Reality Check on Planning Meetings and Events in a Global Pandemic: We’re in for the Long Haul

As events started to postpone in March, many looked to quickly reschedule for the summer and fall, thinking March would be a distant memory by now. One of the first things I did in March was spend time developing answers to the tactical questions and the immediate questions – how and when to postpone or reschedule, what about deposits, what do I tell attendees. I developed these answers based on the expectation that the experts were right and within a few weeks, we could start to get back to normal.

It’s now August and it’s still not normal.  In fact, it seems like the only thing that is certain in the world is uncertainty.  Uncertainty is not a comfortable position for me as a planner since my responsibility to my clients is to eliminate as much uncertainty and risk as possible.  Navigating a global pandemic isn’t something many planners had prepared for (myself included) but our profession does give us some advantages: we are used to thinking strategically and tactically at the same time, we are creative, and we are experts at logistics. I am drawing on all of that as I advise clients on how to move forward, and answer the most common questions I receive each day:

What do I tell my audience?

The simplest answer is the truth.  This is not a time for marketing spin or for anything less than complete transparency.  If there is a question that you know your attendees will ask, answer it before they can ask.  If there is a question you know they will ask and you don’t have an answer yet, acknowledge the question and say you don’t have the answer yet but you will provide it once you do. Whether you are planning a virtual event or an in-person event within current guidelines, build your communications strategy on trust, attention to detail, safety, honesty, and complete transparency. 

We can just make this virtual, right?

If you weren’t throwing together normal events at the last minute, you shouldn’t be attempting to do that for a virtual event. A virtual event is a change in venue: it’s happening on a screen instead of a meeting room. Virtual events require at least the same effort as planning an in-person event – you need to go through a platform selection process (much like venue selection), design your meeting agenda, determine how to handle keynotes vs breakouts, identify the right mix of live and pre-recorded content, discuss attendee engagement strategies, engage and promote your sponsors. And all of that is just the beginning of the conversation about a virtual event.

Do you think hybrid meetings will be necessary?

Social distancing guidelines will be here for the foreseeable future, as will a percentage of your audience who wants to engage but not in-person.  Whether you can’t physically accommodate everyone who wants to attend or whether you are trying to engage a wider audience, it’s reasonable to expect that most live events will continue to feature a robust virtual experience.  Planning for an engaging virtual component now will help your event stand out for attendees who continue to have reasons to not attend in-person events.

What about my events in late 2021 and 2022 – how do I budget for them?

Budgets will change. We need more space to distance people in a registration line. We need more space for people in meeting rooms. We need more space for meal functions. We need more banquet staff to serve meals because there is no buffet line. We need more frequent cleaning. We need daily health screening processes. There is a price tag associated with all of this.  For planning purposes, we are beginning to rework budgets to allocate 20-25% to cover all of these yet to be known costs.

What about my Q1 events that I rescheduled for early 2021? Should I cancel?

If you rebooked events for later this year or early next year, there are 2 critical things you need to be doing right now:

1. Reading your contract to ensure you understand the level of flexibility (or lack thereof) that you have and the financial commitment.  The dates in your contract that trigger less flexibility, or a higher financial commitment should be in your calendar and event timeline so that you can plan proactive, strategic conversations and decisions.
2. Communicating openly with all event stakeholders – clients, venues, partners, and staff.  The global pandemic is not a secret, and relationships in this industry run deep.  If you are thinking about cancelling or gathering information to make a decision at a later date, commit to having the hard conversations and keeping everyone informed so that all stakeholders have the same opportunity that you have to plan for a possible cancellation. Now is not the time to burn any relationships by being anything less than forthcoming.

The impact of the last 5 months on our industry cannot be overstated.  We all long for the day when we can gather the way we used to just a few short months ago.  Until then, our creativity, our passion for bringing people together, our resourcefulness, and our ability to handle (almost) every curveball will help us find our way through this and build an even stronger foundation for our industry moving forward.

Mazda T. Miles, CMM, is the owner and chief strategist at Perfection Events in Philadelphia. The firm specializes in design, planning and production of in-person and virtual meetings and events for corporations, associations, nonprofit organizations and public sector entities. Learn more at PerfectionEvents.com or call 888-267-1859 ext. 101.