You work hard enough to win your meeting and conference business, so it makes sense to leave a positive lasting impression and an incentive for delegates to return.
In my line of work I see a lot of meeting and conference venues—sometimes as a mentor, but frequently also as the client or a delegate. Normally the first impression is alright. You get a warm welcome and are asked at the outset if everything is OK. But it's what happens after this that invariably lets you down.
The room setup
The appearance of the room is of course important, but the first impression goes beyond how the room looks.
Is best use made of natural light, or is this blocked off with a dependence on artificial light (which is far more tiring on the eye and wastes a lot more energy)? Where artificial lighting is a must, is this logically positioned so delegates are not sitting in their own shadows? Is there good light on the presenters and props?
The setup of the room requires common sense. I often get the impression that porters have had no training and have not checked the rooms. For example:
* If using a projector, are there sufficient impact socket for a laptop, and can these be easily reached without presenters tripping on a lead and breaking their necks?
* Has the presenter been included in the delegate numbers and been provided with a chair, glass and water, or does the venue really expect them to stand for eight hours? (At two venues only last week I was not given a chair for separate all-day workshops.)
* Check the size of the table needed for the presenter; if they have notes and handout materials, have you provided them with a workspace that is big enough to put down their notes and props, or it is taken over by the projector?
* Is the projector lined up properly with the screen (and in focus), or is it so close to the screen that the image only fills a quarter of the space available. Worse still, is the projector not angled upwards so the image only shows on the bottom third of the screen?
* If presenters have requested flip charts, is there a supply of fresh paper, and do all the pens work? Test them at the end of every meeting and discard those that have passed their best.
* Consider also the positioning of tables and chairs. I frequently find the presenter is positioned so far away from the rest of the participants that it’s necessary for them to shout to be heard. When a cabaret set up is used, factor in the length of the meeting; if it is an all-day meeting and delegates are required to face the front, ensure they can do so without having to keep turning around and straining their necks.
Refreshments
Whereas the room setup will be more of a concern to the presenters than the delegates, the quality and timing of refreshments are a key factor for presenters and delegates alike.
* Having refreshments turn up on time is critical to the smooth operation of any event. A mere five-minute delay during a 10-minute break can have a serious impact on the meeting timetable. And it’s not just refreshments that need to be delivered promptly, but clean cups, fresh milk, plenty of teabags, etc. I know this sounds obvious, but you’ll be amazed how often the milk runs out or everyone favours a particular flavour of tea and there isn’t enough to go around.
* Avoid bottlenecks at coffee stations: Arrange cups, flasks and milk and sugar so you don’t get congestion all around one spot. It might be obvious to the venue which pot or flask is tea and which is coffee and which is hot water, but it isn't to the delegates, so please make this clear. (A show of hands: Who has ever poured coffee as opposed to hot water onto their teabag?) And then what are we supposed to do with our tea bag once our tea is brewed? Please provide a bowl for spent tea bags. (This goes for hotel rooms, too.)
* If you have more sophisticated coffee machines, ensure they can keep pace with demand. A machine that takes just 20 seconds to brew and dispense a cup of coffee at best can only accommodate 30 people in a 10 minute period. It certainly won’t be suitable for a meeting with 50 delegates.
* I don't know about you, but I find it quite difficult to distinguish what's in a sandwich without either opening it up or eating it. A few simple labels on buffet food make such a difference and cost next to nothing in time and effort.
* Watch for trends. If your delegates go through more still water than sparkling (which in my experience is usually the case) match what you provide in your set up to meet the demand. It not only keeps your delegates happy but saves on wastage, too.
Be responsive
Check the room temperatures and respond quickly to organisers’ requests to adjust them. The bane of my life is air conditioning. Invariably it blows too hot or too cold. Half the time I question whether it adds anything, particularly in a room where the windows open. And nobody wants to sit right beneath a blast of cold air. Adjusting it to suit everyone's requirements is a fine line.
Have a system that can be turned off if required. Systems designed to keep every room at the same temperature are sheer madness. If you have a room with just two people in it sitting still compared to a room with 30 people doing group activities letting off all that body heat, you’re obviously going to want them at different temperatures. Be prepared for organisers to ask for a temperature change or for the air conditioning to be turned off altogether. I sometimes feel as if I've asked for the moon when I make this request; is it really too difficult? But then please, please, respond and check that the adjustments have worked rather than simply adjusting them to the opposite extreme.
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