What is Strategic Meetings Management?

Moderated by Sharon Bannister, our Head of Sales & Account Management, Meetings and Events, around 50 people joined the Teams webinar.

With Paul Hannam of De Vere and Melanie Newman of PwC involved in the discussions, delegates took part in various polls along the way.

The first one, ‘How would you rate your current understanding on Strategic Meetings Management’ revealed ‘SMM who?’, 38% said they had a good understanding but want to learn more while 6% said they were a total pro.

And poll two asked ‘Does your organisation have a specific meetings policy or meetings mentioned within the travel policy’.

A grand total of 34% said no, 59% said they had a travel and meetings policy and 7% said they had a meetings policy only.

The discussion throughout the session, which lasted just over an hour, was wide-ranging and included looking at key trends.

De Vere’s Paul Hannam said:

“I would say the one thing that I would encourage everyone to look at is who are your delegates? The actual delegate requirement nowadays is very different. I go back years ago and everyone used to say, ‘let's do bacon sandwiches on arrival’. I don't think I've seen that nowadays and I think that’s because the delegate demographic has changed. For us it's encouraging, say you know around neurodiversity, quiet spaces, especially if you're running big events - I think people are looking at that more."

Paul goes onto talk about the topic of food is proving to be one of the most polarising discussions, with a significant push towards plant-based menus driven by sustainability goals. The industry is actively exploring ways to reduce carbon footprints and water consumption, acknowledging that these are deeply personal and emotive subjects for delegates.

Alongside this focus on environmental responsibility, Melanie Newman of PWC highlights a strong trend toward more creative, experiential events. She notes that the "hangover from Covid" has underscored the importance of meaningful content, as businesses question the value of employees being away from their desks.

This drive for impactful content is influencing event formats, with a growing shift towards shorter, more intensive half-day sessions run consecutively, allowing teams to participate efficiently while maximising their time out of the office.

Customer Success Executive, Marie Lindsay, then gave a demo of our award-winning, in-house tech, MeetingsPro.

Account manager Charlotte Lilleyman, who planned the webinar, said afterwards:

“Your engagement was invaluable, and we hope you found the content informative and that it provided you with some points to reflect on in terms of next steps to build a successful strategic meetings program.”

The session finished with a final poll – ‘Would you benefit from more information on how we can support your meetings spend?’

With 76% saying ‘yes’, we’re looking forward to collaborating with our clients to ensure we help build even more successful events for the min the future.

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