Meeting and event companies are emerging from the pandemic with new job roles, new hiring, and a gradual return to the workplace.
During COVID lockdown, face-to-face meetings and incentives came to a screeching halt. The biggest meeting and event companies fired or furloughed large numbers of their employees. Now in a post-pandemic landscape of in-person, hybrid, and virtual meetings, business is back and these companies are re-building their brands.
There appears to be an upwards trend of new job roles, new hires, and a gradual return to the workplace for the big meeting and event companies. In June, industry giant Maritz—who reportedly lost $1 billion in annual revenue during the pandemic—fully reopened its Fenton, MO campus after it was shut down for a year. Many of the 1,000+ employees who were furloughed or sent home to work remotely have resumed their jobs with a flexible policy of remote and in-office hours.
Meeting and event companies are actively looking to fill full-time positions in the US and Canada. Creative Group currently has five openings with titles that range from program manager to registration website/mobile app specialist. ITA Group lists 32 openings, from senior program manager to supervisor-event operations.
Companies are growing their services as well as their workforce. BCD Meetings and Events, for example, has launched a creative brand experience agency called The Collective. Currently, BCD has 50 meetings-related positions listed on its website. Titles range from experience designer to meetings operations supervisor and from senior event manager to planning and registration manager.
Job roles are expanding as big meeting and event companies respond to the technology demands of hybrid events. George P. Johnson Experience Marketing, for instance, has added the job title “digital experience architect.” This is a strategic position for a tech-savvy professional who can identify the similarities and the differences between in-person experiences and remote experiences, and advise how to use technology to help deliver remote attendee engagement. In addition, George P. Johnson has 18 job openings in several US cities with titles that range from event manager to partner relations manager to senior producer, special experiences.
The upwards momentum seen at a sampling of the largest meeting and event companies suggests a welcome rebound for the industry.
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