In this blog, I use the term "strategic meetings management” a lot. In fact, I'm also seeing the term used more and more these days, especially as companies increasingly try to take control of spending on events.
Unfortunately, the term is often mis-used or mis-understood. I sense it’s getting trivialized. Some people seem to think it's all about technology, others about planning meetings better. So, I think it's worth it to define here in black and white what strategic meetings management (SMM) means. For those of you who may not know, I helped in constructing a global SMMP at Hewlett-Packard and founded the NBTA’s Groups & Meetings Committee, which has now researched, documented and defined Strategic Meetings Management in a series of white papers.
Strategic meetings management is not just about meeting planning and logistics. SMM is the strategic management of enterprise wide meeting related processes, spend, volumes, standards, and suppliers to achieve quantitative cost-savings, risk mitigation, and superior service. It’s about creating a strategy, policy and using technology to enable your process/program; specifically in the 6 areas of:
We live in a time when companies are being criticized for spending money on meetings to take care of essential business. But firms that are meeting want to reap the most ROI possible on every dollar spent. The bottom line: now, more than ever, developing enterprise-wide strategic meetings management is more important than ever.
Thank goodness for organizations like NBTA, whose Groups & Meetings Committee aims to help travel, procurement, and meetings professionals learn skills to develop best-in-class SMMPs. NBTA's committee will unveil its first strategic meetings management certification (SMMC) program at NBTA's annual convention this August in San Diego.
Kari Kesler, current NBTA board member, former co-chair of the Groups & Meetings Committee and lead thought developer of the SMMC said it best in a recent article in Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine: "Because of the economic state we’re in, it’s the perfect time to have an SMMP in place. All the questions senior execs are now asking about meeting spend and tracking spend cannot be answered without an SMMP,” said Kesler, who now heads up her own consulting firm, KK Strategic Solutions. “It’s very energizing to be at the forefront of this!"
So if you hear or notice anyone referencing SMM, SMMP, SMMC, etc., remind them that there’s a definitive purpose and branding associated with those acronyms, and challenge them to validate their programs accordingly.
For more information about SMMP, SMMC, please check out our Resource Center at www.starcite.com or the NBTA website at www.nbta.org.
Unfortunately, the term is often mis-used or mis-understood. I sense it’s getting trivialized. Some people seem to think it's all about technology, others about planning meetings better. So, I think it's worth it to define here in black and white what strategic meetings management (SMM) means. For those of you who may not know, I helped in constructing a global SMMP at Hewlett-Packard and founded the NBTA’s Groups & Meetings Committee, which has now researched, documented and defined Strategic Meetings Management in a series of white papers.
Strategic meetings management is not just about meeting planning and logistics. SMM is the strategic management of enterprise wide meeting related processes, spend, volumes, standards, and suppliers to achieve quantitative cost-savings, risk mitigation, and superior service. It’s about creating a strategy, policy and using technology to enable your process/program; specifically in the 6 areas of:
- Registration
- Approval
- Sourcing/Procurement
- Planning/Execution
- Payment/Expense Reconciliation
- Data Analysis/Reporting
We live in a time when companies are being criticized for spending money on meetings to take care of essential business. But firms that are meeting want to reap the most ROI possible on every dollar spent. The bottom line: now, more than ever, developing enterprise-wide strategic meetings management is more important than ever.
Thank goodness for organizations like NBTA, whose Groups & Meetings Committee aims to help travel, procurement, and meetings professionals learn skills to develop best-in-class SMMPs. NBTA's committee will unveil its first strategic meetings management certification (SMMC) program at NBTA's annual convention this August in San Diego.
Kari Kesler, current NBTA board member, former co-chair of the Groups & Meetings Committee and lead thought developer of the SMMC said it best in a recent article in Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine: "Because of the economic state we’re in, it’s the perfect time to have an SMMP in place. All the questions senior execs are now asking about meeting spend and tracking spend cannot be answered without an SMMP,” said Kesler, who now heads up her own consulting firm, KK Strategic Solutions. “It’s very energizing to be at the forefront of this!"So if you hear or notice anyone referencing SMM, SMMP, SMMC, etc., remind them that there’s a definitive purpose and branding associated with those acronyms, and challenge them to validate their programs accordingly.
For more information about SMMP, SMMC, please check out our Resource Center at www.starcite.com or the NBTA website at www.nbta.org.
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