Concerned with planning a meeting in accordance with the Model Board Policy for Approval of Meetings, Events and Incentive/Recognition Travel? If your organization has received emergency lending from the federal government, you must be careful to adhere to the requirements established by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Meeting Professionals International, National Business Travel Association, Professional Convention Management Association, U.S. Travel Association and others. As if your job were not complicated enough!

When it comes to engaging speakers for your events, ROI Speakers can help – particularly as it relates to the requirement that meetings, events and incentive travel must serve one or more specified legitimate business purposes. Examples of such purposes are:

• Effective product launches to educate sales force, channel partners and customers
• Sales conferences and employee meetings to align vision, strategy and tactics
• Training and staff development meetings – learning environments conducive to adult learning and professional development, improving participants’ skills at their trade and/or their familiarity with the company’s products or services
• Employee recognition programs to motivate and reward employees for achievement and productivity
• Professional conferences that provide networking, education and best practice sharing across companies and industries
• Performance incentives with clear rule structures that are designed to motivate and reward high performers for exceeding established goals that generate incremental revenue growth for their respective organizations and that are beyond the investment in the program
• User conferences for customers utilizing the company’s products or services to obtain feedback, build networks, provide product training and capture ideas for enhancements to the company’s product offerings
• Employee meetings as a result of company mergers and/or acquisitions for the purpose of alignment of products, brands and cultures

According to the policy, each proposed meeting, event or incentive/recognition travel with a cost exceeding $75,000 must be supported by a written business case identifying a specific business purpose. Considering that one notable keynote speaker can consume a large portion of that $75,000, it is critical that your speaker be aligned with your program objectives.

Once we know the specific business purpose for your meeting, we will guide you in selecting a high-content business speaker with real expertise to support that purpose. In addition, all ROI Speakers engagements include our signature pre-event research element as well as the post-event sustainability element, making it very easy for you to not only justify your speaker investment, but actually enhance the value of your meeting!

To read the full Model Board Policy, click here to view the PDF on the U.S. Travel Association’s web site.

To consult with one of our representatives about scheduling a speaker for your event, call us at 615.526.6600 or request a proposal online.