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Solve your Toughest Event Challenges with a Future-Proof Talent Approach

Solve your toughest event challenges with contingent labor

In recent years, the meetings & events industry has continuously been evolving, and all signs point toward this evolution continuing. Alongside this, there has been a clear transformation in how people want to work – specifically, professionals within the meetings & events space. Combine this with all the other economic uncertainties and it becomes clear as to why the world’s leading enterprises are shifting away from traditional workforce strategies and instead, leveraging a modern, future-proof solution: a Contingent Workforce Managed Service Provider.

Why a Contingent Workforce MSP?

There are several compelling reasons companies are reevaluating ‘business as usual’. No matter the size, location, or type, executing a successful event is becoming increasingly complex given some key challenges:

• Economic uncertainty

• Event industry labor shortage

• Budget constraints

• Business travel disruption

• Evolving workforce compliance regulations

With the support of a contingent workforce MSP, innovative organizations are facing these challenges head on, turning disruption into a competitive advantage.

Economic Uncertainty – Turn Uncertainty into Opportunity

From inflation concerns to unpredictable meeting volume, it’s not uncommon for organizations to find their headcount needs to shift rapidly (up or down) to stay in line with demand. Unlike permanent employees however, independent meeting professionals provide the perfect opportunity to assess business needs on an ongoing basis and swiftly respond to any changing circumstances. Partnering with a contingent workforce MSP empowers organizations to flexibly adapt, remain competitive and navigate fluid conditions.

Event Industry Labor Shortage – Fill the Skills Gap with Specialized Talent

In today’s market, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to find talent with critical meeting & event skill sets at every level. With the pandemic forcing many event professionals to transition to other industries, make the leap to freelance, or retire altogether, businesses are turning to contingent labor.

While this flexible labor does fill the talent gap, organizations are still faced with the burden of distracting & exhausting internal resources just to access and engage this freelance talent. According to a 2022 survey by Global DMC Partners, only 11% of respondents said they were able to fill meeting & event roles in 1 month or less, with many needs taking 2-6 months to be filled.

Opting to use an MSP removes this burden. By acting as an intermediary between the buying organization and individual suppliers, an MSP like Plannernet, delivers expert talent at both speed and scale (see figure 1) reaching out to many more event professionals than an individual organization could by itself.

Budget Constraints – Give your Meeting ROI a Boost

It’s clear meeting & event budgets and costs are key drivers for decisions right now. The rising labor, fuel, airfare, and hotel costs all play a major role in organizations needing to stretch or increase their budget. In fact, GDP reported nearly 70% of meeting & incentive budgets are expected to increase in 2023 due to inflation. And while some organizations are choosing event destinations based on less expensive airfare costs, they can’t avoid that all destinations have substantially increased. As a result, many organizations are now cutting other program costs to offset the burden of travel expenses.

Partnering with an MSP and tapping into a local, flexible talent network offers organizations an opportunity to avoid unnecessary spending and get the most out of their event budgets by optimizing 3 main areas:

  • Labor Costs
    • benefit from a predictive pricing model
    • shift from fixed to variable costs based on demand
    • avoid costs typically associated with full-time employees
  • Travel Costs
    • Reduce the need for travel by leveraging local event talent, on-demand
  • Internal Resource Costs
    • Reduce FTE headcount, training, and onboarding
    • Boost internal workforce productivity by eliminating the need to source freelancers

Business Travel Disruption – Go Local to Ensure Event Continuity

According to a survey from SAP Concur, 89% of business travelers reported having to recently take unexpected travel steps resulting in missed or canceled meetings. Organizations choosing to partake in business travel will face this obstacle until 2026 (instead of 2024 as previously forecasted) according to a new global business travel forecast from GBTA. Inflation, supply-chain challenges, labor shortages, economic slowdowns and even sustainability considerations are major barriers to business travel disruption going away anytime soon.

As highlighted above, contingent labor can reduce the need for business travel. Global talent networks like Plannernet’s enable organizations to engage talent no matter the event location(s). Leveraging local meeting experts who understand the region, and have established relationships with venues, and vendors drives down travel costs, reduces disruption of FTE productivity, ensures event continuity, and supports the growing demand for increased sustainability.

Worker Misclassification Regulations – Safely navigate the evolution of work

As organizations shift towards an increased adoption of contingent labor, a myriad of risks associated with worker misclassification laws can present challenges. When aiming to create a secure ecosystem to leverage flexible talent, a contingent workforce MSP is the optimal solution. Accurately classifying workers, proactively monitoring regulations, and staying atop of best practices all support this objective but creating a centralized system to source all types of meeting & event professionals enables businesses to benefit from everything flexible talent can offer while ensuring alignment with local, regional, and global workforce compliance laws.

Unlock a future-proof workforce solution

Partnering with a contingent workforce MSP is a key component to withstanding the cascade of challenges that come (and will always come) with doing business. Used strategically, it can be a competitive differentiator by:

  • proactively reducing business disruption to clients & your workforce
  • ensuring meeting & event continuity
  • reducing overall program costs
  • protecting the reputation & trust in the brand
  • meeting regulatory compliance requirements

As a proven MSP with over 30 years of experience, Plannernet is the largest provider for sourcing top meeting and event freelance professionals around the globe. And while our talent-and-tech-enabled model allows us to deliver the right talent to the right place at the right time, it’s our human-centric approach and value-based service delivery that underscores the relationship with our partners, clients, and suppliers.

To learn more about Plannernet’s managed services and strategic solutions, please contact us today!