Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal • March 30, 2015 www.wbjournal.com FOCUS Meetings Guide & Golf Directory So, what does it take to plan a meeting that allows participants to get the most out of an in-the-flesh opportunity to connect with coworkers? At the Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health Care system, there are numerous internal events to plan each year, including board and board committee meetings and gatherings of clinical and administrative leaders from across the system. Fortunately, said Mary E. Larson, an executive assistant who handles much of the planning, most UMass Memorial meetings take place regularly and are scheduled a year in advance. Larson said her first move in planning an event is to look for space within the health care system. "But if your needs can't be met in-house, that's when we would look to go off-site," she said. UMass Memorial tries to work with local organiza- tions, including churches, restaurants and meeting centers, depending on its specific needs, Larson said. She said she looks for places that can accommodate her groups' needs for audio-visual technology, parking and food. Most importantly, she said, she starts scout- ing facilities as early as possible. "They do tend to book up very fast, sometimes years in advance," she said. Plan at least six months out Deborah Thompson, director of sales at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, said it's best to start planning at least six months in advance for a large meeting, though the hotel can typically accommodate smaller groups at fairly short notice. She said it's also important to think through all the relevant costs ahead of time, including the meeting space itself, as well as Even in a wired world, real business meetings still matter How companies sweat the details and plan off-site events to get the most out of bringing workers together T he era of clear, efficient long-distance communication has long since arrived. Workers can hop on conference calls from their bed- rooms without changing out of their pajamas. High-definition video unites far-flung satellite offices. Employees hash out plans on enterprise social tools such as Microsoft Yammer and Salesforce Chatter from anywhere they can use their phones. And yet, the power of the in-person meeting remains. A recent nationwide survey of 185 meeting planners by the group Destination Hotels found that 37 percent of respondents expect to spend more this year than last on meet- ings, while just 12 percent have lower budgets. BY LIVIA GERSHON Special to the Worcester Business Journal >> Continued on Page 25 Deborah Thompson, director of sales at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, advises businesses to think through their meeting carefully, well before attendees step in the door. P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I

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