No Annual Conference For Reorganizing SCMPThe Society of Corporate Meeting Professionals will not hold its usual autumn annual meeting this year, opting to reorganize its operations while it continues to search for an association management company to administer its business. "We put things into neutral 30 days ago," said SCMP co-president Kevin McNally last month. McNally also is director of convention services for the Westin Chicago River North hotel. "We're a volunteer organization and the board of directors is keeping it afloat while we try to find a management company. Our membership is a lot lower than it was two years ago." Though association bylaws cap membership in the low triple digits, that number has dwindled to between 30 and 35, he said. "The industry is down, and it's changed so much," he said. SCMP's former association management company went out of business in 2002. Still, McNally said, SCMP remains a dues-paying member of the Convention Industry Council and hopes to hold an event next year, SCMP's 35th year of existence.
NBTA Mtg. And Group Sessions Stress StrategyA pair of heavily attended sessions this past month staged by the National Business Travel Association's groups and meetings committee at the association's annual convention in Orlando drew from the committee's white paper on strategic meetings management
(Meetings Today, March 29). The committee pointed to the development of processes for meetings registration, approval, planning, sourcing and payment, as well as the analysis of data and the installation of technology as vital to any management effort. "The order of those building blocks are not set in stone, but they are all critical to a successful implementation," said then-ING Americas travel, meetings and promotions sourcing specialist Kari Knoll Kesler. The panel also stressed that there is no one structural or operational method that applies to all companies. For example, panelist Joni Miyashiro's company, Amgen, consolidated operations, while panelist Madlyn Caliri's firm, AT&T, favors a decentralized approach with automated meeting requisition.
In a second session, featuring methods of risk reduction, Kesler warned that the centralization of meeting contract signing authority, while potentially quite effective in limiting risk, must be backed with accessibility to adequate legal resources, and the authority must be vested with an individual who understands the nuances of meetings negotiations.
Also during the conference, the committee released the first of several planned amendments to the initial white paper. Focusing on negotiations for meeting and group air travel and hotel stays, the document can be downloaded from the association's Web site.
MPI Details Upcoming Career Development PlanMeeting Professionals International next year expects to introduce a personalized career development program to create and define standard classifications for different levels of professional meetings management competencies and methods and strategies for professional development. The association expects members to be able to complete an online profile and receive personal guidance, both online and through a mentoring program and professional coaching services. "Career pathways will completely transform the MPI membership experience," said MPI president and CEO Colin Rorrie."As career pathways provide critical skills, knowledge, research and tools needed for a lifelong career, meeting professionals can use that information to more effectively communicate with senior decision makers about the strategic role and return on investment meetings play in every organization's success."
Dolce Debuts 24-Hour Meeting Call CenterMontvale, N.J.-based conference center chain Dolce International last month introduced a full-time call center, staffers of which can transmit meeting requirements and requests for proposals to the chain's global sales department. Dolce will use a custom version of StarCite Inc.'s RapidRFP to build sets of meeting requirements and use Newmarket International's MeetingBroker software to integrate those leads into Dolce's automated sales solution. Dolce operates 26 conference centers worldwide.
~Chris Davis