Relationship Advice

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While meetings are valuable for providing training, conveying company content and motivating the team, what is often forgotten is the sheer power that meetings have to create and enhance relationships. If, at a meeting of 100 participants, each person creates or strengthens five relationships, the meeting is responsible for upwards of 500 stronger relationships within the company.

That is powerful stuff, and is often overlooked when a meeting is being evaluated or its return on investment is being discussed.

Planners, of course, are in a unique position to maximize the number of relationships created or strengthened at meetings, and that presents another important responsibility crucial to the success of the meeting.

For a typical three-day meeting, here’s how you can maximize relationship development:

Day 1

Opening Reception
Most opening receptions are unstructured and allow people to “get their feet wet” after a day of travel. While there should be a time for participants to unwind and freely mingle with others, you may want to consider incorporating a meet-and-greet style activity at your opening reception to promote interaction — something as simple as a list of questions on cards that participants need to find others to answer is often very effective.

If run by an emcee and a few event staff members, this activity will allow participants to mingle, begin conversations with new people and break the ice. Other possible networking activities include combining puzzle pieces, human bingo or the signing of a company “yearbook.”

Day 2

Study Buddies
Consider teaming participants up as “study teams” throughout the meeting. Even if they are attending different breakout sessions or have different positions within the company, the value of having select participants work together or just connect throughout the meeting is very strong.

Study buddy (or “conference cohort”) teams can be created at breakfast on the first morning, or pre-assigned and included in the participants’ welcome packets. Near the end of the meeting, a brief contest, either in a game show or written format, can be held to see which study buddy teams retained the most information.

Team Events
The concept of adding a team activity that mimics how teams perform in the workplace is extremely valuable. This can take the form of a fun-based activity such as a corporate olympiad or adventure hunt, or a facilitated team workshop in which specific personal or organizational processes are discussed.
Whether teams are formed on-site, or preselected to match specific participants, a quality team activity will allow attendees to actively learn and cultivate relationships with teammates in a nonstressful environment.

In the Evening
Consider these two options for an evening event:
At a sit-down dinner, assign seats so new people can have a chance to meet or spend time with each other.

At a reception, add an activity — such as a casino night, themed carnival or horse racing — in which participants can visit various stations at their leisure to participate with others in an activity.

Day 3
The Closing and Beyond
The last day of a meeting is ideal to conclude the study buddy activity and encourage these teams to carry forward after the meeting by tasking them with a follow-up project, meeting summary or idea generation for the next meeting.

In addition, on the last day the meeting leader should take a moment to congratulate participants on their efforts and point out how many people participants have come in contact with as well as the value of these relationships to the company.

While the above are guidelines, and each group has its own personality, meeting objectives and budget, the underlying concept still resonates — meetings provide a rich opportunity to create and develop company relationships. Planners have the added responsibility to be sure this opportunity is maximized for their company or client’s benefit.

About the author: Ed Graziano

Ed Graziano is the founder of Chicago-based Corporate Event Enterprises, a national supplier of interactive and team-based programs for event and meeting planners.

Contact: ed@corpevent.com