Wondering about the "I" in M.I.C.E.

Ever wondered what the "I" in M.I.C.E. stands for? Its something of a mystery to those who are not part of our industry. The Incentives business is a big one.....actually a huge one. I daresay most or all organisations/companies use some form of incentives to motivate staff to exceed performance expectations. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.....er..I mean management tools. The introduction of a travel package or holiday as the incentive is, however, somewhat recent.

In order for a travel package or holiday to function as a "incentive", it has to have a very strong appeal to the employees participating in the incentive programme. The programme will not work if the prize at the end of the race is not perceived as attractive. So how does one characterise an "attractive" incentive travel award? I would look at a few things:
- the travel itinerary has to be unique, customised to a point that it is not something that a holiday maker can buy off the shelf;
- the overall perception of the award has to be one of "high value", "luxury" and the elements of the award needs to deliver on this perception via the treatment of the award winners, the type and quality of the accommodations, the food & beverage etc;
- at the end of the day, the award winners should walk away one of the most memorable experiences of their lifetime;
-details of the travel award - destination, accommodation, activities - need to be made known to employees at the start of the incentive programme so that they have a clear picture of the prize that awaits them.

With the aim of making every award winner feel like royalty, incentive travel programmes put great demands on the organisers. But that is the fun part - the challenge to be creative, to come up with unique itineraries, to put special touches into simple day-to-day activities etc......I leave this with you for now.

CLOSED to members of the Press!

I have been contemplating the on-site aspects of running a conference/convention the past couple of weeks. On-site event management is one of those areas that more often than not test the nerves of event managers. You have a bagful of variables that are not in your control and that seem to have a life and will of their own. These variables always pop up at the most inconvenient of times.

For the large conventions and conferences, or those which run for 2 days or more, organisers and event managers like to have a room set aside as the Event Secretariat or Organiser's Office. This room has multiple functions - its a meeting room for the organiser and event manager to sit down and review ops plans; its a storage place for event staff to keep their handbags and other personal belongings; its a resting place for event staff during break times....and so on.

To keep it short.....keep the Press/Media out of the Event Secretariat/Organiser's Office. In fact I never let the Press/Media know that such a room exists. Do not get me wrong.....this is in no way a negative reflection of the Press/Media. I believe that the Press/Media is great for the MICE industry and for the specific conference/convention. Its just that the Event Secretariat/Organiser's Office is mostly manned by temporary staff and confidential event operations documents are kept in the office for easy reference (by working staff). Hence the danger of "wrong information", "mis-information" or "misleading information" being picked up by the Press/Media and splashed out for all to see the next day.......so the moral here is keep the Press/Media out of the Event Secretariat/Organiser's Office.