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Industry Trends
  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 11/15/2012 • 5 Comments

    Meeting Individual Needs

    The following entry was written by Jackie Mulligan, a principal lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University, which is conducting our future of meetings research

    Jackie Mulligan

    Some of the worst service experiences I have ever had made me feel "processed." It is the worst kind of service experience, because when you go out, travel or shop you want to feel special. I want to feel special at events I attend. So my question for you: In your meetings, do you look after groups or individuals? 

    The reason I ask is that personalization—the need to individualize experiences in group settings—is a rising issue for meeting designers now and very much in the future. It presents some serious challenges, too. The importance of catering for individuals in groups, understanding human interaction at a deeper level, is clear but what about coping with changing expectations, behaviors and values? Within the challenge of meeting individual needs is the fact that the attendees will be more diverse than ever. No wonder that experts in the future of meetings study believed people would be the key drivers of change in the meeting industry. As Dr. James Powell says, “I see conferences that change as they develop. People are expecting greater interaction and engagement. They don’t want to go to meeting without knowing ‘what’s in it for me?’”

    Those people—your attendees, your clients, your work forces—will be multi-generational. According to the latest reports from The United Nations Population Fund, in 2050 there will be more people aged over 60 than under 15 in the world. This is a massive transition that impacts on all of society, our economics, our policies, our communities and most definitely your meeting designs. 

    In the meeting industry, it will mean considering how you can design for multiple generations— specialize or generalize? You will need to consider pace and structure of content, because generations differ because they grew up differently. Dr. Sarah Harper, a professor of gerontology at Oxford University and director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, cites one European city that was running out of bus drivers. 

    “Its leaders decided to recruit drivers over the age of 60," Harper said. "Then, they trained all their prospects in simulators…and the vast majority failed. They were flummoxed, until someone suggested that they teach them in the old, traditional way—in the field—after which they saw a marked improvement in passing rates.”

    The design of our venues will also change—having to consider an ageing population that while connected and tech savvy, will still be getting older. Younger generations will be harder to wow, having grown up with more technology, more instant responses, more screen-time, more on-demand than ever before. The future of meetings paper provides strategic takeaways to help reach out into these new and emerging demographics. But the supplement moves beyond this— to consider how values, lifestyles and attitudes are changing. So the question is: Are you prepared to cater for the needs of individuals at an unprecedented level? Read about the changing expectations and behaviors for the future of meetings in the new supplement and come join the conversation on the future of meetings LinkedIn group. This week we will be discussing new and older generations and much more. See you there!



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 04/20/2012 • 0 Comments

    Women Are on the Cutting Edge of Technology

    It appears that women more than men find value in virtual meetings. According to a recent survey by TeamViewer and Harris Interactive, women are more likely than men to see the benefits of taking meetings online. Furthermore, a majority of U.S. adults (77 percent) surveyed say that online meetings are on the rise.

    Specifically, women were statistically more likely than men to say:

    • They could save money in transportation costs (78 percent vs. 71 percent)
    • You don’t have to waste time traveling to meetings (77 percent vs. 71 percent)
    • Online meetings are less nerve-wracking (37 percent vs. 26 percent)
    • People are less distracted (22 percent vs. 16 percent)

    Generation X/Baby Boomers (ages 45-54) were more likely than young people (ages 18-34) to say they think online meetings save money in transportation costs (80 percent vs. 71 percent) and don’t waste their time traveling to meetings (80 percent vs. 68 percent). When asked about the characteristics most important for an online meeting host to have, women proved much more demanding than men in almost every category, including:

    • Organization (81 percent vs. 68 percent)
    • Fast-paced (64 percent vs. 52 percent)
    • Respectfulness (60 percent vs. 50 percent)
    • Fair (57 percent vs. 51 percent)
    • Decisive (40 percent vs. 34 percent)
    • Clever (17 percent vs. 12 percent)

    Some women even say they think online meetings hosts should be passionate (15 percent), attractive (5 percent) and blunt (6 percent).

    “These findings demonstrate that women are on the cutting edge of technology and are having a big impact on the way the modern office is evolving,” said Holger Felgner, general manager at TeamViewer. 

    To learn more about virtual meetings, please pick up a copy of the MPI research paper, "The Strategic Value of Virtual Meetings and Events." 



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/30/2011 • 0 Comments

    Hiring Managers vs. Millennials

    While the recession may have pushed Millennials (born 1980-95) to say they have more realistic expectations about career advancement, hiring managers don’t yet see a change, according to "The Future of Millennial Careers" study released today by the Career Advisory Board, presented by DeVry University.

    The survey of young professionals, ages 21 to 31, and hiring managers, indicates Millennials believe doing work that is personally meaningful to them and achieving a sense of accomplishment are just as important as earning a high salary for a successful career. In fact, 30 percent of Millennials identify meaningful work as the single most important measure of a successful career.

    Conversely, hiring managers believe high pay plays a greater role in Millennials’ perception of career success. Forty-eight percent of hiring managers rank high pay as the No. 1 way Millennials measure their career success. Only 11 percent of hiring managers say Millennials consider meaningful work as the No. 1 measure of success.

    Millennials and hiring managers do agree on the opportunity areas for Millennials to develop their workplace skills. Fifty-one percent of hiring managers believe Millennials exhibit an inability to accept criticism from their managers with 54 percent of Millennials in agreement. Fifty-five percent of hiring managers believe Millennials lack patience with established processes, and 47 percent of Millennials agree. Thirty-eight percent of Millennials believe their generation cannot communicate effectively, and 35 percent of hiring managers agree.

    The desire and need for mentorship is another area where the two groups have a meeting of the minds. Specifically, 47 percent of Millennials and 49 percent of hiring managers agree mentoring is the most helpful way for Millennials to overcome their weaknesses. Thirty-eight percent of managers and 37 percent of Millennials believe that participating in company-sponsored training opportunities is another way to address their challenges.

    Other relevant insights from the research include:

    • 78 percent of Millennials speculate they will have five or fewer jobs over the course of their career.
    • 65 percent of Millennials and 56 percent of hiring managers consider education to be among the three most important ways to advance their careers.
    • 54 percent of Millennials and 48 percent of hiring managers say computer skills and comfort with digital technology—such as using social media and learning about new technology—is among the top three career skills. Twenty-one percent rank digital comfort as the Millennial generation’s most valuable professional skill.

    (Story materials provided by DeVry University.)