IAPCO Impact Dialogue: Talent Acquisition, Retention & Development of Meeting Professionals

Concerns from the attendees:

36% - Talent retention

45% - Staff recruitment

18% - Future of the workplace

How can we introduce education and skill sets before people enter the industry as a hook?

Key way IAPCO can come in, work with institutions

Foster passion show what happens

Think about Nobel prizes that have been won because people met at conferences

We’re not scientists, but we can bring scientists together to share their learning

How important are education investment and flexibility in staff retention?

We’re not scientists, but we can bring scientists together to share their learning

Listen to your staff, find out what is important to them

What does job satisfaction mean to them?

Flexibility starts with leadership. Find out what flexibility means

Teams should be educated constantly on new trends and industry changes

What’s the best way to attract new talent?

More flexible HR

Focus more on the human side of the employee

Education to emphasise the value of the meetings industry on a national level

Environment with a good work-life balance

Encouraging well-being activities within daily routine

As an employer, can the meetings industry compete with the tech industry?

The tech industry might not be stimulating for someone suited to events, and if you’re bored, how long can money sustain you in your work?

“Find something you’re passionate about and you’ll never work a day in your life”

Some of us may have forgotten the buzz and rush from running in-person events

We need to communicate how vibrant the industry is, but we’re too busy to communicate the benefits because we’re busy doing the job

Do you think employers should have a different perspective when approaching recruitment?

It’s an industry with very high number of transferable skills,z so we can grab people from other industries. The PCO part of the job can be taught

Provide training

Gen Z & Y interested in career progression base progression based on merit not availability

Reword position descriptions in terms of

What does flexibility mean and how much do we need to accommodate as an employer?

There are no limits on flexibility

We’ve learned we can adapt to difficult circumstances and survive

Flexibility starts with leaders ‘Servant leaders’ establish boundaries between life and work

The power of listening

Show appreciation Kindness and flexibility can return 10 fold

Are there ways besides KPIs to do evaluations?

Open communication

Consider reverse evaluation staff-manager

Keep progression in mind for the individual

Ask if you’re fostering the right environment to get the best from people? Are you helping them grow?

Encourage cross department skill sets

Creating a positive culture

It’s always cheaper to retain staff than hire new people

Celebrate successes together

Skills can be trained, personality, ethics, and ethos people are born with, capture that

Have people on board that you would share a glass of wine with at the end of the day

Hybrid working, should there be a policy or case-by-case?

Keep a flexible hybrid environment depending on the situation

Consider the benefits of the osmosis of conversation and in-person knowledge

Base it on the individual and how they are most productive

Closer to an event, in-person creates a better team