I recently participated in a "Tech Talk" dialogue with Tim Brown, CEO of Meeting Sites Resources where I responded to Tim's interesting questions. As technology is such an integral part of Strategic Meetings Management, I am dedicating this issue of Keeping it Simmple to some of the highlights of our discussion.

Q. Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) remains our industry's hottest topic, yet corporate and association planning teams are having a hard time getting SMM implemented, how do you see it?

A. I see it as frustrating! The category of meetings and events are one of the last areas of unmanaged spend in an organization. Typically the spend is very decentralized, resulting in a lack of understanding as to just how large spend is. This lack of understanding can make it challenging to get senior leadership buy-in. But once a solid estimate of the size of spend is presented, the large number gets the attention of the CFO or CPO.

Q. A big focus of SMM is on metrics to define and measure success and reporting results to senior management. What kind of meeting data is a must, when communicating with management and key stakeholders?

A. Some of the "must have" SMM program success metrics that need to be communicated to stakeholders include: savings and cost avoidance, overall volume of meetings from various business units throughout the organization, adoption of the program by staff, utilization of preferred suppliers, reuse of cancelled rooms & space, and productivity data.

Q. We hear a lot about robust technology driving SMM, so how does quick access to meeting data drive overall meeting value?

A.Being able to pull detailed reports from the data collected by an online technology tool in a matter of minutes versus spending days developing reports from excel spread sheets is a huge value add for Meeting Managers. Access to robust reporting is expected by senior leadership. Executives are used to requesting information and having it turned around very quickly by other department such as travel, Human Resources and Information Technology.

Q. With SMM, there is a big focus on cost savings, but what are the big picture benefits of SMM and what is the role of technology to assure success?

A. Increased productivity as a result of increased efficiencies is huge! The need for double and triple entry of the same data in various spread sheets is eliminated. Additionally, the data output from SMM technology is more robust and accurate than it would be if the information were input manually. The ability to have visibility and control of certain types of meetings via an online approval process especially for those in highly regulated industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Financial and Insurance.