Business Continuity NewsBriefs - June 14, 2017
These NewsBriefs are produced and delivered weekly by Attainium to keep our friends and clients current on topics relating to Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Crisis Management.

Meeting & Event Crisis Response Planning

June 14, 2017 - When the going gets tough... meeting and event planners step up! It's what you do, right? We know that there's no such thing as a perfect meeting and event, so it's always good to refresh what you know and increase your arsenal to handle problems and disruptions. Try these articles for some additional perspectives.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Just because you have planned something doesn't mean it is going to happen."
-- Jung Lee, celebrity event planner/producer --

1. Virtual meetings are not an alternative to corporate travel

Virtual meetings are often seen as a cost-effective alternative to corporate travel, a good excuse to reduce travel budget. With countless tools available, many of them being free or very inexpensive, it is often hard to justify spending thousands of dollars sending employees to a meeting abroad. However, conference calls and virtual meetings must face several communication challenges which may easily lead to an ineffective meeting.
https://www.hotelzon.com/sv/2017/04/virtual-meetings-not-alternative-corporate-travel/

2. The Real Cost of a Bad Corporate Meeting or Event

Meetings are important in forging relationships, sharing important information, and educating team members and pumping up key stakeholders. Unfortunately, that's where the similarities end. In some cases, the host gets everything right; in others, a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach leads to diminished impact. What is the actual cost of these failures?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshlinkner/2015/06/24/the-real-cost-of-a-bad-corporate-meeting-or-event/

3. Five Things That Frequently Go Wrong at Events (and How to Stop Them)

Sometimes, no matter how well organized or planned an event is, things go wrong. Whether it's technology that lets you down, or simple human error, these things just happen from time to time. The solution is to be aware of what can go wrong (the obvious things, at least) and to make a contingency plan in case they do.
https://www.eventbrite.ie/blog/5-things-that-frequently-go-wrong-at-events-and-how-to-stop-them-ds00/

4. The Psychology of Meeting Attendees: What to Do If Things Go Wrong

Very often it is no one's "fault" when things do not turn out as first expected: unforeseen things occur: technology fails. Speakers forget to poll the audience. The caterer underestimates the voracity of your group's hunger. All stories we can identify with. Regardless of fault, accountability is crucial to a successful client-attendee-planner relationship.
https://www.socialtables.com/blog/meeting-event-design/psychology-meeting-attendees-things-go-wrong/

5. Ten Commandments of Meeting

You've been sitting in the meeting for 93 minutes. It feels like 93 days. You're asking yourself, who's in charge here? How did all these reasonably well-intentioned people get so far out of whack? And, more to the point, how can this juggernaut be stopped? The only meetings that people wish had run longer are those magical ones that take place when lovers first set eyes upon one another. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your business meeting is that thrilling.
http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/ten_commandments.asp

6. Selecting and Working with Speakers

For many meetings, the speakers are the heart of the matter. The extent to which they convey the envisioned message might even, in some cases, be the single biggest determinant in whether the meeting is judged a success or failure. Planners who are involved in the entire process of finding, hiring and working with speakers have more factors to consider than a novice might suppose. Here's a step-by step guide.
https://www.dolcenorwalk.com/meetings/meeting-planner-guide/selecting-and-working-with-speakers/