Brad Weaber is executive vice president of SmithBucklin’s Event Services unit. He is a 26-year meetings industry veteran and oversees all of the company’s convention, trade show and event management service offerings. SmithBucklin, the world’s largest association management and professional services company, provides full-service management and high-impact specialized services to trade associations, professional societies, technology user groups, corporations, government institutes/agencies and other nonprofit organizations. www.smithbucklin.com

A couple of years ago I was strolling through an office environment and something struck me as odd — there were no phones ringing. I saw a sea of employees diligently working, most with ear buds in, listening to their favorite tunes as their fingers quickly danced over the keyboards. I could not help but reflect back to a time when a boss had said to me, “Hear those phones, it’s like gold!”

Recently, I attended a sales methodology seminar. The goal of the seminar was for the sales team to not answer their phones. Instead, they had to wait and use the voice mail message that was left by the interested party to mine information and then establish a dedicated appointment time to talk. This way, the salesperson could be more prepared with better information to close the deal. “Hmm,” I thought. With all the talk of the importance of effective communication and the power of face-to-face meetings, I decided to probe a little deeper.

Phones Are Rude

I started meeting with various employees in different companies, as well as with my own teenage son, to find out how they best like to connect. After talking with them for a little while, I asked the question “You don’t seem to mention talking on the phone. Why not?” The overwhelming response almost to the person, including my son, was “Phones are rude.” The premise here is that you do not know what the person is doing or where they are when you are calling and it could be disruptive or rude to interrupt them. Texting is considered faster and more polite. (Clearly, they have not seen me attempt to text!)

Over the years, serving on a variety of hotel or convention and visitors bureau advisory boards has been something I have enjoyed immensely. The topics have changed over the years and lately the discussion typically leads to the engagement of the multiple generations in the attendee space and how people want to be communicated with in the marketplace. Ironically, as I sit on these boards I do not see the generations represented much below baby boomers or perhaps Gen X, and yet we attempt to try to answer the questions for all. The best piece of advice I can give on what the diverse generations value most in communication and face-to-face is to simply ask them. Every board, committee, etc., should have a trusted member representing each generation, whether on an ad hoc basis or a more defined seat at the table to give opinion and feedback. This has proved very rewarding and fruitful.

Multitasking With Multi-Devices

At meetings both internally in an office or at a conference, many times the leader of the meeting will make a comment that everyone should put away their mobile devices, laptops and all other items with an on/off switch. Attendees have an expectation that they will be able to multitask and stay connected to all areas that they want to stay connected to at all times. Wi-Fi at a conference is like air, and more and more people are using multiple devices, which continually adds a strain to what systems are put into place. As we strive to attract more attendees to corporate meetings, it is paramount that we create the environment for multitasking and multi-devices.

Face-to-face means physically being in the same room, but face-to-face, for some — and this number is increasing — also means Skype, FaceTime, videoconferencing and the list goes on and on. One person I spoke with also added texting to this list. I queried, and the response was, “I can shoot out a text, have it go viral and 100 people will show up in four hours for a party or volleyball game. Can you make that happen with a meeting?” While perhaps not practical in the business sense, the point here is that engagement and value propositions are constantly in play, and therefore, show that while the meaning of face-to-face is morphing, its importance remains the same. The silver lining with the turbulent economic and generational landscape is that it has forced everyone to look at the “new” versus the “this is how we have always done it.” Companies that have not taken the step to reevaluate their meetings and ask the question, “If this was the first time we ever conducted this meeting, what would it look like?” are taking a big risk in potentially alienating the attendee of today, and certainly the attendee of tomorrow.

Hybrid Meeting Philosophy

All research and data does point to the absolute importance and value of face-to-face meetings in the physical sense of bringing people together, which I completely agree with. However, the key to a hybrid meeting philosophy — which is a must in today’s day and age — is to find all the strategic pieces to complete the entire puzzle of full attendee engagement. Before launching a hybrid meeting philosophy it is paramount that you understand why you are doing it and what you want the outcome to be. The key to success in hybrid planning is to start small, use it to accelerate the energy of a real-time or face-to-face event, and continue to create and foster a forum after the meeting to keep the online community engaged so they will want to attend your next face-to-face to see what they missed.

The comment “phones are rude” is actually a powerful one and ultimately leads back to the premise of the power of face-to-face. Most interaction on social media and texting ultimately results in physically coming together. The online connection is just a conduit to making face-to-face interactions that much easier. I truly believe that people want a physical connection and to do business with those that they like and trust. The technology we use is an accelerator and not a “replacer.” Now please excuse me, my phone is ringing. C&IT