The Burden of Proof
Maintaining meetings’ relevance in the global marketplace
By Hunter Holcombe
As a vital element of proving the value of meetings, the ability to measure and demonstrate ROI is becoming paramount. Because so many meetings are at risk of either cancellation or budget reduction, planners must demonstrate not only the ROI of having the meeting, but also the potential damage of canceling crucial meetings—including loss of team morale and changes to an organization’s image and exposure.
Granted, illustrating and defending the many intangible qualities meetings provide is a formidable task, but the more information planners are armed with, the better they will fare at the bargaining table when budgets are on the line.
Not every meeting can be saved, nor should they be. But knowing which kind of meetings can and should be sacrificed permits planners more time, energy and money to fight for those meetings they know are indispensable.
In a recession, many companies shrink and some even die, and this global downturn will claim many victims before the situation improves. But economic historians and business veterans know that recessions are also a time of opportunity, and the companies that persevere when times are tough are the ones that emerge as industry leaders when the smoke clears. And, just as when the economy is strong, meetings will play an essential role in arming these companies with that competitive edge needed to survive.
Now is one of the most important moments in your career, and you are being asked to perform at your absolute best under extremely intimidating circumstances.
Inspiration and Incentives
It is exceedingly important to recognize the emotional and personal relationships attendees experience as related to the value of meetings. And, for many employees, the personal benefit gained from off-site meetings—networking with peers, industry exposure and education and the simple enjoyment of travel—becomes a valuable feature of their job.
“The idea of cutting off employees from anything that is not task-specific is problematic,” said Steven Rogelberg, Ph.D., professor and director of the Organizational Science Consulting and Research Unit at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and editor of the Journal of Business and Psychology.
Rogelberg’s several published findings on meetings include, Perceived Meeting Effectiveness: The Role of Design Characteristics and The Science and Fiction of Meetings.
“These are tough times. People need to have some light times as well, too,” he said. “To truly foster creativity, you can’t always stare at your computer for 12 hours a day. These off-sites tend to create sparks and synergies. You don’t want to move into a shell and not be able to think creatively.”
Rogelberg says the economic strain being placed on business isn’t all negative—it forces companies to streamline and cut spending that is not the most efficient. But when a particular meeting is on the chopping block strictly due to its ROI (or lack thereof) to the core business, the human element must also be considered. Take away too many of the kinds of conventions, networking opportunities or team-building events that the employees appreciate and anticipate, and there could be a noticeable drop in motivation, morale and possibly even retention.
“During this economy, keeping the best employees is vital,” Rogelberg said. “Removing any and all perks would not be the best idea.”
As a result of a bad economy combined with bad publicity, incentive meetings have seen many cuts. But executives can’t ignore the fact that these kinds of meetings—when designed correctly—can have an immeasurable impact on employee performance, retention, company morale and teamwork. In fact, research proves that travel incentives are one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways a company can reward its employees.
“Travel creates memories. Every time you think of [an incentive] trip, you associate it with your company,” explained Scott Jeffrey, Ph.D., assistant professor of the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Jeffrey’s published works include, Justifiability and the Motivational Power of Tangible Non-Cash Incentives.
Jeffrey points to research exploring the difference between cash versus non-cash bonuses, such as incentive travel and physical gifts. According to the research, employees overwhelmingly state a preference for cash when given the option. The problem is that cash loses its connection to the company relatively soon after it is given.
“You deposit it in the bank, but every time you go to the ATM to withdraw some of that money, you don’t think of it as money given to you from your company,” Jeffrey said. “You don’t have any memory of what the company has done for you.”
While cash loses its tie to the company quickly by blending with all other “nonidentity” cash in your bank account, travel rewards generate the opposite effect. Few experiences create stronger and longer-lasting memories than travel, for the “newness” of the destination as much as the enjoyment. Afterward, whether by reliving the memories with your co-workers at lunch or showing photos to the extended family, the trip is remembered again and again, for years even, and the entire experience is irrevocably tied to the company that gave it.
Facing Reality, For Better or Worse
The ancient battle maxim, “Know Thine Enemy,” applies to meeting planning as well. The pervasive enemy for the industry today—a sour economy—is not easy to take on, but at least it’s easy to understand. In order to save a meeting, planners simply need to prove that it is more valuable (profitable) to the business than not having it.
Jack Phillips, Ph.D., chairman of the ROI Institute, says planners should make forecasts of what a meeting would have accomplished, based on past data or expected outcomes, and measure the consequences of not having the meeting.
“Not many planners are prepared to do that, but it is a great way to keep someone from canceling the meeting,” he said.
Another way to combat the specter of a canceled meeting is to redesign it in advance, with a greater expected ROI as the outcome. This proactive initiative will impress the decision-makers and potentially save the meeting. It’s also just a good excuse to make your meetings more effective in the long run.
“Meetings need to be carefully designed, need specific purpose, need to be short-ish, need to be tight,” Rogelberg said. “The economy is actually creating a great time to look into that. It requires that [planners] use a critical lens.”
If we look on the positive side of this recession, companies will be pressured to do away with the less-productive meetings, and to strengthen the meetings they keep. Following the principles of economic Darwinism, we should emerge from this recession with a core of some of the leanest and most effective meetings we’ve ever seen.
There are plenty of economists who preach that recovery is just around the corner, yet the meeting industry may be carrying more than its fair share of the recession burden due to the political climate. But this doesn’t change what planners have to do to save their meetings. When backed against a wall, people find reserves of creativity and power they never thought imaginable, and this economy might force you to perform better than ever before.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, and the money will return. But, until that happens, global businesses will depend on meetings to be just as effective as they have always been, though with potentially less resources. The more you can do to save a crucial meeting now, the better off you and your company will be when the dust finally settles. One+
HUNTER HOLCOMBE is a freelance meetings and travel writer based in Buenos Aires.