, how entrances and exits are labeled, larger spaces that are now needed for social distancing, and cleaning procedures in action. The Albany Capital Center has even Facetimed with clients to give them a virtual walkthrough if an in-person visit isn’t possible or travel restrictions did not permit them to come to New York.

While it is a very challenging time right now for the hospitality industry, remember that even if you can only take a small step forward — it is important to take that step. The sales and event teams at venues are ready with Plans A, B, C and D for your next event. Use their hard work and preparation to your benefit and let them be part of your reimagined team.

Shannon Licygiewicz is Director of Sales at the Albany Capital Center.

at the last minute, etc. But also be prepared for exceptional things to happen. Be prepared for overwhelming gratitude from your attendees that they’re getting to meet in person. And be prepared to look back on all of this one day and realize how much you learned, and how much you and your attendees were changed for the better.

Jamie Kervin is Senior Account Manager for Arrowhead Conferences & Events, a ministry that provides Christian meeting planning services. Kervin previously served as Senior Sales Manager with Hilton Hotels, Event Coordinator for the Committee on Discipleship Ministries of the Presbyterian Church in America, and public relations professional for a high-tech public relations firm.