New research released by American Express Meetings & Events, a division of American Express Global Business Travel, has revealed sizeable gaps in established policy, and also between policy and practice, when it comes to companies’ management of meetings and events (M&E).
The study examined the risk that organisations can be exposed to when M&E expenses and activities are not managed through a clear and comprehensive programme. It compiled the opinions of both meeting planners and ‘Leaders’, uncovering the differences between company policies and actual behaviour. Leaders are defined as leaders in meetings, procurement, finance, marketing, sales or meeting budget holders.
“In an environment of increasing regulatory scrutiny and heightened awareness around security and safety issues, complacency in the meetings and events planning process can have serious financial, legal and reputational consequences,” said Milton Rivera, Vice President of Business Development at American Express Meetings & Events. “This research highlights the disparity between the precautions and procedures meetings leaders and planners feel should be, or believe to be, in place and actual current activity.
“It demonstrates how crucial it is for companies’ meeting planning processes to be formalised, documented and controlled as a means to minimise risk.”
Key findings include:
- 51 per cent of meeting planners believe that risk is not properly mitigated in their organisation
- 52 per cent of planners do not receive a budget when meeting planning begins
- 23 per cent of planners sign contracts but only six per cent of Leaders state that planners are allowed to sign contracts
- 68 per cent of Leaders said transparency of all data is a top priority; however, 85 per cent of meeting planners still simply use spreadsheets for their budget tracking
- 64 per cent of planners do not currently have a method to track meeting attendees in a time of crisis.
Legal and regulatory
Both leaders and planners cited the legal/regulatory category as one of the most important areas of opportunity for meetings management. According to the research, 37 per cent of planners currently do not forward ancillary contracts (e.g. for items like ground transportation, audio visual services, entertainment) for further review and approval by a manager. A wide gap exists in the contract process where 23 per cent of meeting planners sign contracts relating to their M&E activity themselves, on behalf of the company, while only six per cent of Leaders state that planners are actually allowed to sign these contracts.
“Financial penalties, reputational damage and even legal action can result from not properly managing legal and regulatory requirements. So it’s not surprising that these categories are of most concern to meeting planners and Leaders,” said Rivera. “To address these situations, we recommend our clients develop standard agenda and review processes for ancillary contracts, and a contract signing authorisation matrix outlining the appropriate levels of staff who are allowed to sign contracts.”
Financial
The other area most highly rated as an opportunity for meetings management was the financial category. The survey revealed that while 82 per cent of Leaders said that providing a budget is either recommended or required at the onset of a meeting, 52 per cent of planners do not receive a budget when meeting planning begins. In addition, organisations appear to be wasting investment pounds by not using available attrition or cancellation penalty credits.
Thirty-six percent of planners said they are unlikely or neutral on using available credits and 50 per cent of Leaders said that their policy does not require their use.
Visibility is also an issue highlighted in the survey: 27 per cent of Leaders are unable to track meeting expenses and 32 per cent unable to report all meeting expenses.
“Small changes like adopting technology or online tools enabling meeting requestors to create estimated budgets, track actual spending and expenses, and also mandating the use of corporate purchasing cards for all meeting expenses can help meeting planners maximise budgets,” said Rivera. “It is also advisable to develop a process to identify available credits at the onset of sourcing each meeting and share these throughout the organisation. Using credits in this way can help to avoid unnecessary spending.”
Safety and security
Sixty-four per cent of meeting planners surveyed and 50 per cent of Leaders said that they do not currently have a method to track meeting attendees during a time of crisis. Furthermore, 62 per cent of all planners said they do not have access to international medical and security assistance during a crisis.
“It is vital for meeting planners to have tools and processes in place to be able to track attendees in times of crisis, as well as to have access to back-up information in case of a technical failure,” said Rivera. “A Standard Operating Procedure, or a plan to offer guidance in emergency situations, should be in place and frequently updated to reflect current conditions and technologies.”
This was first published in issue 73 of CMW. Any comments? Email cmw@mashmedia.net
