Chris Skeith OBE, chief executive of the UK’s Association of Event Organisers (AEO), reflects on the January AEO Forums
Team motivation beyond salary
Have you ever wondered what truly motivates your team? Beyond the realm of salary, genuine satisfaction emerges from the camaraderie within our industry and the autonomy within their roles. As one of my team members said: “I like delivering for members and sponsors because they’re just a good bunch.”
The people factor
Most of my events industry connections would say they stay for the people.
So how does that translate to new talent coming through the doors who don’t yet know that we are ‘a good bunch’ worth staying for? In 2023, we did a show of hands at the AEO Forums, for how many people were new to the industry – it was the majority. That’s a lot of people who will decide quickly if they are excited to be here. Challenge accepted.
Meaningful connections
Fast forward to 26 January, 2024, when this year’s AEO Forums took place at the Business Design Centre in London. Crafted for junior to mid-level professionals in marketing, sales, and operations,
the event aimed not only to impart valuable knowledge but also to foster meaningful connections.
Expert chairs, Jessica Hockman from Informa Group, Alison Willis from Easyfairs, and Kerrie Kemp from ExCeL London, passionately addressed challenges within their functions, focusing on accelerating careers.
The marketing and sales streams, featuring roundtables hosted by Women in Exhibitions members, explored personal branding, networking, the relationship between sales and marketing and more. Simultaneously, the ops stream engaged in a reflective session with a business coach, emphasising the unique strengths of ops professionals.
Networking triumphs
Marketing chair, Hockman, encouraged everyone to seize opportunities throughout the day to meet new people, throwing many attendees out of their comfort zones, by asking them to sit with people they didn’t know after lunch.
Attendees were then encouraged to share their LinkedIn profiles with those new connections.
Hockman made 50+ new LinkedIn connections herself, as she shared her excitement to see what they were all sharing.
The ‘Power in you’ theme
Guided by the resonant theme the ‘Power in you’, the AEO Forums transcended insights, creating an immersive environment where attendees absorbed knowledge and affirmed that choosing events was the right career move.
If you’re interested in reading more about the other reasons to stay, visit our #ChooseEvents page at www.aeo.org.uk/chooseevents
The connections forged during the event reflected a truly integrated industry community, standing as a powerful testament to the theme’s embodiment, where knowledge transformed into tangible action.
Legacy of empowerment
The AEO Forums 2024 not only illuminated the intricacies of team motivation but also provided a platform for new talents to understand and appreciate the unique culture of our industry and ultimately find the power within themselves to get everything out of it that it has to offer.
AEO members are integral to the content we deliver at events, within our resources, research, working group agendas and so much more. If you are an AEO member who wants to be more involved in shaping these aspects, the best place to start is the working groups.
This article is taken from EW Issue 3, to get the digital magazine bi-monthly to your inbox, subscribe here: https://www.exhibitionworld.co.uk/subscribe
