Ashfield remixes its meetings chemistry at The Lab

International event management agency Ashfield Meetings & Events and its sister brand SPARK THINKING (part of UDG Healthcare plc) held its annual staff interactive conference – The Lab – at The Hilton Birmingham Metropole. Now in its seventh year, The Lab theme expanded on last year’s focus ‘the power of you’, this year centring on ‘the power of us.’ “In 2018 The Lab looked at our qualities as individuals, focusing on our strengths and using storytelling to create impactful messages,” explains Head of Organisational Development, Janina Monaghan. “This year we wanted to extend this concept to highlight that while we’re great as individuals, we’re even better when we come together with our different perspectives and ideas. Through ‘the power of us’ we’re able to create exciting and memorable meetings and events for our clients.”

An internal team delivered the event for 200 staff, and were helped by event management undergraduates who embraced the opportunity to showcase the skills they’d learned throughout their placement year. Ashfield preferred suppliers also attended the event to highlight their latest products and services through immersive stands. The day culminated in a fascinating session from guest speaker, Andy Lopata, one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists. “The Lab is incredibly well received by our staff each year, as not only do they get to experience the delegate rather than the delivery side of an event like this, but they also get to learn so much in the process,” said Director of Operations and Business Services, Penny Callaghan. “This year, we focused on our partnerships and our purpose – not just what we do, but thinking about the bigger picture and how everyone plays a part achieving success. We received fantastic feedback from both our staff and suppliers. Ashfield, which specialises in the healthcare sector, has 325 employees located in offices across the UK, mainland Europe, the US and Asia. In 2018, the company delivered over 2500 events, across 50 countries and managed the attendance of 141,000+ delegates.