When your organization plans an event outside of the U.S., it's important that the event location is in alignment with the organization's objectives, goals, and success criteria. But once the destination is locked, the planning process becomes an exercise of logistic management.
Even the most seasoned event planner will discover challenges when faced with new cultural and business practices. Business agreements are termed and negotiated differently than in the U.S., and communications are nuanced, complicating your expectations and agreements. Furthermore, local holiday observances could interrupt or effectively halt your event.
The following are a few logistical considerations that SmithBucklin's Event Services professionals have encountered while planning and executing an international event.
Build Relationships
Establishing relationships with local contacts is invaluable to ensuring the success of the event. Whether it involves itineraries or tablecloths, your local contact can help you navigate language and cultural gaps where even the simplest request could be misconstrued.
Mutually beneficial partnerships enable a smoother planning process and a better understanding of the local business climate. For example, we had a two-week deadline to prepare a site visit in South Africa. Our local partner, whom we have known for several years, helped develop a plan involving all potential vendors. The contract was awarded, thanks to our strong partnership.
Your local contacts can also help interpret nonverbal cues and spoken language. In some cultures, "yes" can mean "no," it also can mean "maybe," and sometimes "yes" actually means "yes." But how do you know for certain?
Clearly state, in writing, the parameters of your event, and make sure your include background about U.S. practices we take for granted. For example, while organizing an event in Hong Kong, we distributed our standard requests for proposal, but many hotel managers were unfamiliar with our event set-up procedures. When we gave them a detailed explanation, including that we would pay the meeting room rental fee on set-up day, we received numerous RFP responses.
Research Local Customs
Become familiar with local customs, especially ones that will directly affect your event. Some key ones include:
• Work week and national holidays. Many Middle Eastern counties work Sunday through Thursday. Colombia and India are tied for the most public holidays (18 days per year).
• Standard work hours. Develop your meeting's agenda around the local hours to prevent costly overtime fees and additional stress due to decreased staffing or transportation issues.
• Significant religious and cultural holidays. For example, one client's housing cut-off date fell over Ramadan, which meant reduced staffing levels at its hotel in Istanbul.
Expect the Unexpected
Each country will provide unique challenges and solutions. What works in one country may not work in the next. Be prepared to roll with the unexpected changes and challenges.
The journey (including the surprises) of managing the logistics of an international event can be a personally rewarding and educational experience for an event planner. Besides delivering a successful event experience for your organization and its attendees, you will have developed new relationships, increased your cultural awareness, and contributed to the socio-economic impact of the local community.
Lauren Deaton is a senior manager at Courtesy Associates, a wholly owned subsidiary of SmithBucklin.
Cynthia Cortis is a director in Event Services at SmithBucklin. For further information, visit www.smithbucklin.com. Contact Deaton at [email protected] and Cortis at [email protected].
This article appears in the July 2015 issue of Successful Meetings.