Utilizing online meeting planning tools requires a diligent approach. Successful companies make smart decisions at every step of the meeting management process. The process is not as difficult as you might think, but it does require a good action plan and some hard work.
Step 1: Understand Your Needs
So how can you set yourself up to become a best-practice story? Perform an internal assessment of your company's meeting planning needs. To do this, seek requirements from internal stakeholders and document the tools that currently are being used today. Knowing what you will need is useful when you research available products in the market. However, as you research product availability, it's important to have an open mind and adjust your needs as you learn best practices and available options.
Be sure to establish metrics for success. Examples of metrics include: economic savings/revenue, employee satisfaction, adoption, and meeting attendance. Once you have an understanding of your company's requirements and how to measure success, it's important to build a case to demonstrate the value that a program will create. This will be crucial as you recruit executive support for your plan.
Step 2: See What's Out There
Before you start calling vendors, appoint a team to evaluate options and products. Solicit a cross-section of your company's stakeholders who offer a variety of perspectives.
Meeting technology is a fast-growing industry and there are a number of available meetings tools. Products tend to target different market segments of the meeting-planning community, including small meetings, large corporate events, and associations. Industry trade shows and conferences can also be useful resources in identifying potential meetings programs. Use these events to view program options, but also to network with peers about the tools they use and recommend. Once you identify specific products, get demonstrations and obtain customer references from vendors.
As you evaluate the options, be sure to determine the product's stability and the financial stability of the vendors. The last thing you want to do is select a tool that experiences significant down time or a vendor that lacks the resources to enhance the tool as your relationship and meeting planning needs mature. Be sure to find out where you will get the most "bang for your buck" and stick to your original stakeholder requirements. Clearly identify what features are nice to have and which ones are needed to make your meetings program successful.
Additionally, get the full pricing picture from vendors. Many products have an implementation fee, annual fee and a transaction fee. These fees tend to be negotiable based on the volume of transactions that can be delivered—or the number of meetings planned.
Understand the cost of ownership. How much training is needed? Some products are more user-friendly than others and will require less training. Are there any hidden costs like customization or integration with your company’s existing systems? If you want to integrate your meeting tool with another system, like a human resources system or a corporate online travel system, then you should inquire about that cost in advance.
Step 3: Make a Purchase
Once you complete the evaluation period, it is time to make a purchase. This can be a political process depending on your company's approval procedures. Now is the time to identify and approach an executive endorser. Use the same steps that you used to evaluate your needs.
In the decision-making process, be sure to include individuals who will be impacted by this purchase, such as the corporate travel manager, procurement manager and meeting planners. These individuals may not use the product, but they may be affected by the product you choose; you don't want them to derail the process later down the line because they had no say in the decision.
Where can you acquire the tool? In many cases, meeting programs can be obtained directly from vendors or distributors, such as technology companies or travel agencies. Buying directly from a vendor can provide a cheaper price if you can deliver volume. A distributor can package a program with other valued items. Many times the integration to a travel tool is a separate and costly purchase when not packaged as part of the meetings product.
Step 4: Implementation
Once you make the purchase, identify a team to implement the product. Consider involving people from your travel agency, corporate travel, corporate meeting planning, and IT departments. These parties will likely be users of the meetings tool.
As you navigate your way through this process, allow your company enough time to get this implemented. One of the most common mistakes made during implementation is setting unrealistic timelines. Software implementation can take time to properly configure. It also is a good idea to ask the vendor for contact information of other companies that have implemented this product to help manage expectations and timelines.
Step 5: Create a Rollout Plan
While the implementation process is winding down, it is a good idea to begin crafting your rollout plan. The first step is to identify a target audience within your company. For the program to be successful, you need widespread adoption among employees. Think about those people in your company that plan 80 percent of the meetings—such as internal meeting planners, administrative assistants and sales/marketing teams.
Once you identify the target audience, supply them with product training and support. In most cases, your product vendor will supply training either through webcasts or in-person classes. One common oversight when driving adoption is not considering recurring training to address employee turnover and product
enhancements. It's best to establish a recurring training class every few months, directed by a product expert at your company.
Adoption starts with building awareness, so a solid communication plan will play an important role in the success of your program. Plan a series of emails to your target audience starting pre-launch and continuing throughout the program. Communicate the value that this product creates for your company, how to access the product, and how to get more information and training. If possible, get executives to endorse the program and inform the company.
Step 6: Measuring Results
Once the program has been in place for six to 12 months, begin measuring results. Apply the established metrics for success. Were you able to accomplish your initial goals? How can the company improve? What should be accomplished next? The company’s needs might have changed over the last few months, so what adjustments are required to accommodate these needs?
These questions bring us back to step 1—understanding your needs—and the process cycles back to the beginning. As you probably figured out, successful meetings management is an ongoing process, but it gets easier over time as you start to understand your company's evolving needs and as newer technology becomes available.
Going Forward
Remember that you are not the first company in need of online meeting planning solutions. Some of the best resources will be industry peers. Utilize them to understand challenges and successes. Peer experiences may prove invaluable and may help you avoid common pitfalls.
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