Event organizers are tasked with maintaining and using a multitude of internal and external systems, along with software suites and technology solutions to help them manage their events. An event organizer’s technology stack can include more than a dozen different systems, and many of them push out updates and optimizations to the platform frequently. Therefore, event professionals need to stay on top of their technology and invest in training to continue to master the tools that they use.
Fortunately, there are a wealth of online learning tools, webinars, user communities and videos to help an events team keep pace with their current platform and expand their skillsets and knowledge. According to NTEN’s Technology Staffing and Investment Report, 43% of organizations training their staff on how to use IT tools and systems either “occasionally” or “never” and 35% of organizations do not account for technology-related professional development as part of their budget.
If your organization isn’t making an effort to invest in training and professional development to ensure that your events team can make the most of their technology tools and programs, how can they continue to grow your events and increase your organization’s revenue?
We’re sharing five reasons why any events professional should consider dedicating time to learn more and increase their familiarity with their software solutions.
- Process Improvement – Most solutions are designed to work with industry-standard workflows. By adapting your existing processes to match the workflows within the solution, you can increase efficiency and decrease your team’s workload.
- Minimize Mistakes – Trial and error can lead to errors, missed opportunities and unintended expenses. Training activities helps event organizers learn how specific workflows function and provides context behind different actions that they can take within the system. Knowing what to do is half the battle but understanding why can help transform an event organizer from a novice into a power user.
- Learn from Others – When you attend a training, you expect to gain new skills from your instructor…but it’s also a great way for colleagues to learn from one another. Training events allow for the sharing of best practices, challenges and pitfalls. These interactions can also help the events team work more closely together and identify ways to optimize how they are currently managing their workflows and processes.
- Enhance ROI – Your organization is likely (and, if not, you should start) carefully assessing the return on investment of the various tools that it has in place. Effective implementation and management will not only optimize your organization’s usage of a tool or system but it can also help decrease overall costs. A team may be using two different systems to accomplish a workflow that can be handled within a single tool. Or, one team may be manually creating a report that can be generated automatically within a system that’s already in place. If you’re interested in learning more about event tech ROI, check out our on-demand webinar: Dollars and Sense: Event Tech ROI- From Cost Center to Money Maker.
- Career Advancement – If you want to increase the value that you provide to an organization and ensure that you’re a critical member of the team, look at increasing your understanding and mastery of your institution’s systems. New skill sets make an event prof more valuable, opens up opportunities for advancement and pay increases, and can generate stability in your current role. And, when an event professional is ready to explore other opportunities, these new skills will make them him or her more attractive and marketable to other employers.
While time is a precious commodity for event organizers, investing just one hour a week can results in dividends almost immediately. Consider opportunities to help your events team stay up to date with your current systems and develop new skill sets and practices. Ultimately, the time you invest in training will empower your team and help you grow your events.