“Meetings: The biggest money pit of them all”
That’s the title of this thought-provoking article from the Conference Board. Covering the topic of meeting spend consolidation and tracking in the corporate world, it has a few choice quotes, including:
- There is still another reason for the mystery surrounding meeting expenditures: the entrenched, secretive culture of meeting planning, which is too often a parallel universe of financial fiefdoms. Consequently, the real-world working environment is usually reflective of a recent American Express study’s conclusion: that meeting planners are unusually resistant to change.
And as evidence, the author cites these FutureWatch 2007 study results:
- While acknowledging a trend toward virtual meetings as a way to reduce physical attendance and costs, only 29 percent of planners said they are likely to position themselves as the go-to resource for such meetings. Even more perplexing at a time when planners clearly recognize the shift from tactics to strategy, the least-sought-after new technologies, they said, are those that match attendees with relevant courses, vendors, and peers at an event; facilitate networking; share conference content; or provide more cost-effective alternatives to participation in live meetings, such as webcasts or DVDs. Such lack of interest is analogous to a caveman declining to master the use of fire.
Ouch.
Related Topics: Industry trends and forecasts, Business stuff
October 19th, 2007 at 3:24 am
I was really surprised to read that only 29% of planners said they are likely to position themselves as the go-to resource for virtual meetings. I think it has great possibilities, especially for planners like me who are not based in the USA or Europe. The technology has really improved in these last couple of years, and I include it in my proposals for planning meetings with faculty who are usually from the 4 corners of the globe. It makes sense to meet this way, before the main event, though it is usually best to conduct the final meeting in person.
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