Category: Meetings

According to a Harvard Business Review, having a feeling of inclusion at work leads to more than just pleasant sentiments and friendships. It promotes employee performance, higher revenues, and low turnovers.

However, two-thirds of employees still tend to feel isolated, and their opinions are not valued. Feeling disrespected or unheard is one main reason people quit (and quiet-quit) their jobs.

Building an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they are part of the decision-making process is important if you manage a team. Starting with your team meetings is a great way to do this.

In inclusive meetings, each staff member has a say and feels motivated to engage actively and present their unique ideas. Meetings are the way to get started if a company wants to create a more inclusive culture — and executives want to exemplify the feeling of belonging.

Sales manager Shelley Gutta shares a few tips on fostering an inclusive culture through inclusive meetings.

We’ve all been there – a corporate meeting filled with PowerPoint slides and jargon-laden language. Our eyes start to glaze over, and our minds wander. We’re daydreaming about anything and everything else.

Now, imagine a corporate meeting that’s the complete opposite. A meeting where the content is engaging, the dialogue is lively, and we’re actually excited to be there. What’s the difference?

In short, it’s about incorporating opportunities for “white space.”

Let’s explore the concept of “white space” and learn what to look for in a meeting venue, thanks to some tips from our sales manager, Shelley Gutta. 

You know that networking is vital for your career, but you may still be hesitant to attend networking events. Maybe you’ve had your share of expensive conferences that seemed like a waste of time. Maybe you’re wondering if LinkedIn and other social media are enough on their own.

The truth is that face-to-face communications still carry more weight than emails and texts. Plus, events can be an efficient way to meet a large number of potential contacts in a short time.  

Robin Poling, our sales manager here at Stonewall says, “I believe that the in-person meetings  allow us to be authentic, and it also allows meeting attendees to have that human touch, which we so desperately missed in the last 24 months or so.”

Making that in-person connection can elevate your business relationships and increase your ROI. If you want to come home from your next networking event with something more valuable than a pile of business cards and memories of free cheese, read our tips for networking at your next meeting, conference, and other in-person events.

There’s no denying that today’s organizations are turning to group meetings as a way to boost productivity and drive innovation. Naturally, that became tricky when the pandemic changed how the entire world operates. We are seeing a return to in-person events overall, but not all venues are created equal in terms of their ability to return to bringing teams together in person safely. 

Safety, social distancing, varying vaccination requirements, and health screenings are now a part of our daily lives which can make gathering in one place increasingly difficult. As they say, the show must go on, and your business has to continue moving forward, even through difficult circumstances.

If you’re planning to implement group meetings again, be sure you choose a venue that can accommodate your needs while making the health of your attendees a priority. 

As we move further into the future, event planners will need to keep up with ever-changing trends in order to put on successful events. Tech is king but event planning is more than just offering the latest and greatest technology. We’ve put together some corporate event planning tips that will not only improve loyalty and engagement but will also help with your ROI, too!

Event planning isn’t for the faint of heart, and the devil truly is in the details. From choosing a venue to picking the menu, the bottom line is always your ROI. For that reason, before you spend a dime or do any planning, it’s best to determine the purpose of your event and how you will gauge its success. 

If your meeting is a training meeting, then a straightforward measure of success is to test for proficiency, either at the meeting or the workplace. If your meeting has a dual purpose, for instance, training and team building, it may take a little more time to determine your ROI. 

Having an idea of the overall role and the expected outcome makes the planning much simpler. All decisions for the meeting should go through the filter of “will this help me meet my overall goals for the meeting?’ This helps weed out things that may seem necessary but really aren’t, given the overall mission. 

Are you planning an offsite meeting? Or maybe a once-in-a-lifetime social event? Every hotel has its own sales tactic with the reasons to choose their particular venue. We prefer to take a more personalized approach, working with clients to tailor their events to maximize their ROI while offering the best experience possible. 

However, there are some standard differentiators with Stonewall Resort that make our venue stand out. Here are a few that resonate specifically with prospective meeting planners. 

Some people may be surprised to learn that strategic planning is more than just reviewing numbers. Businesses must consider all aspects of their business, such as how well it’s running at this moment in time or where it’s likely heading in the future. This is best achieved through strategic planning with an organization’s leadership team.

One advantage to planning an offsite meeting is the change of scenery. Although the overall mission is a productive, focused time, intermittently taking your team to enjoy the great outdoors has many benefits. As a matter of fact, when you add outdoor meeting space or recreation to any meeting, you can expect participants to be more attentive, creative, energized, and relational. Keep your team engaged by incorporating new meeting styles and team-building opportunities.

The idea of workplace wellness is not new. We know when our teams are well and content, the overall atmosphere improves, increasing productivity and company culture. 

Prioritizing the mental and physical health of your employees plays an integral part in maintaining a happy team. A happy team is a more effective team, and a more effective team results in a better more dynamic company that grows in revenue and overall business success.