While many factors contribute to employees leaving their jobs, burnout is a key one in the current environment. To help combat staff burnout, one expert suggests organisations acknowledge the problem, focus on wellness and vacations, and improve work-life balance.

Over the past two years, many employees continued to work long hours to help keep their organization afloat through the ups and downs of the pandemic. This has inevitably led to burnout, with many workers quitting as part of the Great Resignation.

To help your employees battle burnout, it’s important to focus on a few key areas, said James Bailey, professor of management at George Washington University. First, employers should acknowledge that burnout is happening.

“Organizations need to say, ‘Everybody, we know that this is going on, that some of you are burnt out,’” Bailey said. “And then, show that at the top of the organization, you care and you understand.”

By acknowledging the problem, organizations make space for solutions. Bailey said solutions for burnout typically include things like meditation and taking a break to recharge—such as a vacation. However, during 2020 and 2021, workers took fewer vacation days.

However, if organizations give employees the opportunity to enact solutions, they are more likely to take self-care actions.

“Provide resources for employees,” Bailey said. “It could be something as simple as an app, but also it could be your employee assistance program building in elements for a stress-related or burnout-related hotline. Or buy everyone in the organization a yearlong subscription to Headspace.”

Also, encourage staff to take real vacations, where they truly disconnect from the rigors of work.

“We’re at the beach in Jamaica, and we should be relaxing, but what are we doing?” Bailey said. “We are checking our phones, answering emails. We’re returning calls. That is exactly what we should not be doing when we’re on vacation.”

Instead, he said tell staff no email, no phone calls, and no work during their time off. If they have a work mobile phone, make them leave it at the office. Don’t require them to do makeup work when they return—assign staff to cover their duties, so it’s a true vacation.

“I think vacations aren’t taken seriously in some organizations,” Bailey said. “When you are on vacation, you should be on vacation the whole time. That’s one of the ways you deal with burnout is to reset and move away.”

Work-Life Balance Matters

Finally, helping employees achieve proper work-life balance can reduce burnout and help retain staff. This lack of work-life balance is evident when one looks the reality of the Great Resignation versus the myth that’s sprung up around it, according to Bailey.

“One myth associated with the Great Resignation is that people are using this as an opportunity to career shift,” he said. “For example, they are going from a career in accounting to one working in nonprofits in a non-accounting function, so they feel like they’re giving back more to the world. Or people are becoming carpenters or artists. That is not happening.”

What is happening, he says, is people are looking for the same type of job, and finding it with more flexibility, better work-life balance, and, sometimes, more pay.

“One place is saying, ‘We are all going back full-time starting May 31’ or whatever the date might be, and the other one has said, ‘Nope, we’ve already decided we’re going to stay on two days a week in the office and three days at home.’ It’s a really big lifestyle drop.”

Ultimately, organizations must figure out how to create that work-life balance in a way that employees find desirable. “That’s going to include working from home,” Bailey said. “That’s going to include better bonuses, more vacation time, more discretion over their work, and if possible, more pay.”

What has your organization done to reduce employee burnout? Share in the comments.

By Rasheeda Childress Mar 16, 2022

Originally posted here 

Every organisation is unique in its own way, with its own challenges and opportunities. Your customer base may be comprised of members, subscribers, donors or “friends.” However, there are five important topics of exploration and discussion that will improve your relationship with your audience, no matter what you call them. Follow these guidelines and it will become a pleasure for your team to interact with your valuable constituency!

1—DELIVER ON THE PROMISE YOU MADE WHEN THEY SIGNED UP

Sounds so simple, but if your acquisition team isn’t in sync with your benefit delivery team, a chasm can open up.

Acquisition is all about getting a “YES,” certainly. But if the promise doesn’t match the experience, your retention will suffer.

How realistic is your acquisition pitch?

• Do you position your organisation as the most authoritative source, and promise to answer all their questions? It’s a very good goal, but make sure people know how to ask the questions so you can answer them.
• If your portfolio has a lot of discounts, are they truly good deals?
• If you have a product testing program, are you prepared to manage expectations (because it’s unlikely you’ll have enough products for 100% of your audience members to test-and-keep)?
• Are benefits exclusive, or can they pick up the magazine on the newsstand for less (or read it online at no cost)?
• If you’re an advocacy organization, do you really represent the audience?

Persuasion is necessary to get a prospect to say yes, but it’s also the first step on a journey you’re asking them to take with you. It’s the foundation of your solid, authentic, long-term relationship.

If you never get that second “date,” maybe your elevator pitch is out of touch.

2—LISTEN ACTIVELY TO YOUR AUDIENCE TO BUILD A STRONGER FOUNDATION

Almost without exception, relationships come apart because one or both parties weren’t listening. It’s no different in a community-based organisation.

You might be thinking about your organization all day, every day. It’s likely your audience members only think of you when you prompt them, or when they need you. So what else is consuming their day? Find plausible ways to ask, and you’ll discover new opportunities to make yourself more valued (and improved retention will reflect the effort).

For example, when COVID-19 brought in-person networking events to an abrupt halt, organizations that listened and responded with live-stream options won the day.

Listen at every possible interaction. For example, if you’re publishing information, do you know if your recipients are a) reading what you publish and b) understanding what it means for them? A simple, frequent reader satisfaction survey can give your content team great feedback.

If a regular column isn’t being read, replace it with something that does engage the reader. You can’t influence your audience if they aren’t reading what you send.

Are your benefits resonating and perceived as important? Active listening might uncover something that is changing in their world that could influence how you modify benefits, or seek new ones.

We often find that the benefits new audience members say are very important (like getting good deals through the organization) fade over time and other, less quantifiable but more satisfying reasons for affiliating take over. Networking. Pride in affiliation. Having fun. Looking to your organization first as a reliable, trustworthy source of information that makes what they do more rewarding.

Conversely, you need your audience members to listen to you as well. You can’t retain your position as an authoritative source and justify that fee for participation if your audience isn’t engaging with you. And that means relevant, authentic communication. Because here’s the thing: nothing you send is required reading.

A good communicator can take the feedback from your member surveys and craft your messages in a style, format, cadence that your audience will read. “I hear what you’re saying” goes a long way toward engagement.

3—RESPECTFUL ASSUMPTION INVITES ENGAGEMENT

Once they say “yes” to your invitation, it’s time to stop selling (sidenote: use “invitation” not “application” unless you really could deny them access).

This is especially true when it’s time to renew. Reselling benefits can backfire. They may not have used some (or even any) of the benefits, but still value affiliation. Reminding them of benefits they didn’t use gives them an opening to say, “Well, I got along just fine without all those things, I guess I won’t renew.”

Inclusive, engaging communication that sends the message they belong, are valued, and welcomed as a part of the community makes for a stronger bond.

But don’t assume without a foundation. For example, if you assume they know how to log in and find the good stuff without a guide to train them, both your staff and your constituency will be frustrated. Here’s where a well-crafted onboarding/re-boarding program is a wonderful surrogate for the neighborhood welcome wagon. It’s not that you want them to do everything by themselves, it’s that you want them to be comfortable with your benefits and programs enough that they COULD find an answer without calling your service team.

If they reach the end of their term and say, “I didn’t know I had access to  <insert benefit here>,” you’ve failed them and sold yourself short. You’ve also failed your team by not making it clear what they do all day on behalf of the audience and your organizational goals.

4—IT’S ABOUT “YOU” (THE AUDIENCE MEMBER) NOT “ME” (THE ORGANISATION)

Don’t be the person at the party who only talks about themselves. A relationship with a self-centered person doesn’t last long, right? The same is true in a community. If everything that comes from your organization is “We/Our/I/Me,” you’re sending a pretty strong message that it’s not about the individual and how THEY value and engage with you.

How many times have you read (or written) the phrase “we’re so proud” in your communications? This phrase is a big brick wall. Consider instead, “you will benefit from” which says the organization has something to share that will improve their experience.

More than almost anything else you could do, this is a culture-creator. When staff starts to tear down the “we” wall, collaboration and community thrives.

5—BE IN SERVICE NOT A SERVANT

Your team is NOT there to wait on your audience members. Environments that allow constituents to bully, berate or make direct demands of your staff are toxic and painful for everyone.

Mutual respect, engaging communications and a culture of service is the goal. Think of staff as hosts. They are experts on your product, and are best equipped to show your audience members how to maximize their experience. Your staff should be considered skilled guides, not pack mules!

Instituting a practice of listening and sharing results can help you create a healthy culture of service. When staff knows that what they do to enhance someone’s experience results in a higher satisfaction score (like those who use the Net Promoter Score methodology), they better understand how their actions impact the score and the ultimate goal of retention.

WHILE YOU’RE FOCUSED ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR AUDIENCE MEMBERS, CONSIDER ONE LAST QUESTION

Have you walked in your their shoes lately? Turn around and look at your organization through their eyes. Would you go on that second date, or would you be edging your way toward the door to get away from the person who really isn’t interested in anything but hearing him or herself talk?

A healthy, mutually beneficial relationship between audience members and staff is possible if you follow these steps.

The natural desire to see people again, mixed with the need to lean on networking for hiring reasons, might be enough to get people to come back to in-person events in 2022.

After two years of virtual and hybrid meetings, signs are showing that in-person events could make a big comeback in 2022, thanks in part to a decline in COVID-19 cases, improved protocols, and a recharged economy.

But a big factor might actually be the networking element—something that Inc. contributor Ken Sterling, executive vice president at the speakers bureau BigSpeak, pointed to in a recent piece, in which he made the bold claim that “2022 will be the busiest year in event history.”

And for associations looking to put on events, there might be a good reason to emphasize networking in the coming months.

Great resource can be downloaded here

What’s the Strategy?

There’s a case to build some of the earliest return in-person events around networking opportunities, as noted by The Wall Street Journal, which said that both traditional conferences and smaller gala-style networking events have started to pick up interest this year.

Even events that have found themselves sitting on the sidelines during the early parts of the pandemic, such as South by Southwest and the annual TED conference, are making their returns within the next month.

And attendees of those events may need to shake off a bit of rust in the process.

“We were joking about how we had to relearn our social skills,” said Lisa Lopez, a psychology professor, in comments to the Journal, about attending an event in San Diego recently. “We’re all developmental psychologists who study social and academic development, and we had to retrain ourselves on social development.”

Why Is It Effective?

To put it simply, people are starved for in-person interaction, so evidence is growing that people who typically attend events might finally be driven to do something in person again thanks to a growing need for networking.

And there’s even an underlying factor making networking important, per Sterling—the Great Resignation. Companies are in need of new employees.

“Many talented people are looking for better working conditions and wages,” he wrote. “One of the best ways to network for and to keep new talent is to send people to in-person events and meetings.”

What’s the Potential?

Beyond the obvious business benefits—the revival and return of the event industry, which could help associations bounce back in a big way in 2022—it also reflects an opportunity to strengthen the bonds that tie your association together.

There are, of course, challenges to consider—including having effective COVID-19 protocols and factors such as social distancing—but networking might just be the factor that ensures a return to event success.

By Ernie Smith Mar 07, 2022

originally posted here

Aiming to get more member referrals is a great way to grow your membership because there's no better way to prove that you're delivering value than to have happy members tell their friends. In fact, the time that you spend on setting up processes around member referrals will be well worth it for several reasons.

Benefits to Using Member Referrals

First of all, it's cost-effective.

Word-of-mouth is the most trusted form of advertising there is and it can literally cost you nothing once you get your initial systems set up. However, referrals won't just automatically happen. We might think that they will because we're awesome enough...but most people are busy and your organization is not necessarily top-of-mind for them. You definitely have to make an intentional effort to ask.

Secondly, it's scalable.

Scalable means that you can get more results without putting in more effort. Once you have the systems in place to ask for referrals and to follow up on those referrals, most of the work can be automated. At that point, it doesn't really matter if you get one referral a week, ten referrals a week, or a thousand referrals a week. Automation takes care of everything, so it's not additional work for you to get more member referrals!

Third, referrals build relationships.

And we are definitely in the relationship business! The referred person comes in as a much warmer connection than someone who is brand new to your organization. Plus, when you take exceptionally good care of the referred person, the member who referred them feels good about making the introduction.

Fourth, this is a sustainable strategy.

With other types of marketing, you often have to gear up for a big push or make a big investment anytime you want to implement. When you have a referral system in place, it just chugs away behind-the-scenes day-after-day without sucking up more resources.

Encouraging referrals is a really smart growth strategy. There's a big upside without much additional time and effort on the part of the membership leader.

To get those referrals rolling requires a bit of planning, though.

Things to incorporate into your member referral approach

1. Some type of landing page for your referral program, or at least a dedicated page on your website.

If you are offering any kind of incentive for referrals, you'll need someplace to talk about how that works. And even if you're not offering an incentive, you need someplace for members to submit their referrals.

2. A form for submitting the referred person's information

You'll want to capture the referred person's contact information so that you can reach out to them with follow-up. You should also capture the member's information so you can appropriately thank them and keep them in the loop if their referred person ultimately decides to join.

3. A follow-up sequence for the referred person

A well-constructed follow-up can make the difference between whether the potential new member is intrigued by what you offer, or if they just ignore you. When you use a software like JourneyCARE, you can build all sorts of things into a follow-up sequence to nurture this referral in a really special way. Incorporate emails, text messages, voicemail drops, personal reach-outs from one of your ambassadors, or a wide variety of other creative actions.

4. A follow-up sequence for your member who made the referral

At a minimum, you want to thank this person for thinking of your organization and going to the effort to refer their friend. Beyond that, be sure to add in a piece where you specifically let the member know when their friend joins. They may hear about it from the person that they referred, but it's also nice for them to hear it from you. It says that you noticed and appreciated their effort, which makes them more inclined to do it again in the future.

5. A process for automatic asks built into your membership journey

There are a lot of organizations that encourage referrals just at specific times during the year, like during a Member Appreciation Month or an annual membership drive. However, you can actually build the process of asking for referrals right on into your member care check-ins, perhaps timing them quarterly, or after major events, or when a member has submitted a testimonial, or if you've done a member profile story. As with most aspects of building an exceptional member journey, you are limited only by your imagination.

Most of these ideas could be implemented in your organization quickly. In fact, you may be doing some of these things, but not others...but all of these pieces kind of work together to create a well-oiled referral engine, so I encourage you to look at what's in place and what's not.

This last week, I did an over-the-shoulder training focused on how JourneyCARE can be used to encourage member referrals. If you missed that, you can connect with the live trainings here. You'll see all of the upcoming topics and be able to access past replays.

And, of course, if you'd like to chat about how to build this out for your organization, let's get on a Zoom and chat. In just 30 minutes, I'm confident I can show you how to start getting more referrals from your members in just 30 days.

You can hop directly into my calendar by going to joyofmembership.com/consult. There, you'll see days and times that are available and make an appointment instantly.

I'll be back next week with another great article. In the meantime, take care!

About Joy Duling

Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups, and nonprofits since 2005, through her consulting practice, which is aptly named, The Joy of Membership. In addition to her role as a trusted advisor, Joy served for more than a decade as Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit herself and is a national speaker and podcaster on topics related to experience design and membership growth.

Connect with Joy on LinkedIn

Book a Consult on Joy's Calendar

originally posted here

On the Take 5 with Associations show presented in partnership with ASI, we chat with Charles Cameron, Chief Executive Officer of the Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association Australia & New Zealand (RCSA), to see how they are shape tomorrow's talent landscape.

Our host Paul Ramsbottom, Managing Director of ASI, talks with Charles about their engagement score and how RCSA integrates digital technology solutions for their members and organisation.

RCSA has been working closely with Causeis to develop their big engagement score within their engagement management system, IMIS, to understand the blood pressure of RCSA and its membership. By doing this, RSCA can see who are the most engaged and who are the least engaged members. This means every time they have a conversation, they deliver a solution, and every time they hold an event, information is captured in the database. By measuring the engagement score of each member, RSCA can quickly identify members who have low blood pressure and need engaging.

Charles says, "We're a human entity. We are living, breathing organisms, and when the blood stops pumping, we've got a problem."

"When it comes to digital technologies, it's about the tech stack. There are many solutions out there, and it's important to be able to integrate them and roll them out successfully across the team. The big engagement score is a really important part."

RCSA also focuses on social media tracking and marketing automation using Higher Logic. As a result, RCSA has a stronger social media profile, more exposure online, better connection with members, and enhanced organisation reputation.

Charles shares campaign insights and says, "We've run campaigns to target and connect with new startup companies on the back of COVID; there's heaps of new recruitment and staffing firms. We are also working with the Department of Health to place workers into aged care impacted by COVID. RCSA is developing technology on the back of that to try and connect our members with clients and workers to try and get people to save lives, which is awesome as well."

A well-defined tech stack and measuring engagement allow RCSA to respond quickly to member needs and shape tomorrow's talent landscape. Click the link to give it a watch.

About Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association Australia & New Zealand

The Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association Australia & New Zealand (RCSA) is the peak body for the recruitment and staffing industry in Australia and New Zealand.

About Advanced Solutions International

Advanced Solutions International (ASI) is a leading global provider of cloud software and services for associations and non-profits. We help clients digitally transform, streamline operations, and grow revenue through industry expertise, best-practice advice, and high-quality solutions. Our portfolio of solutions includes iMIS for association and non-profit management, TopClass LMS for learning management, and OpenWater for submission and review management. 

ASI is an AuSAE Premium Alliance Partner - www.imis.com/ausae

Last night the Incorporated society Bill was tabled in Parliament  'In Committee' stage. A Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) was submitted having three (3) necessary changes to the bill.  All of these changes were debated and then passed by the house unopposed – which is great news and in some cases will make many of our lives are less tedious.

1/  Consent to become a member (Body Corp ) "clause 72 of the bill, currently, requires that the body corporate's consent to joining be confirmed by two of its directors." The proposed change was "consent can be given on a body corporate's behalf by a person acting under the body corporate's express or implied authority." And that provision will align with section 181B of the Companies Act and will make it simpler for a body corporate to join in an incorporated society.

2/ New Incorporated societies this is in regard to reporting standards and now "that for newer societies that do not yet have two accounting periods under their belt, total operating payments and total current assets will be assessed based simply on the current financial year for which they are preparing their accounts"

3/ Reregistering: The Supplementary Order Paper 130 proposes to provide the registrar with the power to waive minor or technical non-compliance issues with applications, and a power to allow re-registration subject to conditions such as an obligation to provide certain information within a month.

I am yet to receive copies of the amended bill, once I have this I will publicise it to all members. And look forward to the next step in the Parliamentary process

The videos can be watched here

Here’s how to take your learning program to the next level and deliver greater member value. 

Your association is a trusted source for professional education and training. In the 2021 Association Trends Study by Community Brands, two thirds of members in the study’s survey say they’re required to take professional education and training courses to comply with industry standards. Of those members, most turn to their employer or their professional organization for education and training.  

But are you doing all you can to provide member value in this area?  

Here are four things you can do to step up your professional education program and deliver more of what members want: 

1. Offer a wider variety of learning options.

Findings from the 2021 Association Trends Study show that members are interested in more learning modalities than their professional organization currently offers. This suggests an opportunity to provide more learning options for your members.

For example, members say they are interested in a wide variety of professional education and training opportunities, including: 

• On-demand learning   
• Mobile learning  
• Just-in-time learning  
• Short videos  
• Social learning  

The takeaway: Your annual conference and in-person events should no longer be the only sources of continuing education and training. Deliver greater member value by offering a wide variety of year-round learning opportunities to address members’ budgets, schedules, educational and certification needs, and learning preferences. 

2. Invest in a modern learning management system (LMS).

Delivering on-demand content to learners can be a challenge – especially without the right technology to support a robust professional education program. Consider investing in online learning software that allows you to provide an engaging learning experience through a single platform. This type of investment can deliver multiple benefits to your organization, including:

• Improving member value – You can provide more value by helping your members to achieve their career goals.      
• Efficiently manage content – You can manage, track, organize, store, and deliver on-demand content more efficiently.
• Driving non-dues revenue – You can increase revenue by turning your content into a year-round revenue generator.   

TIP: You can integrate the association management software (AMS), Nimble AMS, with Crowd Wisdom LMS by Community Brands to help you deliver an elevated learning experience for your members.  

3. Target your learning opportunities.

You can increase participation (and revenue!) for your professional education program using artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics technology. For example, use this functionality to predict which members are most likely to register for a specific course or certificate program based on their past engagement with your organization, and then send them targeted marketing messages for those learning activities.  

TIP: Nimble AMS Predictions in Nimble AMS uses the AI technology Salesforce Einstein to make it easy for associations to get started with AI and predictive analytics

4. Make it easy to enroll.  

Your members are used to utilizing your member portal to complete member activities. Whether renewing their membership, registering for an event, or purchasing learning courses, these experiences should be consistent. Remove any barriers to enrollment in courses by integrating your LMS and AMS. 

Take your organisation to the next level.

Originally posted here

Looking to the future, anticipating business needs, and a time-honored back pocket strategy helped lead the Association of Proposal Management Professionals to sustainable success—even during a pandemic.

By Lisa Boylan Feb 22, 2022

Rick Harris, CEO of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, is always looking for ways to grow his association.

“The best CEOs are going to look forward to find the niches and deliver,” Harris said. For example, a McKinsey & Co. report [PDF] revealed that a lot of organizations have a skills and professional development gap. In addition, a Korn Ferry study estimated that there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people by 2030, which could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues.

Those pieces of data were key to mapping out a strategy that showed what direction APMP should be headed. “Associations have this unbelievable treasure trove of power that corporations are looking for,” Harris said. “We can serve [corporations] in a way they can’t themselves.”

Become the Go-To Association

Corporations are worried about how to serve their customers, but they don’t always have the time to focus on how to close that skills gap and provide professional development for their staff. “That’s something associations are well-positioned to do,” Harris said.

Those trends and data led Harris to think about how APMP could be more like a trade association and revamp its membership model to include an organizational category that would provide corporations with the services that they need but weren’t getting. APMP immediately started focusing on attracting corporate members.

The group doubled down and hired additional membership staff to provide white-glove, concierge-like service to its corporate members and formed a Member Value Team five years ago. “It’s all about relationship building with our customer,” Harris said. “We wanted to give corporate members a confidence, a place to go, and service they’ve never had before.”

The Member Value team built relationships with the corporate members and asked them what they were looking for, which revealed a need for more specialized certification programs. The team aggregated their responses and came up with a couple of certification programs to meet those needs, then conducted a member survey at the end to test it. APMP launched both programs during the pandemic and they have taken off. “It’s because we went to the customer and knew what they wanted to do,” Harris said.

The idea was to become the association the corporations thought of first, so they would be more inclined to automatically renew based on the bespoke relationship fostered by not just the Member Value Team but also the entire organization. “Our plan worked, and it would work for any association in general to identify gaps and see where your association can fill those gaps,” Harris said.

Eleven years ago, APMP had 18 corporate members, and now it has 186, which represents a 900 percent growth increase. Even the pandemic could not stop its momentum. APMP’s corporate membership portfolio grew by 44 percent, while its individual membership grew by 9 percent.

Harris credits his ability to branch out and try new things on a piece of advice he got from a CEO 33 years ago: “Always do what the board wants you to do, but always have a wild card.”

But it must be a well-researched wild card that you are confident is going to work. Because when you deliver on the wild card, the board will give you more and more space.

“We look at things like the pandemic, not as a brick wall that we have to stop and start reducing and cutting,” Harris said. “We look at it like a speed bump—and how we can take advantage of that using the model we have built.”

Originally posted here

At this point in the pandemic, we have a good sense for what protocols we’ll face at in-person gatherings. But what about the more nuanced social aspects of meetings? Use these tips to acclimate to meetings etiquette in 2022.

By Michael Hickey Feb 22, 2022

Things that were no-brainers in meetings two years ago are now fraught with public health and etiquette concerns. How do you ask whether someone is OK shaking hands? How do you indicate that you yourself aren’t comfortable—or that you are? How do you indicate someone is too physically close for comfort?

Before walking into what might be your first in-person meeting in a while, consider these insights to draw your own safety standards without impinging on why you’re going back to the conference space: connecting with others in real time.

Be Polite, But Speak Up

Just because you’re comfortable enough to return to in-person meetings doesn’t mean that you’ll be comfortable with acting like it’s 2019. What felt like an appropriate personal distance back then might feel unsafe to you now, and you could be put in a situation where your fellow attendees don’t give you enough space. It may be uncomfortable to ask others for more space, but with your safety in mind, it’s best to push through this awkwardness and say something. The Emily Post Institute offers a few phrases you can use to speak up without ruffling feathers, such as:

• “Sorry, I’m trying to keep 6 feet away.” (While stepping back)
• “I’ll wait and catch the next elevator.”
• “Do you mind giving us just a little bit more space, please?” (Hopefully followed by a: “Thank you so much.”)

“You want to have an upbeat tone to your delivery, no edge whatsoever,” the Emily Post Institute wrote.

Follow Cough Etiquette

Sneezing, sniffles, and coughs certainly carry more weight than they used to, and will raise more concerns and turn more heads than the last time you were at an in-person gathering. So, if you’re unmasked during the event, remember to follow proper coughing etiquette, which includes:

• Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Coughing or sneezing into your elbow, not your hands, if you don’t have a tissue.
• Throwing used tissues in the trash.
• Immediately washing your hands after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

While following cough etiquette has always been the way to conduct yourself, being diligent with your hygiene will go a long way toward making everyone comfortable during in-person meetings in 2022.

Ask—Don’t Assume—When Greeting Others

When greeting fellow attendees, keep in mind that some will be OK with hugs and handshakes, while others might still be uncomfortable. Don’t assume that the person you’re talking to has gone back to pre-COVID greetings. Instead, say something like “Hi, nice to see you. [Are we shaking hands/Can I hug you?]” If this feels a little awkward, it might help just to acknowledge that awkwardness with the person you’re talking to.

“It makes the person feel better,” said Vanessa Bohns, a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “When the other person feels better, they like you more.”

Why Is Punctuality Important?

The event’s organizers have probably gone to great lengths to put together a safe in-person meeting. Don’t be late! Of course, attending an in-person gathering takes more prep than a virtual one, where you could just open your laptop from home. Now that you‘re back in person, give yourself enough time to arrive, park, check in, find your room, go through any safety protocols, and grab a seat.

Originally posted here

New Zealand will be showcasing its new venues and activities to the Asia Pacific meetings and events industry with a new hybrid stand at this year’s AIME trade show.

Tourism New Zealand will be anchoring the stand with an increased number of New Zealand partners, both in person and via a virtual hub on-stand, to showcase the country’s latest business events developments.

Representatives of the three new generation convention centres in New Zealand - Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre and the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland - will be physically on stand.

There will also be in-person attendance from key destinations Auckland Convention Bureau, Business Events Wellington, Dunedin Business Events, and Queenstown Convention Bureau, as well as industry body BEIA, and hotel presence from Cordis Auckland and Millennium Hotels and Resorts.

Show attendees will be able to live chat virtually with Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Southland Regional Development Agency, and Destination Rotorua, as well as venue operators CPG Hotels - Terrace Downs and Auckland Conventions, Venues & Events.

Tourism New Zealand General Manager Domestic & Business Events Bjoern Spreitzer says:

“We want to be present and meet the buyers at this event to discuss what New Zealand can offer for their events and make those genuine connections that in-person can bring. We’re also aware that face-to-face isn’t an option for everyone currently, so wanted to demonstrate our hybrid capabilities and extend our reach via a virtual component.

“New imagery and on-stand activations will provide an immersive, welcoming New Zealand experience for attendees."

Australian hosted buyers who book a Pre-Scheduled Appointment with the New Zealand team (either in-person or virtually) at AIME are also in the draw to win a return trip for two from Australia to either Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or Queenstown with Air New Zealand, aligned with New Zealand’s border reopening timings. This will include four nights’ accommodation and experiencing two excursions in their destination of choice first-hand.

Spreitzer adds: “With new venues and activities coming online, plus flexible, competitive and business-specific funding and support on offer, there’s lots for us to share with event organisers from across the region.”

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NOTES:

The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) is the leading trade event for the meetings and event industry in the Asia Pacific region. AIME 2022 will be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from 21 – 23 March.

For more information on holding a business event in New Zealand, head to: businessevents.newzealand.com