Meeting Planner Careers

Everyone in the office has some levels of responsibility when it comes to ensuring the collective well-being of the office. Part of that well-being is ensuring that there are plenty of incentives for workers to remain loyal and perform at or above expectations.

While the majority of what motivates workers tends to be financial or related to benefits, there are some things that meeting planners can do to influence motivation. Some offices may give meeting planners the freedom to implement these ideas on their own, while others may require running the following ideas by the powers that be. Use your own discretion when deciding how to go about implementing any or all of the following ideas:

• Special coffees – Many coffee vendors offer special flavors at prices that are only marginally more expensive than non-flavored coffee. For a few dollars a month the powers that be could win a lot of hearts and minds. There’s little like vanilla or hazelnut coffee in the morning.
• Seating arrangements – Some people have peculiar desires when it comes to seating, while others have more obvious desires. Some want to be next to the boss so they can have their ideas heard, others might want to be seated next to that attractive new receptionist, and just about everyone wants to be seated as far away from Flatulent Freddy from finance. Find a fair way to determine who gets to sit where when competition arises and see how inspirational meeting planning can be.

Meeting planning is becoming increasingly important and many businesses are starting to realize the value of hosting off-site events. In the past it would have sufficed to simply send out e-mails or brochures, but today companies are left with larger gambles. This often entails deciding whether to host offsite events or just retreat behind financial walls that seem safer. Nobody ever got rich by playing it safe, so most companies with an ounce or more of leadership are hiring meeting planners that want to go places.

Why? Because that’s where the meetings are going to be, but what does that mean for the meeting planners?

On the surface it means that the meeting planners will have to start getting acquainted with planning meetings in other cities, states, and possibly even countries. This could entail a lot of learning including language, cultures, customs, legal issues, advertising, and even more. The role of the meeting planner is certainly evolving for those that can evolve with it. Those that are not prepared to evolve may be left behind, but it would seem that there are plenty of companies willing to hire second tier meeting planners that are not ready for the prime time.

If you are considering a career as a meeting planner and are interested in a career that goes places, you simply need the motivation it takes to start learning about the travel industry as well as languages, cultures, and customs.

The job of a meeting planner is to determine a meeting venue that will provide the most motivation for employees to be top-performers and provide the organization with the best value for their money. In times past, this has been a difficult feat for meeting planners. With the advent and popularity of meetings at sea, successful meeting planning has become a bit easier. Not only are cruise events ideal ways to motivate employees, but they can save organizations up to 40 percent of the cost of a land venue such as a hotel or resort.

A ship charter, as opposed to a land venue, can save a company quite a bit of money as mentioned previously. There are other ways in which cruise events can be financially beneficial. Because the cost of lodging, meals, entertainment, and recreational activities can be included in the price, there are no additional expenses that will be incurred. There are many dining experiences from which employees may choose, and the entertainment options are numerous. Since a cruise is a self-contained environment, employees will be more readily available for group events and employees will have a better opportunity for relationship building and networking occasions.