In-person events help with networking and education, sure. Attendees come to meet up, exchange ideas, and take back valuable information to their respective organizations. But as an association leader, if you’re not using those gatherings to inform your business strategy, you’re leaving value on the table.
When you create a meeting space where people feel comfortable, energized, and heard, you’ll get candid and actionable input, more effectively than an email, phone call, newsletter, or survey could.
Robin Schlesinger, vice president of member services and events at the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, or NAPEO, has seen this happen at her annual conference. One person will hear an idea and chat with others, who then go to the exhibit hall to share it, and soon you have a cohort of 20 or more members for that idea, she said.
“In a meeting setting, you can change the direction something is taking,” Schlesinger said. “You may start a conversation on day one and by day three, you’ve gotten around to a whole different place, and you can inform both a strategy for the association and for the C-suite.”
With insights from Schlesinger and Will Trokey, national accounts director of Visit Greater Palm Springs, we’ll share three ways to leverage in-person meetings to inform your association’s business strategy.
1. Immerse Attendees in the Outdoors
Taking meetings outside the traditional conference room setting and into the great outdoors can spark creativity, foster team bonding, and provide refreshing breaks from the norm.
“Getting outside makes your mind think differently, and you’re more creative there,” Schlesinger said. “If you tie that back to business, you can get more done—and in a unique way—than you might when you’re sitting in a typical meeting space.”
Consider hosting brainstorming sessions in a serene garden, team-building activities in a picturesque setting, or a reflective wrap-up under a canopy of stars. Take advantage of the natural beauty of the area to enhance the creative process, encouraging open minds and fresh ideas.
Trokey agrees that people respond well to outdoor environments, noting how the abundant sunshine and natural beauty of Greater Palm Springs can help foster open-mindedness and inspiration. “A lot of it has to do with putting attendees into the proper mindset to embrace the experience while they’re in the destination,” he said.
Metate Ranch in Greater Palm Springs, for example, is a private event venue that embraces the beautiful desert landscape and local history of the Cahuilla Indians, offering enough space for everything from corporate barbecues to large-scale receptions under the stars. “An organization can have an amazing event here, with the mountains surrounding them,” Trokey said, adding that fun off-site activities can further immerse attendees in the outdoors, including guided geology hikes and Jeep tours.
2. Leverage Unique Venues
Selecting a venue that aligns with the meeting’s objectives and the organization’s culture can enhance engagement and participation.
NAPEO hosted its 2022 annual conference in Greater Palm Springs, which was a breath of fresh air after a couple of pandemic years. “The choice of destination helps support the association’s ability to reach attendees strategically, because if the destination is somewhere that people want to go, it’s an easy sell,” Schlesinger said.
Whether it’s a workshop at a midcentury modern home, a strategic planning session in a private villa, or a corporate retreat at a luxury resort, unique venues offer unparalleled opportunities to customize your meeting experience.
Greater Palm Springs is home to many legendary residences from Hollywood’s heyday that planners can use to their advantage. Provide an iconic, scenic venue for a group dining event at the Twin Palms Frank Sinatra Estate, for example, or an unforgettably productive workshop at the stunning Dinah Shore Palm Springs Estate, designed in 1964 by renowned architect Donald Wexler and once owned by the famed singer and television personality herself.
During her annual conference in Greater Palm Springs, Schlesinger organized a successful off-site event at an art gallery. Spaces like this expose attendees to the beauty of the local arts and culture scene, helping to unlock their creativity, and serve as an uncommon space in which they can relax, network, and do business.
3. Incorporate Wellness Into the Agenda
When the meeting agenda includes wellness activities, it can improve focus, reduce stress, and boost overall energy levels among participants. This holistic approach to meeting planning acknowledges the importance of mental and physical well-being in achieving productivity and creativity, ensuring that attendees are not just present but fully engaged and receptive.
For this reason, Schlesinger includes add-on events such as nature walks, fun runs, and yoga sessions. “Those times are really networking, but I’ll say there is more business happening than you might realize,” she said. “They’re wearing different clothing. They feel more comfortable. And they talk to people.”
In Greater Palm Springs, where wellness activities range from hot mineral springs to poolside sound baths, a morning hike on one of the many trails in the Indian Canyons, part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, can get people’s blood pumping while also immersing them in the area’s Indigenous past.
“It’s beneficial for event planners to be looking at how to make attendees more closely connected to the destination or to the event,” Trokey said. “Health and wellness are big issues for many of us these days.”
