But first, let’s spend a couple minutes on biz …

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AR, VR, AI … to many, it’s all alphabet soup. But to those of us involved in the corporate meetings and events industry, it’s the future. Exciting things are happening in technology and we wanted to top-line a few for you. Today, let’s focus on Virtual Reality (VR)…

The next best thing to being there

Virtual Reality (VR) has been around a while but has either been too “out there” or too pricey for many. That’s changing. Actually, cost of VR is coming down while functionality and application is on the rise. VR is rapidly changing the way we interact with our clients, select meeting and event venues, and execute program design.

With nothing more than a pair of VR goggles that work on Apple and Android platforms, as well as an associated app, you can actually tour a venue in vivid, 3-D clarity and detail from the comfort of your own home or office. (Please, not while driving!) This comes in very handy when time is tight and you simply can’t break away to do a site visit but really need to nail down the perfect space for your upcoming corporate meeting or event.

Tradeshow Managers, especially those exhibiting automobiles or heavy equipment, can cut down the enormous footprint they traditionally have needed to hawk their wares, in favor of VR stations that whisk booth attendees away to the autobahn in a sleek new sports car, or to the middle of an Iowa cornfield aboard a new, state-of-the-art tractor.

VR also allows meeting and event planners to create a virtual meeting or event space, including stage set, lighting configurations, seating arrangements, room décor, etc. then share it with a client on the other side of the country. It wasn’t too long ago, renderings drawn with colored ink pens were considered de regueur. Clients are now able to react to space designs, tweak this, move that, add or reduce seating and – voila! – you’ve got an approval.

This big ol’ world of ours is getting smaller every day … and VR is an awesome way to bridge the miles, reduce time and costs, and expedite the approval process. It’s sort of like being immersed in your own real-life video game!

Ten Things About Julie Thompson-Whelan You Probably Didn’t Know …

• I live in Suwanee, GA, about 30 miles NE of Atlanta though I’m originally a Carolina Girl (South Carolina, that is). I earned my B.A. degree with a concentration in Hospitality & Tourism from College of Charleston and, while I love my alma mater, I’m a huge Clemson University fan.
• I’ve been married nearly six years and I still think he’s awesome.
• With the exception of fine folks like you, I sorta prefer the company of dogs to people,  especially chihuahuas which I rescue (#adoptdontshop). At least chihuahuas have an excuse for yapping incessantly!
• Speaking of dogs … I actually shared a dog for a decade with my best friend.  And as a total side note, don’t ever ask a dog (who really isn’t a “good dog”) who’s on his deathbed to send you the lovely, sweet and kind dog you’re supposed to have. I ended up with one that made me realize the first one wasn’t so bad, after all.
• “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy …” This “Bess” intends to spend as much time cruisin’ the waters of Lake Lanier on my jet ski or aboard our boat during the summer months.
• I hate raw onions and weeds … which, in my mind are one in the same.
• It’s one thing to have younger sisters but my two “little sisters” are 16 and 18 years younger than me!
• I’m on the Production Team at Gwinnett Church (#forgwinnett).
• I’ve reviewed and edited more than 3,000 slides for clients this year … and it’s only June!
• ¡En agosto, me voy a Cuba! (In August, I’m headed to Cuba!) And I fully plan to blog the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly about my experience. Please don’t ask me to smuggle home some cigars. I prefer life outside a jail cell. (I mean, they don’t allow chihuahuas or jet skis in jail and they’d probably make me eat onions while pulling weeds!)
• (Kenneth Jones, my boss, made me include this): “Julie’s personal commitment to quality  is obvious in everything she does. Her extra effort, dedication, insights and opinions are all extremely valuable to the successful undertakings of the dynami group. She’s our Chief Get-It-Done Officer!”

Me, again (Julie).

If you look closely, you can see me raising a pint of Summer Shandy in your honor; wishing all of you a safe and celebratory Fourth of July holiday and an absolutely awesome summer!

CONCLUSION

Virtual Reality (VR) is an awesome way to bridge the miles, reduce time and costs, and expedite the approval process. It’s like being immersed in your own real-life video game!

Till next time,

The post A Little About Event Tech, A Little About Julie Thompson-Whelan appeared first on dynami.

I’ve been to The Masters three times previously but not since 2006 and I understand from friends who’ve attended the tournament more recently that the golf club with the reputation for clinging to tradition like a mother does a child, has actually made enormous changes since my last visit. There’s a luxurious, new Media Center considered the finest in all of sports, additional and ample nearby patron parking, improved viewing areas and, of course, there’s constant tinkering with the course itself. Yet, the changes are always so subtle and so seamlessly logical that you probably think they’ve been there all along.

Billy Payne, the recently retired Chairman of Augusta National, says the club and its zealously guarded membership make these improvements and enhancements out of “the principle of constant improvement. We know no other way.”

Undoubtedly, many of you reading this blog have hosted guests, or been a hosted guest, at The Masters and can appreciate how indescribably special the grounds, the event, the staff, and the overall experience truly are. GOLF Magazine writer Michael Rosenberg wrote in an April 2017 article, “The Masters is special for many reasons, but the biggest is this: It is designed to be special. Special is the driving force. For more than 80 years, the members have done everything they can to make the tournament stand out, from the concessions to the limited (TV) commercial time to the green jackets that their wives would not let them wear to any other social occasion. A lot of sporting events produce revenue; only a special event would take pride in turning down revenue.”

This got me thinking about what lessons those of us involved in corporate meeting and event planning could learn from Augusta National Golf Club and its signature event often called “a tradition unlike any other”.

Here are five that I hope will inspire you to constantly strive to enhance and tinker with your corporate meetings to make them special and memorable in their own way …

Southern Hospitality … on Steroids!

Gracious hospitality with a Southern flair is as abundant at Augusta National as lush green fairways, pimento cheese sandwiches, and $4 beers. From the moment you turn off Washington Road or Berckman’s Road into the rolling, grassy parking area, you are greeted by smiling, genuinely friendly volunteers who keep your vehicle moving constantly until it stops in the closest available parking space. As you leave your car and pass other volunteers, they greet you with a cheery “Good Morning, enjoy The Masters!” This continues as you pass through the security gates, into the merchandise shop, at concessions stands, and onto the grounds where polite marshals gently guide you along. It’s obvious they’re as happy to be there as you are.

LESSON: Make every aspect of your corporate meeting or event friendly, warm and inviting – from the ground shuttle staff at airports to the dedicated registration desk at the hotel, during breaks, at activities, from presenters onstage, during luggage pull, etc. Smiles come cheap but are worth more than you can imagine!

 “The Toughest Ticket in Sports!” 

For most of its 80+ years, The Masters has been considered “the toughest ticket in sport” for its elite field of competitors, magical setting, history loaded with defining moments, and the international demand that far surpasses the available supply of series badges and daily tickets.

LESSON: Make your event a hot commodity. Design and execute it at such a high level that people count down the days to it. Whether you’re an association trying to lure attendees or an in-house corporate group with a “command performance” audience, infuse your corporate event with the energy of a rock & roll concert. Ask anybody who’s ever attended Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce event each year in San Francisco. They’ll understand.

Emergency Evacuation Planning

A friend of mine who attends The Masters every year on Wednesday of tournament week shared his experience from last year. He left Atlanta at 4 o’clock in the morning to make the three-hour drive to Augusta, attended an association’s annual meeting in the Media Center shortly after breakfast, then walked onto the grounds to take in some golf. One minute later, the mandatory evacuation sirens sounded due to nearby lightning. Two hours and 45 minutes later (spent waiting in his car), the gates reopened, he walked onto the course and, one minute later, the sirens sounded again, signaling a second lightning-related evacuation and the end of the day’s activities. Despite six hours of driving and nearly three hours cooling his heels in his car for a

mere two minutes on the course, he told me how amazing it was to see so many people so quickly and orderly dispatched from the grounds and to a place of safety. Staffers knew exactly what to say and do in order to move people along smoothly and efficiently, and to ensure the evacuation didn’t feel like a rough herding of cattle.

LESSON: We all understand the importance of emergency contingency planning but, like personal estate planning or pruning bushes, do we ever really get around to it? Time to rededicate yourself to the development of contingency plans and, just as importantly, take the time to educate your staff so they know the plan like the backs of their hands – because that may be all they have to refer to in an emergency situation.

Lines, Lines, Everywhere a Line ….

You’re thirsty and hungry and just want to grab an ice-cold “Coke-cola” and a BBQ sandwich but the line at The Masters concession stand is so long. Or, did you promise all your friends who fronted you money that you’d come back with a treasured Masters golf shirt, hat, key chain or some other memento for them? But, jeez, look at that line that serpentines outside the merchandise shop. It’s so, so long. But wait, it’s moving right along. That guy up there in the green shirt was way back here five minutes ago and now he’s two steps shy of the entry door. Things aren’t always as they seem at Augusta National … and for good reason.

LESSON: Just as Augusta National excels at moving people along by staffing, staffing and staffing some more, make sure your onsite meeting and event staff is far beyond a skeletal crew. I know that carries with it budget ramifications but the fact that your guests’ needs will be immediately met, and staffers won’t be unduly stretched and stressed is worth the investment. That smile thing I mentioned a few paragraphs north of here …? Yeah, people working consecutive 20-hour days aren’t likely to do a whole lot of smiling or sharp thinking, and that greatly diminishes the guest/attendee experience.

Honor Tradition … but Keep Evolving

Every Thursday morning of Masters Week at precisely 7:40AM, The Masters holds its ceremonial opening tee shots on hole No.1 (nicknamed Tea Olive as every hole at Augusta National is named for a flower or shrub that was once grown on the grounds of Fruitlands Nursery which is now where Augusta National sits). Golf legends Jack Nicklaus, the all-time leader with six Masters Green Jackets, and Gary Player, who owns three, will each stripe a ball down No.1 fairway and current Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley will declare: “The 2018 Masters has officially begun. Have fun, everybody!”

LESSON: Tradition counts. Honor those icons – people, products, company milestones, etc. – at your corporate meetings and events while quietly working to tweak and tinker with the event from year to year to ensure it doesn’t get old, it only gets better.

The bottom line: If you’re going to do something, do it right. Make it special. Make it memorable. Make it the gold standard. In short, make it … Masterful!

CONCLUSION

The Masters Golf Tournament is a shining example of fastidious attention to detail and passionate desire to deliver a world-class experience for its patrons. Corporate meeting and event planners can learn a lot from The Masters!

Cheers,

Related Posts

• It’s the Little Things that are Masterful

The post 5 Lessons Event Planners Can Learn From The Masters Golf Tournament appeared first on dynami.

If not, you should seriously consider taking a disciplined Strategic Meetings Management Program (SMMP) approach.

First labeled by the Global Business Travel Association, an SMMP factors in everything from spend, selection of vendors, purchasing of supplies, contract negotiation, alignment with your organization’s stated business objectives, critical timeline development, monitoring budget and activities at pre-determined intervals, etc. Aside from precise planning and (hopefully) flawless execution of an engaging, info-rich event, it also includes follow-up measurement to quantify success or, yikes!, non-success.

I once worked a program for a major manufacturer of outboard marine engines. The client planned to bring its 900+ independent dealer network to an expensive coastal resort, unveil a new product, and demo it on the water. All while wining, dining and enjoying social activities (including a spectacular fireworks display) over the course of 4-5 days. Needless to say, it was going to be a very pricey program.

Being extremely cost-conscious, the client wanted to know how he would determine, post-event, whether or not the program was a success. We worked with him and identified a benchmark of taking a minimum 900 onsite orders for the new outboard engine. That would be the break-even point. When all was said and done, there were more than 1,500 orders taken and the client could rest well at night because his multi-million-dollar program had produced many more millions in incremental revenue.

We helped him navigate his way to success by utilizing an SMMP approach. Speaking of navigating …

Imagine you’re a sailor with a faraway, beyond-the-horizon destination in mind. You don’t just motor safely out of the harbor (known as “flying the iron spinnaker”) then point your bow in the general direction of the port you need to reach before hoisting actual sails. There’s much more to it than that.

• Have you factored in weather conditions, including wind, rain, seas, and prevailing currents?
• How will you safely cross shipping lanes where huge, vortex-generating cargo ships are found?
• Are you operating from the most recent navigational charts?
• Have you provisioned adequately (food, supplies, water, etc.) with a bit extra in the event delays occur?
• Have you crewed appropriately; hiring only those hands that are skilled, experienced and up to the physical and mental demands of the passage?
• Have you done a thorough safety check before launching to ensure your vessel is truly ship-shape?
• Have you filed a “float plan” (sailor’s version of an aviator’s “flight plan” that identifies departure date/time, course to be taken, planned arrival dates/times at varying intervals, ETA at your final destination, etc.) with authorities in case of an emergency?

As with most things in life — homeownership, parenting, career management, relationships and, yes, even strategically managed meetings and events – there’s a romantic notion of things and then there’s that pesky reality. Oftentimes, they don’t overlap.

Point is, you must plan, and plan meticulously, if you’re going to execute the program with back-end precision and the greatest possible return on your meetings and event investment (“investment” being the key word).

If you do your due diligence, you will succeed in reaching that faraway port in the most time- and cost-efficient manner possible even though certain things will always be out of your control. But when they occur, you’ve already thought through matters and are able to navigate them expertly. If you’re lackluster in your planning and preparation, you will likely zig-zag your way towards your goal — maybe reaching it, maybe not.

Here’s a half-dozen tips for protecting your meeting and event investment and maximizing its return (some are “Duh!”-level obvious while others you may not have considered):

1. Befriend your procurement person. While some bristle at the seemingly confining nature of working with procurement experts, they may be the person who makes you look like a hero to your boss/client. Explain everything you know about your program to the procurement person – budget, goals, timing, preferred vendors, success metrics, etc. –because they’re your designated shopper and advisor. They can get you the best available talent, hard goods, venue, etc. at a price you might not otherwise have been able to negotiate. When you truly partner with procurement, you have the opportunity to co-author a great success story.
2. Get a handle on the facts – every last one of ‘em!  You wouldn’t walk into a potentially life-threatening situation – in this case, a potential career-threatening scenario – without knowing everything there is to know about circumstances. The devil is always in the details so be fully aware of everything related to the program. This enables you to make informed judgment calls and decisions and to help keep your program on time, on budget, and on strategy.
3. Build alliances. You need to get all key constituents onboard with your thinking and your plan, not to mention your budget. Make sure your executives know and understand the “why” behind what you’re planning to do and gain their buy-in. Demonstrate to them how your recommended approach will deliver directly to achieving stated business objectives.
4. Speak the right language. Every audience is different due to age, gender, mentality, attitude, setting, etc. You need to understand how they like to be communicated with and tailor your communication style, program elements, and messaging to have the greatest impact. All audiences want to leave a meeting or event knowing they are more knowledgeable, motivated, and equipped for having attended and taken part.
5. Implement processes, where necessary. This allows you stay on-track and to ensure policies and procedures are being followed. But don’t overdo it or you’ll spend the vast majority of your time tracking and monitoring, leaving little time or space for creative brainstorming and innovation.
6. Provide “weather updates”. Virtually all of us are weather-watchers, whether it’s checking smartphone apps, tuning in to radio and or TV, or simply looking to the skies for a reading. We must be equally diligent when designing and producing an SMMP. Circumstances and conditions change, and we must course-correct when and where necessary. If you’re not paying close attention, project/budget/timeline “creep” will occur and your likelihood of delivering a successful program on (or under) budget will be diminished. Make sure everyone knows exactly where things stand at all times.

In conclusion, if you have an upcoming meeting or event and like the idea of taking an SMMP approach, we would be happy to sit and consult with you at no cost. We’re only a phone call or email away and look forward to hearing from you.

TAKE AWAY

Implementing a Strategic Meetings Management Program approach to your meetings and events enhances the likelihood of achieving greater ROI on your meeting spend.

Happy New Year and May Success Be Yours in 2018 … and beyond!

Cheers,

The post Is 2018 the year you take an SMMP approach to your meetings and events? appeared first on dynami.

By now, we’ve all heard of (and seen, yikes!) the mind-blowing string of customer service, ahem, missteps involving airlines and travelers. United Airlines’ oust-a-paying-passenger incident, American Airlines’ yank-a-stroller-and-strike-a-Mom scene, All Nippon Airways’ duke-it-out-in-coach Texas Cage Match. And in just the past few days, an inflight fight on Southwest Airlines, and a brawl in the terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

And the list goes mercilessly on, giving all-new meaning to “fight or flight”.

“I’ll be your Flight (Non)Attendant …”

I even took time recently to pen a complaint letter to the Customer Service department of an airline I fly on a regular basis after personally experiencing a takeoff-to-landing litany of rudeness from the cabin crew I’d never seen before.

This one was a tad tamer and less felonious than the above fiascos but it did involve basic customer-service “fails” such as: no eye contact, greeting or smiles at boarding, flight attendants snapping at passengers, flight attendants arguing amongst themselves, flight attendants criticizing passengers openly and audibly, flight attendants criticizing airline equipment, flight attendants not being what flight attendants should be: Safety stewards and hospitable hosts as you journey hither and yon, often at great expense.

(Having said that, the abhorrent ones we see and hear about in the sensation-fueled news media are the few bad apples that taint the entire barrel of hard-working professionals. They are definitely the exception, not the rule.)

But that’s not what I want to address today. What I do want to talk about is turbulence of a different sort.
This turbulence doesn’t involve emotional headwinds, fistfights, finger-pointing, or passengers being forcibly removed though it does involve airlines. And Mother Nature. And the unpredictable failure of various and sundry mechanical parts.

It’s inevitable in the meetings and events business — which involves significant air travel, living half your life in hotel rooms, and dining in out-of-town restaurants more often than grilling out at home – that you’ll encounter this type of scenario.

(An aside: “You have such a glamorous life!”, they say. But things aren’t always as they seem though I still love what I do.)

Recently, I was managing a corporate incentive travel program for a client that involved about 140 top-performing sales professionals/business owners and their guests. Among countless others, I had two flights – both originating in a western city (that shall remain nameless because it would give away the carrier) – inbounding to Charlotte where both groups would connect on a single flight to the proverbial sun & fun of Aruba which bills itself as One Happy Island.

Well, Mother Nature wasn’t one happy girl that day. At least not out west.

One group experienced weather delays but still managed to make their connection by the narrowest of margins. Whew! Meanwhile, my other group was delayed by a mechanical and wasn’t so lucky; looking at an unplanned, overnight stay in Charlotte and apparently lopping one night off the luxury vacation trip they’d worked so hard to earn.

The airline wanted the stranded group to be immediately flown to Miami and overnighted there because there were no seats available on the CLT-AUA route the next morning but there were seats available on flights originating in Miami the next day. Thus, their outbound journey ended up being Dallas-Charlotte-Miami-Aruba. Glamorous, right?

Sailors will tell you, “You can’t direct the wind but you can adjust the sails.” The same is true whether you’re navigating the Seven Seas or the Heavens above. “Stuff” happens. It’s a fact. It’s how you deal with the inevitable “stuff” that matters.

I share this with you because I want to emphasize the importance of utilizing a corporate-focused travel agent who is a true travel professional vs. a basic travel agency (in-house or otherwise) whose prime motivation is transactions and the $30-50 fee they earn for every passenger booked. Corporate travel agents who focus primarily on corporate incentive travel programs are 100% dedicated to delivering a superior guest experience every step of the way.

At dynami, we only use a trusted corporate travel agent, Uniglobe VIP, when managing incentives or other programs involving air travel. There are simply too many potential pitfalls in an age of terrorism concerns, much stricter safety measures, unpredictable TSA lines, frustrated fliers, and airline employees that too often forget their assigned roles and devolve into something from Elm Street.

Uh-oh, something’s up …

When it seemed both of my groups were at risk of not making the Charlotte-Aruba connection, my travel gal Debbie was already burning up phone lines and the internet trying to get our group booked on the next available flight, or re-routed so they arrived in Aruba as close as possible to the originally scheduled time. As I mentioned, one group made the connection but, had they not, Contingency Plan B was already solidly in place. The other group, of course, had to resort to the Plan B.

The alternative would’ve been to rely solely on the airline to handle re-bookings which would’ve meant a mad-dash to the nearest ticket counter to stand in line with 150 of your closest friends, or furiously dialing cell phones, or tapping madly on a tablet or laptop to get rebooked online.

Maybe you’d be satisfied, maybe not.

When hard-working folks have earned a luxury vacation, they move into kicked-back, relaxed mode once they settle into their business class seats and take their first sip of champagne. The real world and its associated hassles is the last thing they care to deal with when they’re in a “pamper me” mindset.
And that’s the way it should be!

They certainly don’t want to do the rebooking, rerouting, reorganizing and re-everything they have to do in their normal business travels when bad weather, broken parts or missed connections occur. This was a well-earned vacation, after all.

On the ground in Aruba, we were also aware that dinner reservations at the Aruba property needed to be made well in advance. (There is no walk-up, “Smith, party of four” and a 20-minute wait in the bar. No reservation, no dinner. Period.) We immediately reworked their dinner reservations, adjusted the seating time in accordance with their new ETA the following day, rescheduled ground transportation from the airport in Aruba to the resort property, and rescheduled the off-site excursion they would have missed.

All’s Well that Ends Well … Right?

The point is, somebody was working madly behind the scenes to “adjust the sails” so our travelers could stay as close to their “pamper me” mindset as possible. And it worked. Despite the crooked route to One Happy Island, those delayed were still jovial and in high spirits when they finally arrived because they knew their needs were being handled.

When “stuff” hit the fan, our corporate incentive travel agent went into what I call “service recovery mode” vs. rolling the dice and hoping the airlines would do the right thing.

And because they’d lost a night on the front end, we worked things out so their stay would be extended an extra night. Nobody got short-changed and, yes, all’s well that ends well.

Well … almost.

In a decidedly cruel twist of fate, three of the couples were again delayed by a mechanical on the return leg of the incentive; taking off five hours late and having to overnight in Charlotte before hopping a final flight home that arrived at dawn on Monday morning … just about the time they were expected to be back on the job pounding the pavement.

Some would call this a miserable experience, others would simply roll with the punches (fortunately my group did). But trust me, without the expert knowledge and dedication of a corporate travel agent, who is a true travel professional, pulling strings behind the scenes, the experience would’ve been far worse.

Keep that in mind next time airlift is part of your program.

CONCLUSION

For your next corporate incentive travel program, lean on the expertise and dedication of a corporate travel agent, who is a true travel professional, to deliver a superior guest experience.

Until next time!

Related Posts:

• It’s All About the Destination – 1st Quarter
• Best Incentive Program Destinations for April, May, and June
• Top Destinations for July, August, and September Incentive Programs
• Unique Incentive Programs for October, November, and December

The post Flight Turbulence Isn’t Always Confined To The Skies! appeared first on dynami.

I call it the everlasting quest for the perfect meeting.

The article first appeared in The Washington Post, entitled Google Got It Wrong. The Open-Office Trend Is Destroying the Workplace. Author Lindsey Kaufman puts forth the premise that supposedly cool, new work environments – those free of cubicles, walls, doors and dedicated offices — maybe aren’t panning out as business leaders had intended.

The trend began around 2010 in Silicon Valley and moved across the country to the East Coast. According to the International Facility Management Association, approximately 70% of U.S. offices today have instituted elements of the open office in some form or fashion.

Walls have been torn down, partitions lowered or eliminated, cubes jettisoned, doors removed, and private offices repurposed as first-come, first-served “quiet zones” that employees either have to book well in advance or make a mad dash for the moment one becomes available. And with no assigned, lockable workspace, employees have to haul work-related items to and from the office each day. As a result, there’s virtually no opportunity for personalizing your space with photos, knick-knacks, etc. (Can you say “sterile”?)

Further, many businesses have switched from traditional desks to long, communal tables with a full complement of power outlets and USB inputs running down the middle so everyone can gather in a spirit of fellowship and “the gang’s all here”. (Most likely with one ear bud in, one hanging out and eyes focused forward on a laptop screen.)

Some companies have gone so far as to shutter centralized offices in favor of purchasing their employees memberships to open-to-the-paying-public workshare or co-working spaces. They have cool names like Roam (Atlanta), Oficio (Boston), Gangplank (Chandler, AZ), parisoma (San Francisco), Flip-Work (Los Angeles) and Blank Spaces (LA and Santa Monica). There’s even one called 645 Croswell (E. Grand Rapids, MI) that is more cottage than cubicle because it’s, literally, a home converted to contemporary workspace. Monthly workshare memberships range from $50 to more than $500 per user.

For some, co-working spaces are cool and they work. For others, it’s a sweet compromise between traditional office and work-from-home settings. But for many others, the coffee-shop vibe and constant in-and-out of users, along with competition for precious meeting space, is simply too much.

The intent of “open offices” was certainly noble …

Elbow-to-elbow seating = people putting heads together, right?

Open spaces = open minds, right?

Open minds = innovative thinking, right?

Innovative thinking = greater productivity and higher profits, right?

Well, no, no, no and no, it appears.

Airy openness and a kumbaya, feel-good approach may work for Millennials and others at casual-dining restaurants, java stops, even some stores (think Apple Store Genius Bar) but even Millennials are discovering they, too, need space and privacy at work — away from distractions — when they’re expected to produce at a high level and a deadline looms.

Yes, they may have the opportunity to develop stronger friendships with co-workers but productivity and creativity too often go in the tank when constant chitter-chatter chips away at focused concentration. More seasoned workers who had grown accustomed to assigned cubes – or better yet, dedicated offices with actual doors – are finding the “new normal” painfully abnormal.

One study found more than 30% of workers complained of distractions such as noise and lack of visual privacy. The Washington Post article goes on to say another study concluded, “the loss of productivity due to noise distraction was doubled in open-plan offices compared to private offices”. They also didn’t like sitting in a human Petri dish when germ season rolled into town.

To some, it’s become intolerable.

Another study, conducted by Oxford Economics, says workers typically need one 15-minute break per hour to keep their creative juices flowing and productivity up. But who wants to take eight breaks in a typical workday and risk having others keep score and complain to who-knows-whom?

As we all know, efficiency is everything when it comes to running a successful business – time efficiency, operational efficiency, and cost-efficiency. Sorry, Google, Yahoo, eBay, Facebook, American Express, Goldman Sachs, even former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s City Hall and many, many others, your heart may have been in the right place when you adopted the open-office concept but your foresight wasn’t. A move intended to stimulate creativity, boost productivity and increase efficiency (and, by the way, minimize overhead by reducing square footage) has apparently gone … splat!

So, why is this Washington Post article relevant to those of us working in the meetings & events industry? Well, we’ll get into that in Installment 2 which will be posted on Tuesday, February 13th. I’ll share eight tips for creating an engaging and memorable “open” meeting or event.

CONCLUSION

Not everything goes according to plan. Just ask business leaders who adopted the open office trend. What seemed like a great idea at the time has apparently backfired. There are lessons to be learned from this situation that can be applied to your next meeting or event. We’ll get into those lessons in Installment 2, coming February 14th.

Related Post: Eternal Quest for the Perfect Meeting: Learning from the Open Office Flop

Until then, cheers!

P.S. Only two weeks ‘til Valentine’s Day. Plan now so you both’ll be smiling later!

The post Open Office Trends & The Quest For The Perfect Meeting appeared first on dynami.