Evolution is a natural part of life. As a result, so is extinction. In the natural habitat of the meeting and travel planning of any corporation, this process is no different. Process and technology are continually evolving, which means that the old, outdated way is constantly being placed on the endangered list, and eventually becoming extinct altogether.
The elders in your office might tell you about the old days when a typical meeting planners desktop consisted of little more than a telephone with rotating numbers, stacks of manila folders with files lined with perforated edges, notebooks, pencils, pens, and perhaps a machine used exclusively for addition and subtraction if the job called for it. These same elders (aka experts) teach the virtues of having a Strategic Meetings Management Program (SMMP) in place.
Set up for failure.
SMMP programs, processes, and procedures were designed based on technologies developed 20 years ago. However, technology is intended to be updated and replaced, so the fact that an industry built a discipline around early technology just does not work. In today’s world, it is next to impossible to get global adoption, and you don’t get those results with the industry defined as SMMP from decades ago.
Over-engineered & over-complicated.
Legacy technologies are over-engineered, inevitably following in the steps of dinosaurs. A crude step above cave drawings, the systems are complicated to use and suitable for only the most experienced professional planners. Implementation and training are a long, treacherous process, and the systems are costly when it comes to both time and money.
New world
Fast forward to 2021. With access to the internet and mobile devices, anyone in your organization can book their own meetings anytime and anywhere. Those travel and meeting arrangements that need to be centralized are anything but. The pandemic has made virtual meetings a household name, and with the rebound and recovery, hybrid meetings will be a mainstay. Many companies that were not previously using technology to manage meetings will be required to invest in technology as a ‘must-have’ to mitigate risks, track spend and have oversight. At this point in history, organizations have the opportunity to become more resilient and efficient with modern technology and processes.
It is time to usher in a whole new approach to meeting management. One that is more in line with a strategy that you would have in an OBT for meetings. It’s time to think outside the box, take a fresh look at meetings management, simplify it, and get the results you don’t want.
It is a new world. You need to know how to launch a modern-day meetings program and have the right technology to make it happen. Designed from the ground up to be intuitive, easy to use, and deployed globally, Groupize technology is next-generation modern. The technology is designed for occasional and professional planners, with the concept of self-service with full service in a centralized global program.
SMMP and the outdated technologies that inspired it have finally run their course.
