convene PCMA ® PUBLISHER Deborah Sexton,(312) 423-7210

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Sherrif Karamat,CAE,(312) 423-7247

CONVENE EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Michelle Russell,mrussell@pcma.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christopher Durso,cdurso@pcma.org SENIOR EDITOR Barbara Palmer,bpalmer@pcma.org SENIOR EDITOR Hunter R. Slaton,hslaton@pcma.org ART DIRECTION Mitch Shostak,Roger Greiner Shostak Studios Inc., (212) 979-7981 CONTRIBUTING EDITORSCarol Bialkowski; Jennifer N. Dienst

CONVENE ADVERTISING

DIRECTOR, PARTNER RELATIONS & ADVERTISING Mona Simon,(312) 423-7244, msimon@pcma.org

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Wendy Krizmanic (AK, CT, DC, DE, ID, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, NV, OR, PA, RI, VT,WA) (312) 636-9254; wkrizmanic@pcma.org

Mary Lynn Novelli, CMP (AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OH, SC, TN, VA,WV, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, Carribbean) Dallas,TX; (312) 423-7212; fax: (469) 574-5590; mnovelli@pcma.org

Albert Pereira (AZ, CA, HI, NM, OK, TX, UT, Canada) 345 Kingston Road,Suite 203,Pickering, Ontario, Canada L1V 1A1; (312) 423-7277; fax: (905) 509-6810; apereira@pcma.org

Mary Lou Sarmiento (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO,MT, ND, NE, SD, WI,WY, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand) 1033W. Taylor Street, Suite 1E, Chicago,IL 60607; (312) 636-0636; fax: (312) 896-7397;msarmiento@pcma.org

Ken Torres (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, Caribbean) P.O. Box 9128, Miramar Beach,FL 32550; (850) 837-5177; fax: (850) 837-5277; ktorres@pcma.org MANAGER, PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION Keisha Reed,(312) 423-7246 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kathleen Mulvihill,(312) 423-7236

PCMA OFFICERS

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Kent E. Allaway, CEM,CMP, Produce Marketing Association

CHAIR-ELECT Johnnie C. White,CMP, Cardiovascular Research Foundation

SECRETARY-TREASURER Christopher J.Wehking,CMP, American Society of Anesthesiologists

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Susan R. Katz, True Value Company

PCMA DIRECTORS Willie L. Benjamin II, International Reading Association Laurie Fitzgerald,CMP, Allstate Insurance Company Ben Goedegebuure, Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre Richard B. Green, Marriott International Mary PatHeftman, National Restaurant Association Wanda M. Johnson,CMP,CAE, The Endocrine Society Christine Klein,CMP,meetings and business development consultant Raymond J. Kopcinski,CMP, Million Dollar Round Table

Roberta A. Kravitz, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Gregory A. O’Dell, EventsDC Carrie Freeman Parsons, Freeman WilliamF. Reed,CMP, Experient Inc. James E. Rooney, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Amanda S. Rushing,CMP, American Society of Civil Engineers Barry L. Smith, Metro Toronto Convention Centre

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of PCMA.

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PCMA@LinkedIn: Survey Responses

SERENALEUNGBAKER,CMP, conferences and events manager for Staffing Industry Analysts, recently posted this question toPCMA’s LinkedIn group: “Iamlooking for ways to improve our response rates for conference evaluations. Anyone have new tools, ideas, or sample forms to share?” Here aresomeof the responses

that she received:

OURON-SITEAVCOMPANY suggested sending surveys to email addresses while in the meeting room. These were anonymous email addresses on iPads used only for the conference. These iPads had all the presentations,speeches,and back- ground statistics pre-loaded,and were only handed out for the dura- tion of the conference. In this way it was part of the conference and you could get immediate feedback. UweWalter Director of Group Sales TheFairmont Banff Springs

THEREARESOMANYOPTIONS and no wrong way. Any time a response comes in,we are more ahead of where we were in the col- lection of valuable data. Determin- ing what the best tool is will depend on what type of survey/feedback you are looking to get/gather,deter- mining what you plan on doing with the data,what the event environ- ment is like,whether technology is an option, etc. The answers to those questions will help you select the most appropriate tool(s) for your situation. The success factors tend to be: the length of the survey,type of questions, response types (multiple choice,free text,etc.),the timing of the survey (when it is issued/collect- ed,what triggers a survey, etc.),and it never hurts to encourage survey responses with drawings and prizes. Michele Zappulla,CMP Director of Sales, East Region Spotme

www.pcma.org

WHATWEFIND REALLYHELPS is to email the attendees the survey link the day after the conference ends,first thing in the morning. They’re still in conference mode and are more open to helping improve it for the following year.We then add incentive by offering a free hotel night or registration for next year. After that initial email,we’ll do two reminder ones,five and 10 days out. In a good year we can get about a 12- to 15-percent response rate on the end-of-event survey. As for indi- vidual session evaluations,we’ve always done paper in the room and made sure presenters ask attendees to fill them out; the presenters like to see the results,too. JennyWanger Conference Coordinator National Alliancefor Public Charter Schools

THEKEYTOGETTINGTHE greatest number of responses is to provide attendees the ability to easi- ly and quickly respond to your questions.Take a look at the length of your survey. If it is too long, attendees will shy away from it. Pro- viding interactive technology tools, such as tablets or ARS [audience response system] technology,can greatly increase participation. What- ever you do, don’t wait until the next day or week after the confer- ence is over. I attended one confer- ence when they emailed the survey 10 days after the conference! I can’t remember what I did yesterday, let alone 10 days ago. De-de Mulligan,CMP,CMM President Mulligan Management Group

DOIT INREALTIME,RIGHT after a sessionand as the conference concludes. Focus on one or two top- ics,and keep it short and collectible as folks leave the session. For the overall survey,have some kindof reward or drawing for your next event. Bob Becker President Meeting Planners

pcmaconvene February 2012 5

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