On May 9th, President Obama gave the commencement address to graduating seniors at Hampton University. The main topic of his speech was the importance of using the technology we have available as a means to make ourselves and our world better, rather than just a form of entertainment. He called our current time an "Age of Distraction" in which cell phones, TVs, laptops, and iPods all demand portions of our time each day.
This topic is one that greatly affects the conference center and meeting industry. Faster, better technology is constantly demanded in RFPs, and it will only continue to grow. As industry professionals, how can we ensure that we provide the technology that is necessary to make meetings smooth, current, and efficient, but also effective? Is there such a thing as too much technology use in a meeting?
Read through this commentary, "Meetings in the Age of Distraction," and leave comments!
Also, Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all veterans and those currently serving our country!
Written by:
Meghan Bollenback
Food & Beverage Manager
R. David Thomas Executive Hotel & Conference Center
The International Association of Conference Centres is the global home for IACC approved conference centres. Corporate meeting planners, event organizers, and businesses select IACC meeting venues for corporate training sessions, sales meetings, board retreats, and customer special events. Discover why IACC Conference Centers do meetings better and find the right conference centre for your next event.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Telephone Tips
Seeing as the Emerging Trends Committee has a conference call scheduled for today, I thought this article was quite timely. The following tips provide some good guidelines for how to hold more effective calls that maximize input from the group and minimize lost time. Tip 5 caught my eye as there has been so much talk recently on how technology is changing the way we meet. These are good things to share with clients and co-workers alike.
10 Rules for Effective Conference Calls
Written by David Lavenda
1. Keep statements short and ask for frequent feedback
When many people participate in a call, it is easy for minds to “wander.” Keep your statements short. Ask for feedback frequently. Ask direct questions. Don’t ask, “Are there any questions?” but rather, “Dan, what do you think about this phase of the project plan; are we under-budgeted?”
2. Don’t use slides if you can avoid it
Looking at slides laden with text is really, really boring. You can easily kill a discussion with slides. And worse, you can’t even control what people are looking at – most of them are skipping ahead to see how much pain they will have to endure. The smart ones will clock the amount of time spent on each slide, then extrapolate to calculate how long the torture will last.
3. If you must show slides, don’t send them ahead of time.
Don’t send slides ahead of time. You blow all your ammo before you get your partners on the phone. They will probably have gone through the deck before they get on the line – freeing them up to read email, news, or play Solitaire while you drone on and on.
Even if you don’t send slides ahead of time, try not to subject people to slides via WebEx or GoToMeeting either. Rather, use primary sources of data. For sales calls, show real product demos, for project meetings, show project graphs, high-level financial information, etc. If you must show slides, limit them to just a few and make sure that these rock. Slides aren’t a crutch for not being prepared. Rather, they are an aid.
If participants want the slides, send a set that summarizes the call, after the call. This will serve as a meeting protocol. Even if they don’t look at them right away, it represents a good summary for future reference.
4. Send out an agenda ahead of time and stick to it
Whether a sales call, status meeting, product feedback meeting, support call, etc. – make sure you have an agenda so everyone knows the purpose of the call, approximately how long it will last, and what they are expected to prepare before the call. This reduces anxiety for all. When people dial in to an audio call, they don’t have the visual cues that are present with a face to face meeting – the added clarity of the agenda makes the call go smoother.
5. Use video if possible
Since you don’t have visual cues on audio calls, people mute their phones and tune out. Then they do really important things, like play video games, carry on parallel conversations, or just sleep. Providing visual cues through video keep participants engaged. Skype and other VOIP services offer video as a basic service – there is no reason not to take advantage of it.
6. Let the participants know if you are recording the call
Some companies record calls for a variety of reasons (to retain summaries, for training purposes, etc.) – if you are on the call with people from other companies, make sure you let them know you are recording the call…and make sure they are okay with this.
7. Start on time
If you calculated the amount of time wasted waiting for people on conference call in your company, you would be amazed. 6 people waiting 10 minutes, is 1 hour of productivity in the toilet.
8. Make sure the moderator dials in early
9. Don’t dial in from a mobile phone
Don’t dial in from a mobile phone or from a land line in a noisy place. If you must call from a mobile phone, make sure you are in a quiet spot, that you have good cell coverage, and that you have a full battery (or a recharger). There is nothing more annoying than background noise on a call. It’s hard enough to concentrate on a clear line, with many people on the line.
10. Set limits on call duration
This is even more important than setting time limits for face-to-face meetings, since the amount of energy lost in a call exceeds that of meetings. The lack of feedback is a huge energy zapper. Limit calls to reasonable lengths so folks know what to expect.
Do you have any additional tips to add to this list? Or, any funny stories from conference calls gone wrong?
10 Rules for Effective Conference Calls
Written by David Lavenda
1. Keep statements short and ask for frequent feedback
When many people participate in a call, it is easy for minds to “wander.” Keep your statements short. Ask for feedback frequently. Ask direct questions. Don’t ask, “Are there any questions?” but rather, “Dan, what do you think about this phase of the project plan; are we under-budgeted?”
2. Don’t use slides if you can avoid it
Looking at slides laden with text is really, really boring. You can easily kill a discussion with slides. And worse, you can’t even control what people are looking at – most of them are skipping ahead to see how much pain they will have to endure. The smart ones will clock the amount of time spent on each slide, then extrapolate to calculate how long the torture will last.
3. If you must show slides, don’t send them ahead of time.
Don’t send slides ahead of time. You blow all your ammo before you get your partners on the phone. They will probably have gone through the deck before they get on the line – freeing them up to read email, news, or play Solitaire while you drone on and on.
Even if you don’t send slides ahead of time, try not to subject people to slides via WebEx or GoToMeeting either. Rather, use primary sources of data. For sales calls, show real product demos, for project meetings, show project graphs, high-level financial information, etc. If you must show slides, limit them to just a few and make sure that these rock. Slides aren’t a crutch for not being prepared. Rather, they are an aid.
If participants want the slides, send a set that summarizes the call, after the call. This will serve as a meeting protocol. Even if they don’t look at them right away, it represents a good summary for future reference.
4. Send out an agenda ahead of time and stick to it
Whether a sales call, status meeting, product feedback meeting, support call, etc. – make sure you have an agenda so everyone knows the purpose of the call, approximately how long it will last, and what they are expected to prepare before the call. This reduces anxiety for all. When people dial in to an audio call, they don’t have the visual cues that are present with a face to face meeting – the added clarity of the agenda makes the call go smoother.
5. Use video if possible
DARA
Frank, what do you think?
(No answer.)
DARA
Is Frank still on the line.
(More silence…)
FRANK
(Fumbling to unmute his phone)
Oh, sorry, did someone ask me something? I had the phone on mute.
Since you don’t have visual cues on audio calls, people mute their phones and tune out. Then they do really important things, like play video games, carry on parallel conversations, or just sleep. Providing visual cues through video keep participants engaged. Skype and other VOIP services offer video as a basic service – there is no reason not to take advantage of it.
6. Let the participants know if you are recording the call
Some companies record calls for a variety of reasons (to retain summaries, for training purposes, etc.) – if you are on the call with people from other companies, make sure you let them know you are recording the call…and make sure they are okay with this.
7. Start on time
MIKE
Is Bob on the line?
(No answer.)
MIKE
Bob?
(Very long silence.)
MIKE
Can someone call Bob on his mobile and see why he isn’t dialing in?
If you calculated the amount of time wasted waiting for people on conference call in your company, you would be amazed. 6 people waiting 10 minutes, is 1 hour of productivity in the toilet.
8. Make sure the moderator dials in early
KATIE
Hello? Anybody else there?
HEATHER
Anybody there?
TOM
Yoo hoo?
(All three wait on the phone, listening to the Scorpions’ ‘Still Loving You’ loop over and over, until the moderator joins.)
9. Don’t dial in from a mobile phone
Don’t dial in from a mobile phone or from a land line in a noisy place. If you must call from a mobile phone, make sure you are in a quiet spot, that you have good cell coverage, and that you have a full battery (or a recharger). There is nothing more annoying than background noise on a call. It’s hard enough to concentrate on a clear line, with many people on the line.
10. Set limits on call duration
This is even more important than setting time limits for face-to-face meetings, since the amount of energy lost in a call exceeds that of meetings. The lack of feedback is a huge energy zapper. Limit calls to reasonable lengths so folks know what to expect.
Do you have any additional tips to add to this list? Or, any funny stories from conference calls gone wrong?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Gen Y Stereotypes
At the Annual Summit in March at Eaglewood Resort & Spa, I attended a workshop entitled "Get Wise With Gen Ys." It was a great class that centered around the three main generations currently represented in the workforce -- Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y (or Millennials).
The facilitator went through a series of Powerpoint slides that showcased the major social, technological, and cultural impacts that influenced each group. Later on, we discussed stereotypes that the generations are associated with. Stereotypes for Gen Y were that we are lazy, do not react fast enough to problems, and do not seem to show enough emotion or care in the workplace. Being a member of this generation and knowing my own work ethic, I disagreed. But, many of the Generation X'ers and Boomers alike continuously mentioned these descriptions, so obviously there must be some truth behind them.
This blog post, "Do We Get Gen 'Why?'",came out on May 20th in the Harvard Business Review and divulged other Generation Y stereotypes. Please read through and leave some comments as to whether you agree or disagree with the sterotypes presented. I know that many IACC properties now have Gen Ys working at their properties, and I am curious to hear about how they come across to other generations.
The facilitator went through a series of Powerpoint slides that showcased the major social, technological, and cultural impacts that influenced each group. Later on, we discussed stereotypes that the generations are associated with. Stereotypes for Gen Y were that we are lazy, do not react fast enough to problems, and do not seem to show enough emotion or care in the workplace. Being a member of this generation and knowing my own work ethic, I disagreed. But, many of the Generation X'ers and Boomers alike continuously mentioned these descriptions, so obviously there must be some truth behind them.
This blog post, "Do We Get Gen 'Why?'",came out on May 20th in the Harvard Business Review and divulged other Generation Y stereotypes. Please read through and leave some comments as to whether you agree or disagree with the sterotypes presented. I know that many IACC properties now have Gen Ys working at their properties, and I am curious to hear about how they come across to other generations.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tips for Mentoring Millennials
According to an article in the most recently published Harvard Business Review, “in four years, millennials — the people born between 1977 and 1997 — will account for nearly half the employees in the world.”
Does this make you nervous? If so, you're not alone. This change of generations in the workforce will affect many common business practices, one being mentoring. Typically when one thinks of "mentoring," the thought of an older, wiser professional molding a young protege to be his or her successor comes to mind. The Business Review's article challenges organizations to break through that old stigma, and to focus on generating more creative ways of mentoring. The goal? Making Millennials feel valuable, letting them share their fresh outlooks on their workplace, and providing personal and career development.
Source
The following are the three different types of mentoring suggested in the article:
1. Reverse mentoring -- Let the young employee teach the old dog some new tricks. Millennials can offer new insight into workplace processes and provide input on how to make things better.
2. Group mentoring -- With a smaller amount of more experienced professionals available (due to the Baby Boomers retiring), this can provide Millennial employees with the mentoring experience they desire in the form of a peer group. One senior employee can host roundtable discussions or a forum for multiple mentees at once. To me, this sounds like a great idea since Millennials are very social and like to give and receive feedback from many individuals.
3. Anonymous mentoring -- This is new to me but sounds very interesting. Matching companies conduct behavioral tests to match Millennial employees with an anonymous mentor outside of their organization. One benefit of this according to the article it "ensures mentors have an agenda-free interest in the mentee’s professional development." On the flip side, the younger mentee may be more willing to open up and discuss problems and uncertainties they experience due to the anonymity.
Do you have any tips about how to mentor Millennials? Feel free to leave any ideas or comments!
Written by:
Meghan Bollenback
Food & Beverage Manager
R. David Thomas Executive Hotel & Conference Center
Does this make you nervous? If so, you're not alone. This change of generations in the workforce will affect many common business practices, one being mentoring. Typically when one thinks of "mentoring," the thought of an older, wiser professional molding a young protege to be his or her successor comes to mind. The Business Review's article challenges organizations to break through that old stigma, and to focus on generating more creative ways of mentoring. The goal? Making Millennials feel valuable, letting them share their fresh outlooks on their workplace, and providing personal and career development.
The following are the three different types of mentoring suggested in the article:
1. Reverse mentoring -- Let the young employee teach the old dog some new tricks. Millennials can offer new insight into workplace processes and provide input on how to make things better.
2. Group mentoring -- With a smaller amount of more experienced professionals available (due to the Baby Boomers retiring), this can provide Millennial employees with the mentoring experience they desire in the form of a peer group. One senior employee can host roundtable discussions or a forum for multiple mentees at once. To me, this sounds like a great idea since Millennials are very social and like to give and receive feedback from many individuals.
3. Anonymous mentoring -- This is new to me but sounds very interesting. Matching companies conduct behavioral tests to match Millennial employees with an anonymous mentor outside of their organization. One benefit of this according to the article it "ensures mentors have an agenda-free interest in the mentee’s professional development." On the flip side, the younger mentee may be more willing to open up and discuss problems and uncertainties they experience due to the anonymity.
Do you have any tips about how to mentor Millennials? Feel free to leave any ideas or comments!
Written by:
Meghan Bollenback
Food & Beverage Manager
R. David Thomas Executive Hotel & Conference Center
Monday, May 10, 2010
Generation-Based Catering
Having worked with multi-generational meeting planners and attendees I have noticed there are distinctive trends in their conference needs;
The Generation “Y” conferees :
• F&B - Healthy protein rich foods are a first priority for this generation. Power bars, fresh fruit and crisp greens keep these conferees satisfied and their mild appetites assist in maintaining a healthy food cost for proprietors. I mean come on they are really still on liquid diets (i.e. red bull, mountain dew, smoothies, starbucks and of course MGD or a good glass of vino)
• Internet & Technology - Internet access is a must! Generation “Y” conferees must have uninterrupted lightening speed access to fulfill their connection needs.
• Conference Start times– When hosting a generation “Y” conference be sure to schedule some conference staff late to host what we call the “Night Owls”. This generation likes to work late until their “juices” get flowing after they’ve rushed back to the center after cocktail hour. They treat set up like college finals and burn the midnight oil to be prepared for the next day’s events.
• Recycling – Meeting planners are extremely concerned with recycling programs for their conference. They require recycling stations conveniently located to their meeting and often request pitchers of water versus bottled.
• New on the forefront-“Edutainment”- Some of my Generation “Y” colleagues are even requiring that “entertainment” learning tools are placed at the break stations and on the tables next to the pens and mints. One meeting requested that we have silly putty on each table so that the participants could expand their thoughts.
The Baby Boomer conferees:
• F&B – Delicious comfort foods with elaborate presentations are often a requirement for this generation. Unlike Generation “Y” this group would be more satisfied with a lunch buffet to include pasta, fried chicken and sweet treats for dessert.
• Internet & Technology – While internet access has recently become a standard demand generally Baby Boomers still only need it at their breaks as 40 percent of them are checking “blackberries”. The other 60 percent are looking for bathrooms and really using the time to person to person connect.
• Conference Start times - This group prefers to have early set up times (and they pay for them) so that any additions or set ups can be correct by 6pm at the latest so that all is right in the world when they set foot on the conference floor at 6am SHARP!!!
• Recycling-While many in this generation started the movement many are still lukewarm to the cause. We see fewer requests for sustainable options. They are good with recycling bins, but there is still cache in having “bottled water” (especially if it’s sparkling) at the meeting sets. This is not to say that they are not excited when the salesperson walks them thru our “green” efforts.
Written by:
Mike Blackley
Banquet/Conference Center Manager
Hilton Washington D.C./Rockville Executive Meeting Center
The Generation “Y” conferees :
• F&B - Healthy protein rich foods are a first priority for this generation. Power bars, fresh fruit and crisp greens keep these conferees satisfied and their mild appetites assist in maintaining a healthy food cost for proprietors. I mean come on they are really still on liquid diets (i.e. red bull, mountain dew, smoothies, starbucks and of course MGD or a good glass of vino)
• Internet & Technology - Internet access is a must! Generation “Y” conferees must have uninterrupted lightening speed access to fulfill their connection needs.
• Conference Start times– When hosting a generation “Y” conference be sure to schedule some conference staff late to host what we call the “Night Owls”. This generation likes to work late until their “juices” get flowing after they’ve rushed back to the center after cocktail hour. They treat set up like college finals and burn the midnight oil to be prepared for the next day’s events.
• Recycling – Meeting planners are extremely concerned with recycling programs for their conference. They require recycling stations conveniently located to their meeting and often request pitchers of water versus bottled.
• New on the forefront-“Edutainment”- Some of my Generation “Y” colleagues are even requiring that “entertainment” learning tools are placed at the break stations and on the tables next to the pens and mints. One meeting requested that we have silly putty on each table so that the participants could expand their thoughts.
The Baby Boomer conferees:
• F&B – Delicious comfort foods with elaborate presentations are often a requirement for this generation. Unlike Generation “Y” this group would be more satisfied with a lunch buffet to include pasta, fried chicken and sweet treats for dessert.
• Internet & Technology – While internet access has recently become a standard demand generally Baby Boomers still only need it at their breaks as 40 percent of them are checking “blackberries”. The other 60 percent are looking for bathrooms and really using the time to person to person connect.
• Conference Start times - This group prefers to have early set up times (and they pay for them) so that any additions or set ups can be correct by 6pm at the latest so that all is right in the world when they set foot on the conference floor at 6am SHARP!!!
• Recycling-While many in this generation started the movement many are still lukewarm to the cause. We see fewer requests for sustainable options. They are good with recycling bins, but there is still cache in having “bottled water” (especially if it’s sparkling) at the meeting sets. This is not to say that they are not excited when the salesperson walks them thru our “green” efforts.
Written by:
Mike Blackley
Banquet/Conference Center Manager
Hilton Washington D.C./Rockville Executive Meeting Center
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