Meetings have the capacity to be soul-crushing events or very lively, team-building exercises if they are properly planned. Meetings that are about creative problem solving can be broken up into two stages with a break in the middle.

The first stage is one where all ideas are accepted and negativity is simply not allowed. This promotes better idea sharing and creates a more open atmosphere that allows others to build off of ideas that may or may not be practical. The second meeting is one where negativity and even constructive criticism still need to take a back seat to the priority of choosing the most reasonable plan. Emotional investment in ideas should be distributed due to the very nature of the first meeting, and thus nobody should be championing a cause to further their own ends.

Another idea would be to give people special seats on corners when they are ‘idea’ people. The seats are honorary positions that change whenever a new idea comes up that is useful. Some meeting planners have special incentives ready for whoever spends the most time in one of these chairs, such as a covered parking spot for a period of time.

By following the aforementioned ideas and/or being a little creative, it is possible to create strong incentives without having to actually spend any money. Furthermore, productivity gains from smart meeting planning can be phenomenal and almost impossible to put a price tag on.

When planning meetings and events, the venue is often the first selection made in the planning process. Selecting the right venue that has the amenities and meeting rooms to meet your clients’ needs is paramount to a successful event and must be determined before other aspects of the meeting can be planned. Due to the importance of meeting venues to your event planning process, using the same venues on a regular basis and developing long-term relationships with your contacts at these meeting venues will make your job easier, will ensure that your client receives topnotch service and can save money.

When you use the same venues regularly you will become familiar with exactly what they offer, will know what to expect and will benefit from venue staff being able to anticipate your needs. You can also receive discounts for booking multiple meetings and may even get priority for popular dates. When you build relationships with meeting venue staff, you will also naturally begin to build relationships with local vendors and will likely get tips from the staff on which vendors provide exceptional service or great prices. When you can call a local caterer and tell them that you were referred by your contact at a local hotel with which they often do business, you are much more likely to get a great price and great service, making your job easier and helping you keep your clients happy.

Don't let the competition take your top producers. A new research report from Deloitte reports, for the first time since initiating its longitudinal study of global talent trends and strategies in January, those executives surveyed are more inclined to believe the worst of the economic crisis has passed.

At the same time, there are many companies at risk for not implementing talent or innovation strategies required to seize the opportunities presented by a recovering economy. Here are highlights from the study:

• The worst may be behind us. For the first time since this study was launched in January 2009, more surveyed executives now believe the worst of the economic downturn is over, as opposed to impending, by a decisive 31 percent to 7 percent margin.

• Reducing headcount is secondary to training and retention as a top talent priority.

• Less than half (48 percent) of surveyed executives reported layoffs in the last quarter, down from 61 percent in May.
Surveyed executives are ramping up retention initiatives to keep key leaders and high-potential employees on board.

• Nearly one-in-three executives surveyed (31 percent) reported they are increasing career path opportunities—a jump of 11 percent from January (20 percent).
 

So what are you doing to keep your most talented producers in the game?