Building Toward a Better Tomorrow, by Katie Smith

BUILDING TOWARD A BETTER TOMORROW

Minneapolis Convention Center maintains and strengthens relationships with its staff and clients during the pandemic By Katie Smith

At the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC), we’re in the employees with opportunities to use their skills in other areas business of building relationships. We’re about connecting of city government. This initiative resulted in approximately 15 one person with another. One local business with a meeting percent of staff working outside of our walls. planner. One staff member with a visitor.

Navigating this crisis has acutely highlighted that we crave Consider employee safety first personal connections. We thrive on the energy of meeting As we look to reopen, we have established a set of new and collaborating. And although the COVID-19 pandemic procedures that consider the well-being of our employees. has put much of the meetings While much has been said and and events industry on hold, we written about the health and continue to work on our goal of We will work with the safety guidelines that event connecting people. Specifically, we have focused on strengthening our relationships with two distinct groups: our staff and our clients. Following are a handful of ways client to help execute their plans, knowing that both parties must be flexible because both the virus’s behavior and the attendees will adhere to as people begin to meet again, we first must ensure that our staff’s physical and mental health is of utmost priority. To put it frankly, you can’t begin to think we are working to maintain government’s guidance about holding an event if your these connections. may change over time staff isn’t safe, engaged and comfortable. STAFF Communicate regularly and provide resources Communication is key. Frequent messages, including several videos from Executive Director Jeff Johnson, have been sent to employees, keeping them updated on local coronavirus developments, as well as plans outlining our way forward. For the MCC, that means that our team members will be returning in phases over several weeks. We will provide face masks for every employee to wear when working around others. All offices will be set up with social distancing in mind, and staff may work in adjusted shifts to minimize non-essential contact with others. Essential is leading these conversations with a message of care and concern. CLIENTS

It’s important to recognize that this crisis has affected Communicate often people in very different ways. For some of our employees, As with our staff, regular communication with our clients is the change in work status has been quite difficult. One of the essential. Our first priority with meeting and event planners is things we’ve done to show our support is reach out to staff with to express an understanding of the challenges they are facing. links to our Employee Assistance Plan, which helps with mental We willingly provide a sympathetic ear to listen — all while and physical health needs. working with them to address their needs and reschedule Keep them engaged While our building remained mostly empty during the height of Minnesota’s stay-at-home order, it was imperative to keep as many of our employees engaged as possible — especially staff members with roles that do not allow them to work from home. First, we ramped up several capital improvement projects, events when necessary and possible. In return, we’ve been upfront in asking for patience as every week of the pandemic brings new developments that force us to continually adjust. With our industry so severely impacted by this crisis, we need to ensure that our clients understand that we’ll navigate these uncharted waters together. putting the time without visitors to a productive use. Next, as our venue is owned by the City of Minneapolis, we worked closely with other city departments to connect a number of our Continued on inside back cover Collaborate on plans to keep attendees safe Under the guidance of health experts, the MCC is slowly