Conference management is a specialist skill, and every year companies find this out to their cost. It may seem a logical decision to try to save some money by having a member of in-house staff look after your conference, but depending on their experience and skill set, they may quickly become overwhelmed. If you’re planning an upcoming conference for your company, here are five important things to consider when it comes to conference management. * In-house or outsource? The decision whether to use someone in-house or outsource your conference management will depend on a number of factors. Things like the scale of the conference and the experience of internal staff will dictate whether or not you feel the task would be better dealt with by an outside supplier. * Budget Tied in with the decision on outsourcing is budget. You may have a very clear view of what your conference should be like, but you need to weigh this up against your available budget. Cutting corners on conference management by choosing a cheaper venue or hiring less expensive equipment could backfire on you. Equally, putting someone inexperienced in charge of the budget could result in overspending. * Expectations Managing expectations is another area of conference management that needs to be considered. For example, if you had a lavish annual conference last year, will delegates be expecting the same? If you have to drastically scale down your plans, you should try to make this known in a subtle way ahead of your conference, so that people aren’t taken by surprise when they attend. * Health and safety If you’re holding your conference at a hotel or dedicated conference centre for example, you’ll need to consider various health and safety aspects. For example, checking over any audio/visual equipment that’s going to be used, making sure people are aware of designated fire exits, and ensuring catering suppliers have the necessary hygiene certificates in place. * Use of technology With technology moving at lightning speed, you may want to consider how it can be put to use in terms of conference management. Things like delegate voting and video conferencing may be areas you want to explore. A professional conference management company will be able to advise on the most effective technology to help you achieve your aims, whether at the conference itself, or following up with delegates afterwards.

The Co-operative Travel Management provides expert conference management services to a wide range of UK businesses. They also cover business travel services and event organisation.