While times have been changing since the pandemic, summer is still something of a slow period in the tradeshow industry. Employees often save vacation time for the holiday season, giving companies a useful window for special in-house programs. One program an increasing number of companies are embracing is the midyear meeting.
Meeting can be a misleading term. These events are not merely gatherings of management and staff around a table to discuss past projects, upcoming work, or company issues. Some companies, including SourceOne Events and Willwork Global Event Services, call their programs universities. With summer coming to a close, Exhibit City News examined the midyear meeting trend and what companies should consider when planning one.
Building one company culture
Why have a midyear meeting? The reason goes beyond employee morale. Companies that hold these gatherings often want to improve communication and strengthen connections among staff and departments.
SourceOne adopted the concept after opening a second office across the country. Based in Chicago, with another office in Orlando, Mike and Jackie Bojesen wanted to avoid creating separate “Chicago team” and “Orlando team” identities. Their effort to bring employees together began with a Christmas party.
Mike, president of SourceOne, says, “We were already planning to fly our Orlando employees to Chicago for the Christmas party and Jackie and I were thinking if we’re bringing everyone here why not make more out of the time together? So we added training department meetings, hands-on activities, and some team building. That was the beginning of SourceOne University.”
The company learned from those early years. Christmas proved difficult because employees “have family commitments, holiday travel and everything that comes with that time of the year,” says Jackie, vice president and CFO of SourceOne. So the company moved the program to summer.
It made sense. “We have already been through our busy winter and spring schedule,” Jackie says. “We know another busy season is coming in the fall. (SourceOne University) in the summer gives everyone a chance to reconnect and recharge before we go to that next stretch.”
Learning how the whole company works
This August, Willwork held its own Willwork University, a three-day company-wide training program for nearly 100 employees at Durango Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.
Like the Bojesens at SourceOne, Bill Nixon, owner and CEO of Willwork, cited connection among employees as an important part of the program.
“Growth creates opportunity but it also makes communication and consistency more important than ever,” says Nixon. “Willwork University gave us the chance to get our people in the same room, walk through how each department contributes to a successful project, and have meaningful conversations about how we can work better together.”
Mike agrees. “We want people learning from each other. Our account managers might learn more about what happens in graphics or the warehouse. The production teams can hear more about what was promised to the client and why something was designed a certain way. Exhibitor Services can explain what they are hearing directly from exhibitors.”
Over three days, Willwork employees participated in sessions that broke down an event project from start to finish. Regardless of department, employees learned about operations such as contracting and project management and saw how work orders and quality control are handled. Sessions also covered labor planning, design and graphics, rental solutions, safety, and risk management.
Employees from different offices and markets were able to connect face to face and gain a better understanding of their coworkers’ responsibilities and challenges.
SourceOne University also lasts two or three days. Jackie says bringing different departments together is an important part of the program.
“Someone working in the warehouse may not normally sit in a meeting with someone from Finance or sales,” she says. “University puts everybody in the same room and reminds us that all of those jobs are connected.”
Making room for fun
The programs are not all meetings and presentations.
“We built a racing theme this year around our team building event at Andretti indoor karting and games,” Mike says.
While competitive, the racing also gave employees another way to connect.
“What I liked about Andretti,” Jackie says, “was watching people interact with employees outside their normal groups. There was a lot of laughing and people getting to know each other. We finished University with our Winner’s Circle Gala: we had dinner, employee awards recognition and dancing.”
Companies considering their own summer university should also think carefully about location and scheduling. Holding the event off site can help employees avoid the distractions of their normal work environment, even during a slower period.
Mike also recommends leaving room in the schedule.
“Don’t schedule every minute. You have the entire company together. Your instinct is to fill the schedule, but people need down time too. Sometimes the conversation at lunch or just sitting together after an activity is as valuable as something put together on the official agenda.”
Turning employee focus inward
In the tradeshow industry, companies spend most of their time focused on clients. SourceOne and Willwork have found that taking a few days each year to focus on their own people can strengthen company culture and help employees better understand how their work connects.
Jackie comments, “Our employees spend most of the year worrying about our clients, their events, their deadlines, and their attendees. SourceOne University is one of the few times during the year when we can turn that around and focus completely on our own people.”
That investment can ultimately benefit clients as well.
As Nixon says, “When our teams understand not only their role but what happens before and after the process they’re a part of, we ultimately deliver a better experience for our clients.”
SourceOne Events provides event and tradeshow services, including event production, exhibit services, and related support. The company has offices in Chicago and Orlando. For more information, visit sourceoneevents.com.
Willwork Global Event Services provides exhibit, event, and retail services nationwide, including technical production and installation services. Founded in 1987, the company serves clients across the events and experiential marketing industry. For more information, visit willwork.com.
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