Mr. Fears

Meetings & Conventions

Emerging Trends in Meetings and Conventions Show Venue Selection Impacts the Success of Training Sessions

By Bruce Fears, President, ARAMARK Harrison Lodging

Mounting evidence shows that the choice of venue and the physical facilities for learning can play a critical role in maximizing the success of a corporate learning program and/or training session's objectives.

Research has found that if the environment is bad, then people will generally perceive the training to be bad, regardless of content. And with new forms of training such as multi-sensory learning, e-learning, hands-on lab settings and blended learning, there are sure to be additional adjustments and enhancements beyond current certification standards regarding quantifying meeting ROI.

Presently, there are no established methods for quantifying the role a venue has on the success rate of training or meeting sessions. Until those methods are determined, the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), a not-for-profit, facilities-based organization whose mission is to assist members in providing the most productive meeting facilities around the world, utilizes a certification program for member centers. It mandates that active members comply with the 30 stringent standards of the universal criteria.

Certainly, IACC recognizes the role venue plays in enhancing the learning process. In fact, the organization inspects all of its member conference centers every four years to ensure compliance. The entire objective of the organization's 30 universal standards is to provide the most productive environments for adult learning.

IACC-certified centers are required to include amenities such as ergonomically designed chairs, tables that are non-reflective and allow at least 30 inches of space per occupant, a controllable level of lighting, and a dedicated conference planner. IACC-certified centers are also required to have dedicated conference rooms that are separated from living and leisure areas and are available to clients on a 24-hour basis for materials storage.

IACC-certified centers have the ability to provide a unique philosophical and conceptual approach to training that solely focuses on maximizing the learning process. In fact, both clients and guests have provided positive feedback and the results can be dramatic when guests experience the difference.

For example, Babson Executive Conference Center, a state-of-the-art, IACC-certified executive conference facility in Boston, Mass., features a video-teleconferencing suite, Internet connectivity in all meeting rooms, and simultaneous translation services-all designed to accommodate the changing profile of trainees. Additionally, Babson, an ARAMARK Harrison Lodging managed center, features free public computer stations with Internet access at convenient locations throughout the center.

Tom Clancy, vice president of education services for EMC Corporation, is a long-time client of Babson Executive Conference Center. He utilizes the venue for EMC's new hire training and points out, "First impressions are important and our new hire training is an opportunity to make a good first impression with our new sales representatives. We've found that if classrooms are too small or chairs are not comfortable or if the food isn't that great, it can directly and negatively affect the success rate of our sales teams."

Clancy adds, "If a sales representative has a good, fast start, leaves our training with a positive first impression, and has had a fabulous learning experience, they continue to carry that sense of EMC pride which usually translates into a long tenured and successful EMC employee."

Harrison Conference Center & Hotel - Princeton Forrestal Center in Princeton, New Jersey, offers customers the option of booking its 7,664-square-foot tiered auditorium and amphitheater which seats up to 400 people for multimedia presentations. Included is a professional projection booth and keypad response system for instant polling that helps ensure that training sessions and/or presentations are both dynamic and interactive.

Other IACC-certified facilities such as the Warren Conference Center & Inn in Ashland, Mass., offer dedicated meeting facilitators to assist corporate instructors or planners in the coordination of logistics and special requests. This helps clients focus their time on the training sessions or meetings rather than solving equipment or facilities problems. And at Batterymarch Conference Center at Northeastern University's campus in downtown Boston, on-site computer labs offer ideal options for extended e-learning and a balanced environment for instructor-led tutorials.

Evaluating conference centers' success rates

While we all can agree that measuring performance is critical, how does the selection of a meeting venue factor in? Companies want to know if they are meeting goals when it comes to implementing training sessions and should have the option of quantifying their return on investment (ROI).

Although anecdotal evidence of the benefits of IACC certified facilities, amenities and features proliferate, hard numbers on the actual ROI for effective conference and training venues are imminent.

Industry-wide, there is a movement toward finding ways to evaluate success rates and ROI. The importance of measuring success rates is also beginning to cross over into the venue selection process.

Nigel Paine, head of people development at BBC Training & Development, is currently measuring productivity benefits as they relate to venue selection. He uses an individual questionnaire assessing the costs of the venue and services compared to similar venues. He then tabulates what he calls "the hassle factor," i.e., the relative ease of working with the staff on-site, including level of preparation and venue flexibility.

As the industry continues to focus on measurement, industry predictions show there will be an increased demand to provide methodologies for conducting studies on how venue selection can impact a meeting/training success rate.

Currently, ARAMARK Harrison Lodging is in the process of conducting a survey with PFK Consulting and will be later devising a system for companies to successfully measure venue ROI. Until then, informal surveys such as the one that BBC's Nigel Paine is conducting are great ways to make sure that meeting planners are maximizing their ROI by choosing a meeting venue that supports a productive learning or training process.

As President, ARAMARK Harrison Lodging, Bruce Fears is responsible for operations at over 50 conference centers, corporate training centers and specialty hotels in educational environments, as well as 14 state parks and other resort operations. He assumed his current position following the integration of ARAMARK’s conference center, corporate training business with its parks and resorts business. Mr. Fears received a BA from Bridgewater College and participated in programs at University of London’s School of Economics and University of Florida’s School of Management. Mr. Fears can be contacted at 425-957-9708 or fears-bruce@aramark.com Extended Bio...

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