Diversity, equity, and inclusion are no longer nice-to-have strategies. Today’s businesses need to have DEI strategies. And event planning companies are no exception.
There is a movement across the events industry to adopt more diverse and inclusive practices into your planning. Convention and visitor bureaus all across the country are expanding to attract more diverse meetings and conferences to their regions. Venues are opening their doors to more diverse event types, both social and corporate. And it’s this open-arms approach that will ensure your event planning business continues to grow.
It’s not about politics or personal opinion. It’s about preparing your company to meet the growing demands of a more diverse culture all around. And these are the industry insights that will help you develop and improve your DEI efforts for the best results.
Diversity Starting Within
If you’re always looking for new ways to improve your diversity and inclusion efforts, it’s always great to start within your own event planning business. Explore ways to attract more diverse talent to your ranks. Look to make equity improvements among those who already work with you. Conduct equity pay surveys internally. Incorporate DEI training for staff. And dive into your company policies to see if you can affect positive change there.
Diversity in the Partnerships
It’s easy to continue working with trusted partners in event planning, especially if you’ve curated those relationships over a period of years. But don’t close yourself off to potential partnership opportunities outside of your existing circle. Look to expand to include new venues, catering services, florists, and other vendors who similarly share your DEI values and efforts.
Diversity in Entertainment
Another arena in which you can explore more diverse and inclusive strategies is entertainment. Explore including a more diverse lineup of keynote speakers, for example. Broaden your entertainment vendor horizons to include a more equitable representation of talent.
Diversity in Attendance
Event planners can improve DEI efforts among attendees, too. Making an event more accessible to all, along with prioritizing health and wellness protections, is a great start. But you can do even more by allowing guests to set up their own name pronunciation in a virtual event or set pronouns on name tags.
Consider these insights to help you improve your diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. And be sure you get to The Event Planner Expo 2022 this October to learn more about how today’s event planners are improving their business models.
Contact us NOW to secure your exhibitor spot on the tradeshow floor, or take advantage of remaining sponsorship opportunities!
