I understand that the work in the business events industry right now has endurance as its primary survival tool. You need to be focused, persistent and patient, for sure, but you also need to be proactive. Many have taken the opportunity to renovate, train, and educate themselves, and most importantly, to just survive until it’s time to open the doors again to welcome new meetings.

Naturally, many employees at all levels have been forced to leave meeting and event jobs against their will, just to survive, and not all of them will return. We are talking about thousands upon thousands of jobs across the globe, and many owners have realised that it is in fact possible to run their businesses with a smaller staff than before the pandemic. And considering that it may be a few years until we’re back on top again some may choose to hold off on staffing up for a while.

But staying focused also means keeping track of how and what your competitors are doing. To boost your external analysis to higher levels than before the pandemic and making sure to maintain a positive flow of knowledge into the entire organisation. It shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve improvement within this area since the external analysis appears to have been almost non-existant during the pandemic. And now is not the time to lose focus.

A great many companies have also achieved significant improvements in terms of safety and hygiene. The certifications continue to increase across the board and worldwide. Now we must also make sure to maintain that higher level going forward, do our work consistently well, and be patient – when it turns out that it is not always 100 per cent, it is vital to make sure to get back to 100 per cent again. Hygiene is also part of the safety work we must put more focus on.

There is also need for an increased supply of tailored training for leaders, management teams and coworkers throughout the global meeting and event industry. Meetings can be, and in many cases also are, a crucial moment in a company’s development. The primary business areas are all based on increased profitability, focusing on building or strengthening corporate culture.

Here, collaborations such as The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe should really be promoted and highlighted by all member states. It’s all about exchanging experiences, sharing knowledge and opportunities. Nine countries founded the organisation in 2014 at Imex Las Vegas. Today there are 28 member countries.

The importance of tailoring education based on the organisation’s needs, is so great it’s practically boundless. So how come we don’t already have such educational and developmental traditions in place?

To be proactive naturally means taking the initiative, engaging in external analysis, believing in your coworkers, and believing that education creates new opportunities, but above all, to actually do something. And to do something now. 

Perseverance and proactivity go hand in hand.