The National Business Travel Association's launch of the Strategic Meetings Management Certification program last month established a new professional benchmark in a spend category that until very recently was considered the Wild West for organizations seeking to expand the benefits of their corporate travel programs and increase incremental savings.
The inaugural class of 17 certified Strategic Meetings Management practitioners, including professionals from Denmark and Japan, must complete a second core week plus three elective classes before they earn their SMMC designations. The program will enable the graduates to evaluate, develop and implement policies, workflows and technologies to capture meetings data, create efficiencies for planners and other stakeholders, enhance leverage with suppliers and minimize risk to their companies.
Charged with establishing an SMMP, Denmark-based Lasse Haugaard, Novo Nordisk A/S corporate sourcing, who sought and received budget approval to attend the SMMC course at Atlanta's Emory University last month, said: "From an educational point of view, I find it very difficult to find peers who are at the same pace as myself--this is my primary reason to seek inspiration from NBTA."
The SMMC program is broken down into 11 core competency modules delivered in two week-long sessions. By partnering with local institutions of higher learning, the classes will be delivered in university settings that are conducive to the level of professional content delivery that would be expected of a program of this caliber. The content of each program module is designed to follow a logical sequence in order to build upon each other. In addition, participants are given the opportunity to incorporate their own unique organizational situations as part of practice activities. While each module has stand-alone value, the integration of the entire program content reinforces the practicality and immediate applicability of the certification program for all participants.
| The 11 Components Of The SMMC Curriculum |
| I | SMMP Overview | | | II | Internal Stakeholders/Customer Management | | | III | Communication and Leadership | | | IV | Integrating Business Functions with Select SMMP Components | | | V | Building a Business Case | | | VI | Policy Development and Compliance |
| VII | Procurement | | | VIII | Risk Mitigation and Contingency Planning | | | IX | Data Analysis | | | X | Technology | | | XI | Models of Success |
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Most of the modules will be covered in half-day sessions. However, full days will be dedicated to SMMP models, building a business case, risk mitigation and contingency planning, and data analysis. The SMMP models will include those for resource utilization, meeting planning, event registration, financials, payment and reconciliation.
The program is the result of 18 months of work from the SMMC task force, comprised of current members and alumni of the NBTA Groups and Meetings Committee, educators and non-NBTA members. Three facilitators, a faculty advisor and an NBTA staff liaison assisted with content development. The task force remains a separate entity from the committee. Other industry certification programs, such as the Convention Industry Council's Certified Meeting Professional exam and Meeting Professional International's Certification in Meeting Management program were considered as the task force drafted the criteria and content for the SMMC.
What's Next?
With the launch of the SMMC program complete, the NBTA Groups and Meetings Committee now is turning its focus to a research project that will explore why the practice of SMM hasn't been adopted as widely as expected and what obstacles have kept meetings managers from implementing it. The committee plans to deliver toolkits and seminars to help meetings managers implement each step of the SMM process as well as communicate with stakeholders companywide.
In 2010, the committee will deliver refreshed versions of all its white papers to incorporate up-to-date best practices, documented success models and technological advances. Additionally, a robust slate of educational programs will be launched, including live programs delivered around both national and regional association events and Web-based learning opportunities that offer on-demand flexibility.
The taming of the Wild West has been achieved in no small way by the efforts of what I consider the new sheriff in town: the NBTA Groups and Meetings Committee.