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Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

  • 1.  Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-14-2020 11:24

    Hello, Community members! Today we're here with our last Huddle of the Week discussion of 2020. We have said this a few times, but it's hard to believe this year is coming to an end. Our industry, and the world, faced hardships and circumstances we have never seen before, and we hope to come out stronger in 2021. With that said, we realize you went through many new experiences and changes, whether personally or professionally or both, and we want to allow you to share what you have learned:

    • What are the biggest lessons you have learned in 2020?

    Since we are reflecting, I'll share mine here too. It has been incredible joining the Cvent Community team in 2020, and even with the situations we are facing, the biggest lesson I learned is how important a sense of community is. I learned that through all of you and want to thank you for being a part of our community. We truly appreciate and value all you have contributed and shared this year, and can't wait to continue these conversations next year.

    As always, share your insights, questions, and successes below! Looking forward to our next Huddle of the Week in January 2021. #HuddleoftheWeek #VoiceIt

    As an additional note, we also learned how important setting yourself up for success is, and hope you have taken advantage of the great training and certification offerings this year. Cvent is still offering certifications at no cost through December 31st, so be sure to register today.


    #BiddingonGroupBusiness
    #Miscellaneous
    #ManagingVirtualEvents

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    Danni Czark
    Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
    Cvent
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  • 2.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-15-2020 08:39
    1). Time spent preparing for any event is invaluable.
    2). Be thoughtful and innovative not reactionary.
    3). Communication across teams is important - speak to your colleagues with information to make progress.
    4). Can that Zoom meeting be a well-formed email?
    5). Have everyone on the customer-facing team prepared with the same answers to a wide variety of questions.
    6). Be cautious and flexible. Changes happen, and there should be contingency plans.
    7). Think about how you would want to be treated if you were the customer.
    8). Be brief and concise.
    9). Have someone from a different team read through your work for consistency (and spelling / grammar!).
    10). Work diligently, expect good work from your team, and empower everyone on the rungs above and below your position.

    ------------------------------
    Amanda Adams
    Mid-Atlantic Territory Client Services Coordinator
    Cognia, Inc.
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  • 3.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-15-2020 08:47
    1) Flexibility is key. Planning is important, but being able to pivot smoothly is critical to success.
    2) Put people first - from colleagues, to customers, to vendors - and build relationships that will get you through tough times.
    3) While it is difficult to replicate the intimacy and connection of in-person events, it is POSSIBLE! Technology is amazing!
    4) Having solid health and safety protocols in place will hold much more importance moving forward (even post-pandemic).

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    Bouran Qaddumi
    National Field Trainer
    Cajun Operating Company d/b/a Church's Chicken
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  • 4.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-15-2020 10:02
    More than ever, 2020 has taught me that people become more of who they are when under duress.

    2020 had been and continues to be the best year of my life. 

    What has 2020 taught me?
    • Carpe diem, every day!
    • Ask the handsome guy with the perfect hack squat form out for coffee - you may never see him again!
    • Use Cvent to bring the #PowerofLive to your customers with the Virtual Attendee Hub
    • Try new things: Virtual Attendee Hub, Aerial Silks, Teaching Yoga online - you'll be surprised at what you learn and how much you have to give
    • Find new ways of bringing joy to the world
    • People are mirrors: they reflect back what you put out, so SHINE you beautiful people!


    ------------------------------
    Brenda Ainsburg
    Channel Program Manager
    brenda.ainsburg@siemens.com
    Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    United States
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-15-2020 11:36
    What a year 2020 has been!  

    1.  Finding small ways to show our membership support and care have been critical.
    2.  Communicate early, communicate often, over communicate.
    3.  Be flexible and understand that plans will change.  Be prepared.
    4.  There is no such thing as over planning.
    5.  Ask for help. Be open to receiving help.
    6.  We can do hard things.

    7. Most importantly, we are all in this together.


    ------------------------------
    Jenn Dooley
    Executive Director
    AFELA
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  • 6.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-16-2020 09:23
    One of the biggest things we learned was:
    Yes, virtual events are daunting but once you get the ball rolling  they really aren't that bad. In some ways Virtual events are both beneficial for attendees and planners. We were able to get more people to attend and we were able to deliver an amazing polished event that would not have been possible if it were a live event.

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    Coy Rushton
    Graphic Designer
    Primary Residential Mortgage
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  • 7.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-16-2020 09:36
    Oh, what a year 2020 has been!!! I've lived by this quote all year! 
         "When you can't control what's happening challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what's happening."  
    It's been a stressful time for all of us in one way or another, 2020 taught me to be more compassionate, thoughtful, and appreciative.

    ------------------------------
    Colleen Beck
    Director of Sales & Marketing
    The Westin Tampa Bay
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  • 8.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-16-2020 10:12
    I have learned so much about virtual events and preparation. Cvent has been invaluable.

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    Jennifer Cardillo
    Marcom Director RES Americas
    Sulzer Rotating Equipment Services
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  • 9.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-16-2020 10:16
    Good morning Danni,

    to me 2020 has (and still is) a crazy year, and I do hope that 2021 will start getting better :)

    It has been a roller-coaster-ride and I learned to be more patient, to communicate better (it's not like I can walk into my coworkers office and talk about an issue as we are working from home since March) - there is a lot to juggle with all different communication ways (Zoom Meetings, TEAMS, emails, calls) and your daily workload.
    Be brief and concise and adapt to the constant changes.

    Taking on more tasks has been interesting and broadened my horizon, and made it a bit more fun (once you got used to your "new normal") and I have to say I do enjoy working from  home a lot, especially if you are working on large projects.


    Andrea

    ------------------------------
    Andrea Timbes-Cox-Cox
    CRM Administrator & Lead Catcher
    Visit Fort Worth
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  • 10.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-16-2020 15:22
    So many great comments and learnings above, so I'll just add these two:

    1. Automate! Automate! Automate! - We are still in the thick of designing and refining our meeting policies and processes as we adapt to virtual and hybrid formats, but we know the value of Cvent becomes almost incalculable when we consider how many emails and manual entries would be needed if we weren't taking advance of status triggers, notifications, and other task management options. It's changing how we work and making this constant pivot we are all doing a bit easier and more objectively reportable!

    2. Communicate regularly and often! We may be overcommunicating at times, but I know my attention has been pulled in many more directions than normal, so multiple reminders in varying formats are necessary to get my attention. Within reason (and privacy permissions!), I think we've got to apply this thinking to our customers and internal stakeholders. Everyone is stressed to their limits, so communications need to be frequent but concise - with a big emphasis on action items and needs!

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    Stacy Wright, CMP
    Senior Manager, US Congresses & Events
    Galderma Laboratories, L.P..
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  • 11.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-17-2020 11:44

    For me, I think it's been all about flexibility and also being supportive of others - whether personally or professionally, and empathetic. We have no idea what people are going through on a daily basis, and just to give people the benefit of the doubt goes such a long way. Kindness. :)



    ------------------------------
    Lori Wildman
    Senior Marketing Manager
    DuCharme, McMillen & Associates, Inc.
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  • 12.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-17-2020 12:04

    This year included COVID-19, nation-wide racial protest, and a divided presidential election year, but even after all this adversity, I felt a sense of community amongst my family, co-workers,  and neighbors. 

    We all started working from home, learned Zoom, see our internet bill increase (especially those with kids at home), not to hoard toilet paper (at least within this group), and help one another where we could. Now is the time to take a deep breath and send out our gratitude for all those who were there for us and time to be excited for 2021. 

    From my perspective, the future is looking a bit brighter, and looking forward to getting out and seeing everyone's friendly faces in person. 



    ------------------------------
    James Rose | Senior Web Developer and Content Management
    Digital Infrastructure
    Office of University Development | University of Michigan
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  • 13.  RE: Huddle of the Week #13: 2020 Lessons Learned

    Posted 12-17-2020 18:19

    Be flexible, keep learning, and have fun!

    More seriously, it was really useful for us to set expectations for both the audience and the other departments of our association. People knew there would be some growing pains, and so whenever we pulled something off, it was cause for enthusiasm instead of grumbling about what couldn't be done. 

    Other lessons: build content that's adapted to the virtual format, don't just have your presenters pretend it's a filmed in-person experience! Have them take advantage of the features such as poll, whiteboard, Q&A, reactions, to get that audience engaged. Practice with them ahead of time. Assign one tech resource + one content moderator per live session on top of the presenter. 



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    Béline FALZON
    Conference Program Specialist II
    California Teachers Association
    ------------------------------