From our survey in May of this year, 77% of association leaders will still offer virtual attendance to their members for their continuing education.  When providing speakers for local meetings, and state and national education 66% of leaders said they would offer virtual speakers to save travel costs for speakers, 55% to reduce the climate impact caused by speaker travel, 88% to expand the educational opportunities to members and groups, and 77% of leaders will welcome virtual speaker participation to meet the safety and health concerns of speakers.  The survey response most telling concerned feeling safe to return to large event activities:

What size event will you feel comfortable attending in person?

76%     10-25 people

23%     26-60 people

1%      61-100 people

0%       101-250 people

0%       251-500 people

0%       500+ people

Successful leaders need to adopt a “new normal.”  That new normal includes the opportunities many groups discovered in being able to provide national and international speakers to their members.  Many groups welcomed members from outside their county and state due to the caliber of speakers the group sponsored.  Educators are not limited to just our county, state, region, or country.  With virtual options local, state, and national events can provide high caliber speakers from across the country, and the globe, and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time.  The speaker, as well as the conference attendees, health, travel risks and constraints must be recognized.  At the time of this writing Canada still has restrictions on US travelers to Canada.  Not until August 9^th does the 3 night hotel “quarantine” cease. 

In a survey of event planners by Encore they found “more than one-third of planners have adopted a hybrid approach in the past six months and nearly 60% plan to use hybrid going forward,” for their events and association education.

Organizations will decide to participate on-site at events on a per case basis.  Business owners who have been vendors in the past have to weigh the health risks to their employees who work a vendor table: Are the vaccine rates low in a state, is the event indoors, are masks required or not required, how comfortable do the staff feel attending the event, etc.   The return on investment from an exhibit table or vendor table at an event has always been determined by the financial return on investment (ROI), but now the ROI also includes health costs to the staff or volunteers. 

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development surveyed national and international insurance carriers highlighted at the beginning of the pandemic that “  . . .few companies have business interruption coverage that is likely to respond  . . . exposing the existence of an important protection gap for some pandemic-related business interruption losses.” 

According to Economics Observatory, “The multi-faceted nature of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that it has affected many lines of business where there is insurance coverage. The affected areas include, but are not limited to, business interruption (for example, disruption to supply chains and inability to operate as normal due to government measures), trade credit insurance (cover for businesses if customers who owe money for products or services delay payment or do not pay at all), travel, cyber liability (due to increased working from home) and event cancellation.”

Very few state and national groups even secure event insurance, and of course never thought they would have to cancel an event, even due to weather.  With climate change, impacts to events, and the subsequent vendor and exhibit tables, registration fees, and venue deposits and costs, will be at risk.  For the future, an event must place insurance as part of their conference expense.

The negative media coverage resulting in mass illnesses, whether from food, the “basic” flu, or Covid-19 will cause years of damage to an event.  See these two articles about an event, and a community group that became “super spreader events” even with precautions.

Poor service by a conference venue, such that the mention of the city causes others to also groan with dissatisfaction and bad memories, haunts many an event.  Bad memories linger in attendees, speakers, and exhibitors.  Add to that a low vaccine rate, and the looming winter flu season, and event planners are setting themselves up for a highly problematic experience for all.  If your event becomes a super-spreader event, no events for the industry will ever be held in that city in organizational memory after that.

Humbled and pained’: Calif. tech exec’s indoor conference becomes COVID superspreader

After Its Superspreader Rehearsal, A Community Choir Struggles To Sing Together Again

Association Now offers four tips for event:

“It all starts with safety protocols. Even as the risk of contracting COVID-19 decreases, attendees remain cautious. They expect cleanliness and social distancing protocols to be in place and want to be reassured that the locations where they’re staying and meeting are adhering to them.

Secondly, the pandemic has made teleconferencing the norm. Attendees have become more comfortable with that experience, and some may even prefer it–after all, it’s more convenient and less expensive than traveling. Coupled with the fact that there are still many people who don’t feel safe attending meetings in person, offering both options–to attend in-person and via teleconference–is a smart strategy. This hybrid offering is now part of a new normal that attendees both expect and appreciate.

Third, outdoor spaces are now preferable for meetings, so destinations with open-air offerings have a leg up. This goes for all gathering places, from facilities to after-hours venues. Being able to offer that fresh air is sure to increase attendance, help attendees feel safer and enjoy themselves more.

Lastly, now more than ever, events need to offer something new and unique. There needs to be a hook or some wow factor because there are still many people on the fence about attending in-person events.” Moreover, events with experiences that are more effective in person, such as teambuilding excursions that build motivation and camaraderie in a way that teleconferencing can’t, are sure to lure more attendees and have a bigger impact.”

Even as vaccination rates rise, health concerns and safety protocols will continue to be important for many event attendees.  Washing of hands, and hand cleanliness should continue to be promoted in large groups.  Having more physical space in which humans can interact is healthier over-all.  Vendor areas that are human traffic jams should have been, and are unhealthy and unsafe for the attendees and the vendors.  Food service buffets have raised health concerns for decades.  If the event is health conscious the attendees will value it, and be willing to pay more for an event that implements health standards for every aspect of the event. 

Joanne Brooks of Successful Meetings Start Here offers “Top tips for reducing contagion and keeping attendees safe at face-to-face meetings,”

1. “Negotiate a flexible cancellation policy with the venue, in case local levels of Covid-19 are high and it is unsafe to hold the event. You will need to determine how much of a refund will be provided and how close to the event date it will be offered. 
2. Require attendees to complete temperature checks and show proof of vaccination or provide a negative Covid-19 test result. Covid-19 sniffing dogs, which have been used at airports and some events, are another option.
3. Make sure that the event staff, speakers and vendors have also been tested or vaccinated. Provide a separate set-up area just for the staff to reduce contact. 
4. Consider closing the meeting rooms for 30 minutes between sessions for proper cleaning and disinfection. Be sure to sanitize all microphones and equipment between speakers.
5. Make air-flow adjustments, such as opening windows and using ozone air purifiers, to minimize the risk of contagion.
6. Use digital scanners for contactless registration. It’s also a good idea to invest in contact-tracing technology, so you are prepared in case there are any outbreaks on site.
7. Add one-way aisles and schedule visiting times for the exhibit hall to control traffic. 
8. Implement a no-handshake policy and use digital business cards, so attendees can safely exchange contact information.
9. Use server-attended stations and staggered meal times to avoid crowding and create a safe food and beverage experience. You can also offer to-go containers, so attendees can eat in their rooms if they are more comfortable doing so.”

Leaders providing member association education will ensure the longevity of their local, state, and national association only if they embrace the “new normal.”  Take your feedback from your audience and make the changes to protect, educate, inspire,  and grow your audience.

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We need to put the human experience first, not the maximization of profit.  We need to make cleanliness, safety, and access at the forefront.  Some of the simplest things have actually supported a positive experience, like making a reservation for a swim lane at the pool.  You know you will get to swim and be able to complete your workout without interruption or a crowded swim lane.  Even following a “defined traffic pattern” in a grocery store is safer for everyone: parents with kids, persons with disabilities, and really all of us distracted while shopping.

Stores have never been cleaner since every touched surface is being wiped down between customers.  I have really appreciated the grocery carts being cleaned. Pre-Covid I saw my grocery store clean its shopping carts once a year in the parking lot with a power washer.  I want the daily cleaning of grocery carts to continue post pandemic, please!

A number of changes made during the pandemic, like historical societal changes, benefit not just one part of the population.  Curb-side service for retail and groceries should continue for the immuno-suppressed, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and busy parents.  It is convenient for the customer, and the store continues to be able to serve all customers.

Businesses need to reexamine their footprint in case of another crisis.  How quickly can your business adapt to reach and serve your customers in a crisis (fire, health, weather, floods, etc.)? What is the amount of square footage needed by your business to be profitable?  How can you diversify your service and products to maintain and serve your customer base?  For a quality and healthy customer experience, and worker experience, should you crowd people into a small space just to make money?  For example, can you spread out the restaurant seating, providing more distance between tables, thus also making it safer for the wait staff to serve customers?  Customers will pay more for a pleasant, healthy, and safe place to eat.   Another thing I liked about health and safety changes was food preparation workers wearing masks, ensuring the food they were preparing was safe.

Access to buildings is important for all members of society, from the parent pushing their child in a stroller, to the skier who broke their leg, to the veteran who uses a wheelchair.  As society began cleaning every surface other humans touched, doors and door handles became a focal point.  While some accessible doors had a “button” you could push to open the door, that button too needed cleaned. Automatic doors are better, as they open for all.  The door companies should be marketing this upgrade.  Let’s make the majority of doors automatic doors so no one has to touch a door knob, and employees do not have to continually clean door knobs.

Member groups who hold monthly meetings have adjusted all year with virtual meetings and classes, and can continue that outreach.  As I blogged in March, the future of conferences will be a hybrid of online and onsite.  Offering online participation at member and educational activities and events even when on-site expands the participation options to members, keeps members safe during bad weather, if ill, or out of town.   Online participation options also allow a group to expand beyond a county, state, or region. It opens up the opportunity to bring in talented speakers from afar at less travel costs.  Speakers will appreciate the online option, as many have gotten used to and like presentations from home.  Conference presentations are so much more invigorating now for speakers without having to fly in a  cramped airplane, spending time and money to travel to the presentation, the travel costs to the speaker and the sponsoring group, and the potential impact upon the health of the speaker.  Whether speakers are virtual or on-site, they should be paid for their presentations.  A virtual presentation speaking fee should not be less than an on-site speaking fee.  The prep, research, time, and knowledge of the speaker are the same to create the presentation.  The event planner saves money by not having to pay the travel costs of speakers who are presenting virtually.

Vendors and exhibitors at conferences have a year of income to compare the  years spent at events and this past year not at events.  If business was sustained and improved without traveling to a conference, and paying for staff time and travel, why would they return to the “old way?”  The return on investment for vendors and exhibitors shows vendors, and event planners, the exhibitor/event planner relationship is overdue for change.  Vendors are tired of being charged high exhibitor rates, and get very little return on their investment.  Businesses will re-examine their conference participation, and event planners will have to adjust their pricing and add value to the exhibit fees.  The technology over this past year has begun to create virtual exhibit halls and expanded connections of vendors to attendees through technology.  Vendors are using technology that can be used on their own digital platforms as well as an event virtual vendor area.  Event planners will have to work with exhibitors to help them protect the health and safety of their employees, the attendees, and their bottom line.

What else would lead to a healthier, safer, considerate, resilient society?  I like:

• Six feet of distance between people in all lines: at the grocery store, retail store lines, airport lines, ticket lines, fast food lines, etc.
• Restrictions on the number of people permitted in buildings at one time, often posted per fire code; we need this for health safety as well.
• Six feet of distance between vendor tables and exhibits at events. And enough space in vendor areas that attendees can have a healthy space between other attendees.  (Hint: small hallways will no longer suffice for exhibit tables.)
• Gym showers cleaned after each use.
• Appointments to reserve a swimming lane at the pool.
• More space between airplane seats, theatre seats (I will pay more for a ticket if I have room for my entire body to comfortably utilize a seat).
• Regular mask wearing during the typical flu season.
• Windows that open in work places, schools, and meeting spaces for fresh air.
• HVAC system filters changed/cleaned more often to reduce the re-circulation of dust, viruses, etc. throughout the building.
• Reassessing the one-way traffic flow of humans at events and in facilities for convenience and health and safety.
• Food workers wearing facial masks while cooking food.
• Sustaining curb-side service for immuno-suppressed and persons with disabilities in retail and food service.
• Workers should participate in cleaning their own work space.  I do not want employers blithely “spraying disinfectants” throughout the work space, especially when no one has read the product label, and a disinfectant contains a fungicide.  I do not want to inhale fungicides.

As I look to return to events, conferences, and monthly member meetings, as a participant, speaker, and exhibitor, I will be seeking some of these changes for me and for the safety and health of fellow attendees.  All of us need to change how we interact with each other, with business, at events and social gatherings in order to be able to return to a social world.  When we experience another pandemic we will be better prepared to protect ourselves, our families, our members, our work, and our communities.

The post Changes to Keep As On-Site Educational and Member Meetings Return appeared first on Lead For Pollinators.