NBTA Plans Strategic Meetings Certification

The National Business Travel Association is developing a certification course in strategic meetings management, with plans to announce course dates at the 2009 NBTA International Convention and Exposition in San Diego.

"Just like NBTA offers CCTE, GLP, CTE, the hope and plan is that by the convention next year we are also ready to offer certification coursework and the achievement of the SMMP certification," said Kari Knoll Kesler, global manager of Honeywell Meeting Solutions and a facilitator of the process.

"We endeavor to have representation from different aspects of the industry: hoteliers, third-party planning companies, technology companies, different types and sizes of corporate perspectives—people who do what I do but at different sizes and types of companies along the spectrum of maturity in their program," she said. "We did that on purpose, so that when we brainstorm delivering a certification, we can make sure that it's meaningful for all different people who are in these different components of the industry."

NBTA's groups and meetings committee decided to focus on several competencies, including strategic business management, data analysis, communications, program optimization and the creation of a strategic business plan.

The actual requirements of the certification is still being decided, Kesler said. It will be targeted to "anybody whose career could benefit from certification in the principles of strategic meetings management."

Part of the impetus behind the certification is to reinforce the meaning of the phrase "strategic meetings management program."

"There seems to be a very distinct dilution of the original meaning of SMMP," she said. "Part of what we're endeavoring to do is retain or earn back the integrity of what we designed."