Open Forum

Can you share some information about yourself and your career path? 

I am fairly new to the corporate world, with only 3 years' experience, but I was able to catch on very quickly.  I have spent most of my life in the service industry, serving as a bartender, manager, and banquet server at hotels. I have a good deal of practice in the customer service realm. At the American Hospital Association, I take care of the Registration for Cvent and the Mobile App. I got a BFA in Acting at West Virginia University and a MFA at The Actor's Studio MFA Program. My title is: Conference Digital Content and Registration Specialist, while I live in Chicago.
   

What a unique profile, your experience in customer service and acting must bring a creative and people-focused perspective to your work! 
How long have you been using Cvent? What Cvent products do you currently use?    

I have been using Cvent for over 2 1/2 years. We use Registration, Survey, Attendee Hub website and a branded App. Speaker, Abstract, Exhibitor portal, Integrations, On-Arrival... Pretty much everything.. 
   

How has Cvent technology improved the registration process for your healthcare conferences? Are there any specific features that have significantly enhanced efficiency or attendee experience?  

Since I started, Cvent has improved greatly. When I first started, I would call Cvent almost daily. Now I sometimes go a month without. Though Cvent can sometimes be glitchy, they tend to get things fixed in a timely fashion. The Reg process at the conference always goes smoothly. The Mobile App has had some dramatic changes that are amazing! That is the tool we use most! 
   

Do you have a favorite event or venue that you’ve organized or been to? If so, please tell us a little about it and add any pictures so we can all live through you vicariously!  

I really love going to the New Orleans Convention Center! It was a well-designed place. And it doesn't hurt that the food is always amazing around the center! 

It looks like a beautiful venue and pairing it with incredible local food sounds like a win-win!
What are some of the key considerations you need to keep in mind when planning conferences for healthcare professionals?  

Health professionals are very busy people, so you have to keep the registration paths as simple as possible. They don't like filling out a lot of demographics. Also, payment is tricky, as a lot of hospitals will pay by check, and they wait until the last week to send. So, attendees have to provide a check number. You always have to be on top of the situation. 
   

Data security and compliance are critical in healthcare. How do you ensure that your use of Cvent complies with relevant regulations and protects attendee information?  

If someone contacts us, we always get confirmation numbers from them. We also have a database where we can match email addresses, work addresses, and so on. 
   

How do you measure the success of your conferences and gather feedback from attendees? Can you share an example of how attendee feedback has led to improvements in your processes or events?   

We set up evaluations for all the attendees. That is our feedback. We also do an overall conference evaluation at the end of the conference. One attendee said we should include the Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in the session description. So, we do that for every conference that has them now.