Worldwide Standards in Education
The Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events I is the first of four new professional education certifications that are part of MPI Global Training.
By Michael Pinchera
Last month, we gave you the big-picture of MPI’s Knowledge Plan, a comprehensive plan to strengthen and advance individuals as well as the meeting industry. A significant component of the Knowledge Plan is MPI Global Training, a multi-tiered map for educational growth that touches on every career level and incorporates the four levels of the Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events (GCMBE), the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Certification in Meetings Management (CMM) designations and an Executive Leadership Program.
The GCMBE I is the first step in industry education for this new certification and focuses on the fundamentals of meeting planning. As with the entire GCMBE line, this level-one offering is tied to MPI’s ever-growing body of knowledge, ensuring that participants the world over gain a comprehensive education and skill set for a successful future. The standardized education, after all, means the same professionally for a student in Hong Kong, Spain or the U.S.
“For students, novice planners and those just entering the field, GCMBE I provides a basic knowledge of the vocabulary, business protocols and standard operating procedures of our profession,” said Carol Krugman, CMP, CMM, industry consultant and educator with Denver-based Krugman Maller LLC and member of the MPI Body of Knowledge Task Force.
Almost 28 years ago, when she first got involved with meetings, there was very little formal, dedicated industry education.
“Professional education avenues? Ha! Not even a side street!” Krugman said. “Meeting planning wasn’t even considered a profession in those days, much less something that could actually be taught. Like others of my generation, I learned how to plan meetings the hard way: no formal training, no ‘best practices,’ no mentors, no guidance. Just a lot of common sense, chutzpah and learning from doing—especially learning from all the mistakes I made (so I learned a lot!).”
In 1995, Krugman joined MPI and quickly began sharing her knowledge (specifically her decade of international meetings experience, “still exotic in those pre-globalization days”) by speaking at MPI conferences and teaching at Institutes. So even though professional education was virtually non-existent when she started in the industry, she’s participating in the development of the education road map being implemented for future generations of meeting professionals.
Krugman says that the GCMBE, as a global program with standardized content based on the body of knowledge, will be a useful, universally recognized benchmark for people who obtain the certificate, but also for employers worldwide.
“Participants in GCMBE I programs in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia will all study the same material and take the same qualifying exams. The value of the certificate will be consistent, no matter where it's obtained.”
In fact, international standardization based on the body of knowledge is a quantum leap in credibility for the industry.
“To provide this at increasing levels of proficiency—especially at the entry level—elevates our profession and the value of the training it requires,” she said. “There are legions of people wanting to be meeting planners, calling themselves meeting planners or functioning as de facto meeting planners within their companies with no training and no support. Providing them, and their employers, with the means to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence to coordinate successful meetings increases recognition and respect for the industry.”
The overdue cooperation between academia and the meeting industry is moving forward—a supremely important move for the development of a recognized body of knowledge—through partnerships with CERAM Business School in Nice-Paris-Lille, France; Hong Kong Polytechnic University; the Qatar MICE Development Institute; Ryerson University in Toronto; and San Diego State University.
“GCMBE I is an excellent example of professional education content that is also applicable to undergraduate academic curricula,” Krugman said. “Contributing to the practical education of succeeding generations of planners when they first begin their studies can only benefit the entire industry.” One+
MICHAEL PINCHERA is associate editor of One+.
A Deeper Look at the Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events I (GCMBE I)
The GCMBE I educates students and early career professionals on terminology and basics through modules of study spanning the meeting industry.
The Business of Meetings & Events
The certification starts with a basic understanding of the global meeting and event industry. In this initial course, participants are introduced to the various areas of the industry and the initiatives involved in successful planning and management.
Budgeting Basics
Meetings and events cannot be held without money to finance them, so understanding where the money comes from and where it goes is essential to the practice and profession of meeting management. Meeting professionals must understand whether a meeting’s financial philosophy is breakeven, profit or deficit in order to identify categories of appropriate income and expense items that form the building blocks of a meeting budget. Breakeven analysis helps guide decision-makers in understanding the budget. In this hands-on session, participants will build a basic budget appropriate for each type of financial objective.
Property Operations
Knowledge of the various types of meeting properties and how they operate is an essential component of the planning process. The location and venue must not only support the objectives of the program but also provide maximum ROI to the various stakeholders. Meeting professionals will learn to be familiar with the environment within which they will be organizing the program and the various facility staff members with whom they will be working during the planning, implementation and post-meeting closeout phases.
Site Selection
Effective site selection takes into account the objectives of the meeting, the attendee profile, the program’s space requirements, food and beverage needs, audiovisual and technology requirements and a host of other criteria, including accessibility, infrastructure and cost. Beginning with a comprehensive understanding of the event’s specifications and a well-written RFP, meeting professionals must be able to evaluate the responses, benefits and drawbacks of each available property according to a variety of criteria.
Contracting Basics
Meeting contracts serve two main purposes—confirm the understanding between two parties and allocate risk among the parties. For these reasons, negotiating favorable contract terms is one of a meeting professional’s most critical responsibilities. Although the law varies by location, basic contract principles are largely universal. In this session, participants will review and suggest revisions to key terms in a sample facility contract.
Registration and Housing
The first impression of a meeting is often made during the registration process, and the attendee’s impression of this process can affect his/her response to the rest of the meeting. This session will explore how a professionally designed and managed registration and housing system is both important for attendee comfort and critical for attendee safety—and how obtaining accurate information from attendees is not just a hospitality issue, it’s an issue of safety, security and liability protection for the planning organization.
Food and Beverage
Well-planned food and beverage functions that please the eye and palate also stimulate networking and conversation among the attendees, providing an additional and equally important environment for learning. Participants will learn about how the amount of food and beverage ordered and type of service requested is as important as knowing what to order for a particular group at a particular function.
Risk Assessment
Before any crisis and contingency planning can begin for your meeting, a risk assessment must be conducted. Otherwise, how will meeting professionals know where to allocate your already-scarce time and resources? In this session, meeting professionals will walk through the steps of risk assessment, using a sample meeting or convention as an illustrative example. Participants will brainstorm risks, engage in a probability-consequences analysis and assess the strengths and weaknesses of their organizations’ preparedness.
Meeting and Event Marketing
Meeting professionals are often involved in marketing to ensure that efforts are consistent and branded. They must also remain focused on the objectives of the stakeholders to ensure an acceptable ROI. This baseline marketing session will provide participants with an overview of marketing strategies that can be used to increase the visibility of a meeting or event. It will also provide tips and secrets used around the world to reach targeted audiences.
Coming Up Next…
Next month, the GCMBE II gets our attention. This certificate focuses on the execution and application of meeting and event core logistics including project management, destination and venue management, event logistics, project budget and contract evaluation and negotiation. There are already more than a half-dozen GCMBE II courses scheduled for the first part of 2010.