Meeting Planning – Even the professionals need to learn a lesson or two

Although it has been a while since I have blogged, I continue to be amazed at what I discover when traveling, attending meetings or just having dinner. Recently, I was fortunate to speak at both PCMA and MPI conferences. While there, I observed some things that still make me cringe. Now, before you think I am criticizing these great organizations, I am not. My purpose is educating the meeting professional as to things we can do to continue to improve in the risk management field. As those of you who have read my previous postings know, I am not going to simply point out issues without also giving you suggestions on how to avoid, minimize or eliminate these problems.

At every meeting where I have spoken in the last 12 months, I have given the same introductory remarks. These always show where the emergency exits are located, what to do if the power goes out and, most important, what to do if I or someone else in the room has an issue during the meeting. In neither of the conferences I mention above, not once during a general session or a keynote address, did the opening remarks contain any of that key information. MPI states that Risk Management is one of its core competencies and yet they, along with every other group, seem to disregard this basic step that would greatly help in an emergency situation.

How hard is it to provide 30 seconds of instruction to our attendees so that we demonstrate real care for their safety? If we are worried about that as much as we worry about food allergies or transportation, we would be doing what some of my lawyer friends call reasonable efforts to mitigate situations. I am not an attorney, but I do know that our profession is failing miserably when it comes to demonstrating the concern we profess to have for our clients, attendees, vendors, sponsors and speakers when we don’t give them the basics.

So how do we remedy this situation? First, every event needs to have someone who is responsible for the contingency planning/risk management aspects. That individual or individuals become responsible for implementing a standardized method of ensuring attendees, sponsors, clients and speakers all know emergency exits and what to do should there be an issue during a presentation. Second, our national organizations have to implement this strategy with their chapters. They need to ensure they are leading the way in risk management and not just giving passing mention to the issues.

As I walked the hallways and rooms during the two national conventions and during some of my smaller talks, I would hear from fellow speakers or attendees about some of the problems or issues they observed when it came to either risky situations or just typical disregard for safety or security. Here are a few that stuck in my mind:

According to an attendee at a recent conference, she was following a friend down the stairs when her friend’s foot caught between the railing and the stair. There was a panel that was several inches above the stair. Supposedly, the attendee’s heel slipped, her foot went under the panel and she fell. Luckily she did not sustain any serious injuries and was able to walk it off.

So what could have helped in this situation? The planning staff needs to use a site survey checklist that highlights things like tripping hazards, such as the one I just described. Once identified, if they cannot be fixed or changed, then the staff needs to convey the issue so that every member involved in the administration of the meeting will be aware and can look out for potential problems. Also, put that information in part of the safety procedures that should be distributed to attendees. Highlight these things and you will have done all you can if you can’t prevent the problem in advance.

Food problems, as I mentioned in my posting on Gotchas last year are always prevalent in our business. The past few months have borne that out more than once. Many people have dietary restrictions, whether it’s lactose intolerance or allergies to cheese, peanuts or even certain vegetables.

I was recently dining with a colleague who is allergic to a number of items. She mentioned when ordering to exclude the cheese topping from her entree. The waiter very conscientiously mentioned that her potato had some parmesan in the mixture they use. Had this not been mentioned, there could have been serious consequences.

Do we meeting professionals insist on every menu detailing what is used in the preparation of the food? If not then again we are failing as professionals. Ensure that menus or other information about the food is provided in a way that your clients, attendees, anyone who will be dining knows what is in each dish, and what might have gone into the preparation, (e.g., peanut oil). I was told of a friend’s mother who died because there was a trace amount of peanut powder used in her entrée that was never mentioned on the menu. We all know the stories. It is our responsibility to not only ask attendees for dietary or food restrictions, but insist that your chef/catering manager or whoever is preparing the menu is very detailed in giving you this information.

Tripping hazards are another potential problem area. In the past seven months, I have attended more than 20 events in which I’ve either been a speaker or attendee. I believe our décor professionals do an amazing job, and their stylings contribute to fabulous events. Yet, I am astounded as to how many people I see trip over cords or fixtures that focus lights on the drapery, or other items they use to increase ambience that also cause people to fall. It’s our duty as meeting professionals to look at things like placement of focused lighting to ensure that our attendees don’t hurt themselves.

In another potentially hazardous situation, I attended a conference where the breakout rooms were set in rounds with chairs overly close together. If there had been a need to evacuate the room, it would have been bedlam. We know the rules for best distance when using rounds – and having just taken the CMP exam, I feel confident in reeling those off the top of my head – yet we rely on our venues to set up the room and we don’t consider the issues of evacuation or tripping hazards. Again, use a site selection risk management check list developed by a professional to ensure you take care of these issues.

As I said, I have no intention of besmirching the reputation of fine organizations like PCMA or MPI that present incredibly valuable training to our profession. I do, however, want to challenge them to really lead the way in Risk Management by demonstrating these principles in their conferences, not just incorporating them into a session or training track. It is what professionals like all of us are required to do to ensure the well-being of our attendees.