When inVOYAGE founder Richard Joslin and Fast Forward 15 founder Fay Sharpe gathered 10 European incentive leaders together for a C-Suite round table at inVOYAGE in Mykonos last week, the conversation was insightful, frank and eye opening.

We caught up with Fay to get the lowdown on what was discussed…

Firstly, thanks for leading the C-Suite session in Mykonos. What were the key themes of the discussion and did anything surprise you?

Before the event, we sent an email to all the participants and asked them to share what was keeping them awake at night and the topics they were most keen to discuss. It was interesting to see that the priority for everyone was the global political environment and sustainability. That was exactly what I expected – things like supply chain going forward, the issues around becoming a carbon neutral industry, but also themes such as ethnicity, diversity, culture. It was a very strategic discussion that focused on the bigger picture rather than just short-term issues.

What are agency leaders’ main concerns right now?

It was great to have leaders from Germany, Greece and France as well as the UK as it meant the discussion was much broader. Those from Germany are very much focused on the change in political leadership, with the Green Party expected to play an important role in the new coalition government, which could place travel firmly on the agenda.

We talked about whether this could be the norm as greener governments become more prevalent across Europe. I personally believe that over the next five years, we will see more government coalitions with the green parties because voters are placing much more importance on sustainability. Six European countries so far, including Finland and Belgium, have part-green governments and I think that is only going to increase over time.

One of the German agency leaders shared his concerns that there have been suggestions that in order to reach targets on carbon emissions, families could be limited to just one international flight per year, which could potentially have a massive impact on incentives.

We also talked about real sustainability, not lip service. There are some quick fixes we can all do, but the events industry is one of the top five polluters in the world. We are a very disposable industry, and we all recognise that we need to do much more to make sure we really do our bit. I think it will be down to governments to pass legislation that dictates what action needs to be taken.

The group were very open to making changes and we talked about creating opportunities to really help local communities and supply chain by engaging locally. For example, using local food and resources, and being mindful of the basics (plastic water bottles in season food, less paper and pads, paper free materials) and wasting less.

What was your key takeaway from the C-Suite session?

One of key areas of discussion was talent and people, which is a subject close to my heart. This has been an issue for a while but many of agency leaders around the table said that finding good people is even more difficult post-Covid as many skilled event professionals have either turned to other industries that pay better, offer less hours and more flexibility or have created their own “gig” small enterprise.

The group also discussed that whilst traditionally employees have stayed for years within their companies, the new norm for Gen Z is to stay for a year to 18 months and then move on. As employers we need to expect a higher turnover of people, but also look at what those hooks are to retain and grow talent for longer and look at what real benefits are to the workforce. 

The younger workforce also values diversity and equality, which means businesses need to make sure they factor that into every decision they make, including the destinations they hold events.

Peter Jackson, Director of Red Blaze in the UK, shared a map, that was sent to him by a client, which classifies countries based on their sexual orientation laws. His client had said specifically that they didn’t want to visit countries in the red zone that did not have good LGBTQ rights records.

This is something that is on the radar now and companies will have to be mindful about where they are taking people, with regards to diversity, sexuality and equality. Employees will want to know that the company they are working for has values that align with their own, and if talent is an issue, companies must bear that in mind.

Is everyone confident / optimistic that the sector will fully recover?

Every company around the table has had their challenges. It’s been a tough year, but it’s also been a year of reflection. Everyone was positive and looking forward rather than looking back.

I was really honoured to sit around the table with some incredible people in our industry. What strikes me is the resilience in our industry. We’re so resilient. We have been pushed down repeatedly but always get back up again. People are always looking for the positive. That said, I do think as an industry we are going to have to change. We need start thinking outside the box now and be the proactive leaders that look for the sustainable options, and new ways of doing things.