Meetings & Events
Corporate Travel Management
Incentives & Rewards

Getting back into the work routine, while the first leaves of the season start to fall...

Graphic recording is one way to bring "I see what you mean" to a whole new level. Tanya Gerber is a Toronto-based graphic facilitator and recorder. She works within a meeting or speaker session to capture the essence of the event while it is taking place. She takes the essential points of a session and turns them into a dynamic accessible drawing using images and text. "Graphic recording captures the conversation in a way everyone can relate to and sparks a sense of fun and adventure, " she says.

With corporate heavyweights such as Disney, Dell, Apple and Zappos.com using this type of service, you know that graphic design can bring engagement to a new level. Gerber says that the designs live on after the meeting or event, as she creates PDFs of the drawing. In turn, the image can be sent to participants, hung in common areas, posted on websites or pinned on bulletin boards.

Gerber consults with clients beforehand and gathers any available information including the speaker's notes, the intent of the meeting and who will be attending. Often the drawing will revolve around a metaphor that pops up during the event. As a recorder, says Gerber, she has to disappear. "I have to be only present to process what is happening, to listen and synthesize."

The Centre for Graphic Facilitation offers books, information and links to graphic facilitators.

Good to know

MEETINGS + EVENTS
Doing More with Less
The latest edition of the MPI Meetings Outlook Research says while the number of meetings are expected to grow this year, budgets just aren't keeping pace. At least 13 per cent of planners are holding more local or regional meetings, while 22 per cent are compressing meetings into a shorter time frame. The report notes that the anticipated growth in virtual attendance over the next year (3.9 per cent) is almost twice that of live attendance at 2 per cent. The industry will likely see a greater demand for hybrid and virtual technology. Venues will have to keep pace with increasing bandwidth capabilities. While wireless accessibility at venues is growing in quality, many respondents perceive it as being overpriced.

CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
Moderate Increases Forecast
The Global Business Travel Association and Carlson Wagonlit Travel's joint Global Travel Price Outlook forecasts moderate increases in air and hotel rates in 2015. Airfares are expected to rise gradually through 2015 by about 2.2 per cent, with travel to Latin America expected to see the highest increases at 3.5 per cent. Strong demand in hotel accommodations will lead to pressure in negotiated rates for travel managers and buyers. Globally, prices are expected to rise by 2.6 per cent. Demand in Latin America will see the highest increase at 6.3 per cent. Ground travel has gone through a consolidation and has an abundance of supply. Global prices for car rentals are expected to remain flat for 2015. The continuing crisis in Ukraine, burgeoning debt in China and oil price shocks could potentially have a negative influence on travel demand and pricing, say the report's authors.

INCENTIVES + REWARDS
Checklist for Success
A Canadian study on incentives and rewards by Berkeley Payment Solutions offers several tips on motivating employees to ensure program success. Motivation is contingent on end users receiving awards that they value. The Millennials, in particular, preferred pre-paid cards over company merchandise and travel rewards. Awards need to be delivered in a timely fashion, as it contributes to participant satisfaction. An incentive program needs to be designed to reflect the desired behaviours or expected performance required by participants and should be structured so that all participants believe that they have a chance to achieve the award throughout the duration of the program.

Job code: Opportunities in the world of work