Meeting Professionals International (MPI) recently received criticism from meeting and event planners after announcing a new Meeting Fundamentals certificate program for the “non-traditional planner.” The first course was scheduled to take place at MPI’s Dallas headquarters on Mon., April 25, 2016.
Planners were concerned that six hours (the length of the course) was not a sufficient amount of time to learn the ins and outs of the industry and that MPI was essentially watering down the CMP certification, by offering lower-tier versions of the program in an effort to gain more members.
However, these views are not universal among all planners (many industry vets have voiced their support for the program) and MPI is keeping its finger on the pulse of its core clientele.
“Part of our mission is to provide education for everyone engaged in our industry, which includes non-titled corporate meeting planners, as well as those exploring event planning as a career,” said MPI President and CEO Paul Van Deventer. “Our new Meeting Fundamentals course is just one offering on the MPI Professional Development Roadmap, which provides a variety of educational offerings depending on people’s interests and career goals. After attending the course, participants receive a ‘certificate of completion.’ The course does not pretend to be a certification or designation program, but simply covers the basics of meeting planning that both beginner planners and untitled planners, who have been organizing meetings and events as part of their jobs for years, can benefit from.
“It is a continuation of the strategic direction we’ve taken to evolve and transform our association. Some of the negative chatter that arose in social media recently about our new course was unprofessional and also cast a negative light on our industry,” Deventer continued. “As a community, we should band together to promote the value of all meeting professionals—not just certain groups—and support educational growth for everyone, which elevates our industry as a whole.”
We also reached out to some planners and suppliers (with the aid of MPI), who have voiced their support for the new programming. Select planner and supplier responses are included in the paragraphs below.
“While I am a senior planner who yearns for advanced education, there is no denying that there is a need for basic education in our industry,” said Angela Layton, CMP, CMM, senior meeting planner with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. “In today’s professional environment, employees are asked to juggle multiple roles. Not every person with a role in our industry has the official title of meeting planner … I believe [MPI’s Meeting Fundamentals course] will provide individuals with the basic knowledge they need to expand their skills and influence. Together, we can make our industry stronger by supporting this new initiative and the development of future meeting planners.”
Layton also said that when she started out in the industry she was hard-pressed to find a credible body of knowledge that would provide education focused on the basics of the meeting profession. And that courses geared toward this entry level of planner have diminished over the years, in her experience.
“Trial by fire might work in some industries but not in the world of meeting planning,” said Joyce J. Ginsburg, meeting planner and special events consultant with JG Meetings. “A person given the responsibility to plan a meeting really needs to understand the end result as opposed to just guessing all the way through. This industry is built on detail and one wrong detail can act like a domino and greatly affect the various steps to planning [a particular event] … So is it advantageous to offer this admin person some basic training as to how to plan a meeting and what to look out for—but of course!”
Ginsburg noted she is not a member of MPI, but that she sees more education for those who are in non-dedicated planner roles or just starting out in their careers as a positive for everyone.
“MPI is about education. We always have the professional planner in mind when we arrange our monthly education programs, a curriculum for WEC or provide support for IMEX,” said Joey Allen, COO with Kings Worldwide Transportation and an MPI chapter board member. “We value and appreciate the robust experience that planners bring to our community. And we would love for more planners to be involved in every chapter on a more regular basis. However, from a ‘Chapter Board Member’ perspective, we need the “non-traditional” planner, as well. Our chapters run on small budgets and thin margins.
“We need more attendance at chapter events and our community benefits when there are more attendees (more opportunities for education and networking), and the chapter benefits with increased revenue.”
Allen said that while he doesn’t know all the details of the Meeting Fundamentals program, he fails to see how educating a group of people to be more proficient at part of their job, “and hopefully, to better understand when and why they might need the assistance of someone more seasoned,” is a bad thing.
While the benefits of social media are enormous for the meeting and event industry, its users can also be quick to react—and planners were very quick to judge the new Meeting Fundamentals programming. Even though MPI and other industry organizations haven’t been perfect in their decision-making over the years (and who has?), it’s refreshing to see the major industry associations taking note and trying out new initiatives.
Let’s face it, the meetings industry and its various organizations aren’t exactly quick to initiate change, but it seems that the recent headlines from DMAI, MPI, IACC and others, suggest that these associations realize changes need to be made to keep planners interested in supporting and attending future events.
More information on MPI’s Meeting Fundamentals program is available on its website.
