Does your boss understand what you do?
Yes, completely 28%
Yes, to some extent 57%
No 15%
A common complaint in
this industry is that planners work in a vacuum, with clients and
higher-ups oblivious to what goes into arranging a meeting --
unless something goes wrong. To gauge how widespread this problem
really is for planners, M&C conducted an online survey
in October. Of the 244 respondents, 28 percent said their bosses
understand their jobs completely, while 57 percent feel they are
understood to some extent. Just 15 percent said their bosses don’t
understand the job at all.
Executives are similarly tuned in (or
out). Twenty percent of those surveyed said their organization’s
C-level people understand the importance of meeting planning, and
58 percent said executives are aware to some extent. However, 22
percent said executives do not realize the value of what planners
do.
Clients, whether internal or external, are a
bit more clueless: Only 3 percent said all of their clients
understand the intricacies of the planning process, 60 percent said
some do and 37 percent said clients don’t understand at all.
For a meeting well done, 58 percent of
those surveyed said they pat themselves on the back and make notes
for future performance reviews, and 44 percent are congratulated by
their bosses. Fourteen percent celebrate with their departments,
and 10 percent are rewarded with a gift or a bonus. Seventeen
percent get no kudos.
Outside of work, fully 80 percent of
those polled always or sometimes are expected to plan events for
family and friends. Typically, they respond by giving advice (59
percent) or taking on the planning task (30 percent). Ten percent
do what is asked of them but wish they had the nerve to say no; 1
percent decline to help at all.
