Friday 7 August 2009

Meetings Architecture - the future of meetings?

A new movement has been established, named Meetings Architecture, I recommend it's manifesto if you are interested in the future of meetings, http://www.eventroi.org/themeetingarchitecturemanifesto.pdf.

The thinking stems from the understanding that meetings are more than logistics and hospitality. Those of us who depend on this sector must understand that value is only added as a result of the outcomes of the meeting.

So how does that affect organisations who supply services and facilities to meetings? We need to take a holistic approach to any meeting and realise that its success is dependant on an array of factors. Understanding those factors and how to influence them is the new task in our industry.

Interestingly for me I see this development as an expression our own strategy and reflects the steps we have been taking in Sundial over the past 12 years.

We have always recognised that the environment we have created is more than a hoteliers simple approach to hospitality. Understanding our clients and their objectives has been central to our success. Responding to that understanding has set the agenda for our development and resulted in initiatives such as The Sundial Virtual Conference Centre - an online venue established well before web 2.0 to enable 'meeting' and interaction before and after the physical meeting (or indeed instead of). Ahead of its time, our online venue has now been superseded by the many online communities and corporate intranets but I believe it did help show the way.

Our innovative and responsive strategies have also produced initiatives which are now central to the Sundial goal to become 'The Perfect Partner for Meeting Planners'. Listening to our clients objectives for their meetings has produced simple ideas such as our unique 'Sunetic Walls' as well as full service solutions such as Teamscapes team building and SOS meetings management.

I guess you could say that we at Sundial Group are evolving into Meetings Architects.

Monday 13 July 2009

What is it about Sundial?

Subjective customer feedback is difficult to benchmark so industry reports all too often miss the gems that can be found in the free text fields of satisfaction surveys.

We often come out top in the benchmarking 'numbers game' but its the personal comments that say the most. Below, I have picked out a small number of recent examples that I think demonstrate the Sundial Team's attitude.

"It is an outstanding venue, not because of any particular feature or factor, it just provides probably the best 'fit for purpose and value', matched by excellent customer service that I have come across. I stay at or use 50 - 100 venues per year and in this respect, Woodside is unparallelled."

"The Barnett Hill staff are great! Their winning formula is a high-class yet homely (non-corporate) environment combined with friendly yet professional service. Thanks all!"

"Whilst I have said ~"met expectations" this is misleading because these expectations are already very high because of past experiences at Highgate House. There is a sense of "team" and everybody ....catering, gardeners, reception all being a part of a team ethic. Little touches like offering to carry over materials to the room are appreciated. Also a "Good morning" and a smile go a long way so well done!

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Why strong values provide resilience in difficult times

This week I attended a thought provoking workshop on personal and organisational resilience. I came away with the view that we can learn a great deal from Darwin's views on the survival of the fittest. Contrary to popular belief, fittest in this case is not necessarily the strongest or toughest. The traditionally British qualities of a stiff upper lip and bloodymindedness may not always serve us well when the rules of the game change. Flexibility and a good peripheral vision are key attributes when learning how to cope with new circumstances.

However, this is also a time when our compass, guided by strong values, is needed to ensure we gain the strength of knowing 'where we are going' and 'how to get there'.

When we formed the Sundial Group some 12 years ago we spent time setting out what we wanted to look and feel like by pinning down our values based on our family business at Highgate House. As we now look at ways to adapt our business in response to a massive swing in the supply-demand ratio in the meetings and venues business its very powerful to know that we are not constrained by our values in formulating our strategies. Indeed, by going back to our values of Professionalism, Experience, Respect and Quality we have the tools to assess the market and seek out the opportunities made possible by the trust we have established with our customers.

At a time when venues fight for occupancy by driving down rate we are focusing even more on the people aspects of hospitality and finding new, exciting and innovative ways to evolve Sundial Group based on the excellent resources (both individuals and facilities) we have assembled. I have just been watching a large group of guests at Woodside working on Teamscapes Canape Challenge under the supervision of Sundial people. The energy and fun were coming through because of the buzz from people working together.

Resilience is about how people react to their environment. I believe that by using our values to keep creating the best possible environment, Sundial will always enable learning and creativity to thrive.