PLENARY SMG at McCormick Place Q Tipster: Website Usability Q Research: CME Money
(SMG) continued from page 16
“If that doesn’t work,” Causton said, “we have a third option, and that is to go back to Springfield and legislate a change that would make all these workers public-sector employ-
McCormick Place isn’t just big — it’s also complex, especially when it comes to union issues. “There is pressure on various parties to negotiate a settlement,” said GM David Causton. “That is our hope.”
ees, and allow us to make changes in other ways.”
When Convene spoke to Causton in early September, he was cautiously optimistic that an agreement with the unions could be reached. “There is pressure on the various parties to try to negotiate a settlement,” he said. “That is our
hope.” A story published in the Chicago Tribune on Sept. 9 supported this view, reporting that a letter sent from Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to legislative leaders stated that negotiations were produc- ing “significant progress” toward an “amicable solution.”
In the meantime, Causton said, SMG’s as- suming control of the facility has produced other changes, giving building management an opportunity to look at their “divisions and lay- ers” and to “reduce those divisions, collapse the layers, and come back with a cleaner, smarter, more nimble organization.” For example, the ability of McCormick Place to procure equipment and other resources necessary to operate the facility has also been sped up and simplified. Previously, Causton said, any expenditure greater than $10,000 had to be approved by MPEA’s board of directors, which involved a number of steps. Now, the SMG-managed McCormick Place has been given its budget by MPEA, and told to oper- ate the facility like any other business. “Now we can actually react in real time to customer needs and procure things very quickly as an organization,” Causton said. “We simply do a purchase order and purchase it.” n
— Hunter R. Slaton TIPSTER
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uAnswer what, RESEARCH
Pharma Aid $28
billion
That’s how much money the pharmaceutical industry spent promoting drugs to physicians and other prescribers last year, according to a new report from Cegedim.
And what got pharma the most bang for its buck? From the blog Policy and Medicine:
“The most common forms of meetings for promotion of products are dinner debates and dinner meetings. However, these forms of meetings did not have the most influence on intent to prescribe according to the report. The report found that conferences and continu- ing medical education (CME) had the highest rates of physicians intending to increase their prescription of products, with over 50% of respondents stating increased intent.” n