This U.K. insurance group is pioneering the paperless conference."We've held this conference for eight years, so we've probably destroyed a little forest," observes Stephanie Milan-Sinai, marketing manager for the London-headquartered global insurance group, Xchanging UK, Ltd. That includes cutting down about six trees per conference just for the delegate packs."
But saving the environment wasn't the company's primary motivation. "It was to demonstrate that by using electronics, you can change how you do things and that the reality of that change is neither threatening nor difficult," says Michael Taylor, chairman of the group's November conference in Brighton, England.
There's a trend running through the insurance market to get to paperless processing by the end of 2009. "We want to transform inherently old fashioned processes involving paper and face-to-face negotiations into electronic transactions. And for a company involved in our own program of electronification, we should practice what we preach and apply those processes to all our communications," he says.
And when Xchanging changes, the insurance industry takes notice. The company's 4,200 employees operate in seven countries delivering back-office insurance services to leading customers in 34 countries.
Its 2008 conference theme, "Competing to Win—Delivering Results in the Electronic World," offered the opportunity for an audience of 300 senior insurance industry executives and consultants to consider and debate the competitive landscape with insight and ideas delivered by industry leaders and expert guest speakers.
The paper-free experience began with all delegate communication and literature delivered electronically. It ended with key messages from interactive sessions published online as a set of objectives to help steer the market's future direction. "I believe our paperless conference was unique in the financial services industry," says Taylor. "We have to be highly innovative when it comes to creating new products and services in insurance coverage and dealing with new forms of insurance in cyber crime, piracy, and the like."
Adds Julie Lynch, Xchanging's group head of service, "We realized how ridiculous it is in this day and age to use so much paper, much of which ends up in the hotel trash cans to be carted away in heavy trucks. The delegates found the paperless idea refreshing and enjoyed not having to carry anything around with them. And it wasn't a question just of getting rid of paper. This really is a better means of communication and stimulates people to consider and change outdated habits. We took a chance by leading the paperless charge in the insurance conference field and it seems to have worked."
The ProcessThe promotion of the 2008 Xchanging conference began with online ads that enabled delegates to read about the event, register, pay, and link in. They were then given access to the downloadable conference agenda, speakers, and delegates list and other information. On arrival at the venue, the Grand Hotel, Brighton, they could access updated information from plasma displays in touch-screen service kiosks.
At each plenary session table sat two tablet PCs. One showed the detailed conference agenda and background information. The other enabled them to key in live comments and questions for speakers.
After the conference, delegates were handed a memory stick on which were speakers' biographies, their PowerPoint slides, and a four-minute edited video summary of the conference that included a few seconds of each guest speaker's presentation. A video of the entire conference was also available by request in part or whole.
Finally, while the experience was fresh in their minds, delegates were e-mailed feedback forms to evaluate the speakers, the facilities, and the paperless experience itself. The unanimous verdict on all counts was "excellent."
The BenefitsAlthough the upfront investment in electronic equipment and software for the 2008 conference outweighed the cost of delegate packs and other literature, the producers anticipate substantial long-term savings.
"Meanwhile, in the short term, there's a big saving in not having to print and mail conference packs," says Taylor. "And there are ongoing time savings thanks to our team not having to photocopy, print, and collate material—which also enabled them to concentrate more on helping delegates."
The use of tablet PCs on the tables to capture questions, rather than the old stop-and-go method of people sprinting around with handheld microphones, worked particularly well, according to Taylor. "Many delegates who were shy or didn't want to be seen as controversial, appreciated the opportunity to anonymously key in their questions and challenges," he says. "It was a good way of generating a flow of questions. Yes, it can encourage too many, but they are screened on the platform, so they don't all have to be answered."
The Downside"Some sponsors missed seeing their logo on paper around the place," says Lynch. "But we're working on the technology to take care of that. We also have to ensure that the venue's electronic capability and infrastructure is robust and fast enough. Some old hotels are not yet up to standard. For example their thick walls are difficult for Wi-Fi.
And not all companies are yet up to speed in producing downloadable material quickly enough for daily updates." And, as this is a transition period for the concept of the paperless conference, people still need some paper. "When I gave a staff briefing they had to take notes. We still haven't found a complete substitute for delegate badges or business cards. And some people missed having hard copy, so we had to provide the odd pad and pencil," Lynch says. "And although we designed the exhibition area to be as paperless as possible, some exhibitors weren't yet equipped to dispense interactive brochures and such, so they couldn't enjoy the cost and environmental savings."
The Production"This was the biggest conference I've ever known on this scale," says producer James Willing. And he takes some impressing. His company JWA Events has created them for companies like Mercedes Benz, Sony, MTV, Ralph Lauren, and Unilever.
The Xchanging conference had a four month lead time. "And being the first, we had to source and brief suppliers who had never faced electronic challenges on this scale, not least producing whole websites with dynamic functionality and always with an eye on using sustainable resources."
Willing sees paperless inevitably as the way to go. "So many times I've arrived at a conference and everyone thrusts inch-thick brochures at you. You get back to your office with bags full of them. I never bother to file or even look at most of them. It's a wasteful habit that we can't afford any more."
JWA's brief from Xchanging was to create easy-to-use, quick to-use, and easily updated stand-alone kiosks branded with conference and sponsors' logos and incorporating interactive touch-screens showing everything that would have been in a brochure.
"A conference on this scale could often consume massive amounts of wood, so we used stock flats covered in eco-friendly material in Xchanging's colors," says Willing.
"We used a Trilight Trust system to give the set real 3D oomph. And all that Trilight can be used again and again. You know how often literally a whole set gets ditched after a conference. How many wasted trees is that? But none of the Xchanging set, the staging, or the carpentry had to be scrapped. The future's about using sets that can look fantastic but don't have to be binned afterwards.
"We used lots of LED which is still quite expensive and not yet cost-effective but as technology increases and more producers use it, the price will come down. The pods are reusable too. We need just to program in the clients' software. It's almost like creating a website. And, like a website, you don't want loads of buttons all over the place. The principle we advocate is always 'keep it simple and succinct.' "
Going electronic didn't mean slowing down. "Delegate lists and guest speakers can change right up to the last minute," Willing says. "With people paying a lot of money to attend, they want to make sure their name was on the list. It isn't like printing. You couldn't leave things to the last minute. We had to download that late-arriving information into the interactive pods in time for the conference and that proved one of most difficult tasks and is still part of our learning curve."
Feedback"The delegates overwhelmingly liked the change," he says. "Paradoxically, despite the electronic environment, it enhanced the human side. With less paper, people talked to one another more and were more proactive. Easier for some, but we had to support and reassure those who found it intimidating. The first time is always difficult for everyone."
Typical of individual feedback was that of Max Pell of Capita Commercial Insurance Services. "Yes, it seemed unconventional to start with, but the paperless benefits, including not being cluttered with too much stuff and the clarity of the electronic signage, proved a real boon."
Margaret Patrick of XL Services said, "It took a bit of getting used to, but looking back, we didn't lose anything not having hard copies. Having the text of the presentations available online after the conference was an extra boon."
And no doubting the reaction of Susan York of Travelers Syndicate Management: "It all worked brilliantly! From now on, using paper at conferences is outdated."
Conference chairman Michael Taylor, concluded that, "We've established the framework. It's been revolutionary and there's no turning the page back now."
Originally published May 1, 2009For more ideas, tips, and tools for better meetings and events,
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