Speaking the Language of the C-Suite Will Take You From Planner to Partner 

Though meeting planning is heavily focused on logistics, planners have it in their power to change the conversation with their C-suites, says Ashley Dukat, founder and managing partner at AMD Event Solutions, who spoke on the topic during SITE’s recent Annual Conference.

“Changing your mindset to become a strategic planner can be a challenge,” she said. “But if you step in and help the meeting or incentive holder achieve their objectives, you become a partner.”

Take incentive travel, which is one of the most expensive marketing levers. “That’s crazy, because it’s the least strategically defined,” said Dukat. “When somebody is spending half a million dollars on an experience versus $40,000 on a trade show, how is it that we can not measure that and show that ROI through data?”

Instead of asking questions about potential locations and budget for the next incentive program, she suggests asking why the company is holding this trip and which business outcomes need acceleration.

The answers you are aiming for are an essential starting point in a strategic discussion with the C-suite, and should be specific, behavior-based, and time-bound, such as “to encourage cross-functional collaboration,” or “to differentiate the company as an employer of choice.” The company might be looking to align teams around strategic priorities, or to reinforce long-term commitment among top performers. 

Planners can then follow up with questions that dig deeper. Examples might include:

• Should this program reinforce competition, collaboration, or both?
• What larger business goal does this program support?
• Is the goal growth, acceleration, or consistency?
• What outcomes would justify repeating or expanding the program?
• What type of experience best resonates with this audience?

A different kind of data

A typical post-event survey asks attendees about the meeting experience, focusing on things like the choice of destination or accommodations, or the quality of the F&B. But that’s not what matters at the C-level, said Dukat. Survey questions need to analyze the outcomes versus the objective, and to focus on what worked and why, and which behaviors changed as a result of the event. 

Strategic examples might include: “Did the experience strengthen your connection to leadership or your peers?” or “Did this meeting influence how you prioritize your work or deals?” or “Which part of the experience most influenced your behavior or mindset?”

The next-level step would be to work with other departments in the company, such as sales or human resources, to establish and measure key performance indicators (KPIs). “KPIs are not satisfaction scores,” Dukat said. “They tie back to the objective.” For an incentive program, that could mean tracking sales before and after the trip, while a corporate retreat would look at the year-over-year retention rates of the attendees.

She suggests putting all the feedback into AI to summarize it into a report, then presenting that, along with KPIs and suggestions for improvements to the next event, to your C-level executives. “This positions you as the key to future success.”