It seems hard to believe that I spent three times as many years in the training and development field than in the hospitality field. Of course, I think I started in training and development when I was about 5 years old. (smile). Last week at the Virtual Edge Summit, two colleagues and I were discussing how our careers in Training and Development have merged with Meetings and Events. The three of us, all face-to-face instructors and training managers at one point in our career, are now working in the travel and meetings industry. Funny how when I used to sign hotel contracts for training events back in the early 1980s for Westinghouse, I never really understood the word “attrition.” The three of us also reminisced about the numerous initiatives that started in the training field years ago have now whizzed their way into the meetings and events industry. For example, in 1997/1998 we were proud of one of our training colleagues who taught virtual classes to hundreds of attendees through the use of NetMeeting, a task that in that time period was unheard of. Due to his success and our foresight into the future, we transitioned face-to-face trainers into e-learning superstars by 1999. (Does it sound reminiscent of asking planners to consider virtual meetings?) Yet, when I introduced Virtual Meetings to the hospitality industry in 2002 at our firm, it was as if I was presenting the Skypad Apartments in Orbit City to Fred Flintstone. Funny how my two careers have merged.
Dr. Jack Phillips, creator of the brainchild of calculating the return on investment (www.roiinstitute.net) using easy-to-understand methodologies, also started his consulting in training and development. I am proud that I learned from him back in 1998 and remember watching him in awe at one of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) conferences. Since reading his books numerous times and practicing the methodology in my training career for many years, it was an easy transition to use the ROI skill in meetings and events. While many meeting leaders and consultants are just beginning the ROI education path in the last few years, many colleagues in training and development are familiar with the process to measure the impact and calculate the return on investment; and, we are willing to help you.
Download The Return on Investment (ROI) in Meetings and Events
To align the meeting/event purpose with business objectives in order to calculate the return on investment, pinpoint the reason why the meeting sponsor wants to conduct the meeting/event. Meetings are held to motivate, educate, or communicate in order to achieve a business objective such as increase revenue, reduce costs, or increase productivity.
There are five levels of feedback as illustrated in the attached document although not all five are required to obtain the return on investment calculations.
Because most meeting leaders and planners want to understand how to calculate the return on investment, we will spotlight #5, Return on Investment, from the list in the attached document.
Download The Return on Investment (ROI) in Meetings and Events
When meeting planners and most consultants think of “Return on Investment,” they think of the negotiated savings. Often, we hear sourcing professionals claiming that they produced a high return on investment because of their aggressive negotiations. While recognized savings offer a return on investment, I challenge business leaders and meeting planners to link the purpose of the meeting or event to the business objective as described in #2 below. For example, will the meeting produce more revenue? Improve productivity? Increase morale? If you can calculate the impact that the meeting had on the business objective, then you have graduated as a sage in calculating the return on investment.
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1. Meeting/event without content evaluation or business impact |
2. Meeting/event with content evaluation or business impact |
3. Strategic Meetings Management Program |
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(Benefit* - Cost) / Cost |
(Benefit** - Cost) / Cost |
(Benefit* - Cost) / Cost |
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*Savings recognized |
**In addition to Savings, the ROI calculation can include the results, or business impact, from holding the meeting/event |
*Savings |
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Example: Calculate the negotiated savings |
Example: Calculate the increased revenue as a result of the meeting in addition to the negotiated savings |
Example: Calculate the savings from implementing the program |
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To obtain the “benefit” or the “savings,” you must know what would have happened if “Business as usual” occurred rather than the improved state. For example, if you did not increase revenue as the result of a sales meeting, would your revenue have been flat? Would it have increased anyway? Would it have decreased? Ask, “What if you did not have the meeting? What would the result have been?” |
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In the attached document, there are three types of meeting initiatives that will provide you with a good foundation as to the method of calculating the return on investment. The first business objective is to increase sales by 10% with a variety of activities, one of which is a sales meeting. The second business objective is to enhance management skills and the third objective is to reduce costs by implementing a strategic meetings management program. All situations provide positive return on investments in these examples.
In synopsis, a return on investment for a meeting or event can be calculated in four easy steps:
1. Calculate the costs/expenses
2. Calculate the savings/benefits/gains by calculating the difference between the “business as usual” state and the “improved” state
3. Isolate the effects of the meeting/event; most often, there are numerous activities that will drive the initiative towards success so the credit may not be granted at 100% to the meeting
4. Calculate the return on investment (gains-costs)/costs
I challenge you – give me your trickiest ROI challenge and let’s solve the puzzle together. Call or email me so that you can be the hero in your meeting sponsor’s eyes and provide him or her with the numbers that they need. (No charge – I love these types of challenges!)
If you have any questions or need assistance with anything mentioned above, please contact me.
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Debi Scholar, GLP, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT, Six Sigma Green Belt
- Meetings Management Mover and Shaker as selected by Corporate and Incentive Travel Magazine (2010)
- Top 20 Changemaker who influenced the meetings management industry by Corporate Meetings and Incentives (2008)
- Best Meeting Practitioner as selected by Business Travel News (2007)
The Scholar Consulting Group LLC
[email protected]
908-304-4954
Benchmark your Strategic Meetings Management Program: http://www.smmbenchmark.com
Debi has the following designations:
- Wharton Aresty Executive Education/National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Global Leadership Professional (GLP)
- Meeting Professionals International Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM)
- Convention Industry Council Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)
- NBTA Corporate Travel Expert (CTE)
- Six Sigma Green Belt
- Chauncey Certified Technical Trainer (CTT)
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