Steel Doesn't Cry

The meetings/events industry is still coming to terms with environmentally sustainable events. I suspect it will be some time before we get over this logistical hump and move on to the role of how meetings/events influence the sustainability of organizations strategically in the people/planet/profit model.

HOWEVER... I have a few thoughts on the "people" part of the equation. I am completing an MBA program, and taking a course on human resource management. Why are people so important, and such a complex element, to the sustainability considerations of organizations? My professor shared her thoughts on this:

"Because steel doesn't cry".

Voluntary turn-over in organizations (US data) ranges from a low of 5.2% (in utilities) to a high of 19% (hospitality). Not-for-profits (i.e. associations) have an average turn-over of around 10.8% (all figures averages based on 2009 data). In call centres (not part of the data in the study above), turn-over averages between 40 - 60% annually. Making a 1% change in turn-over saves call centres about 5 - 10 million in costs.

What does this have to do with meetings/events?

Events have the ability to create engaged, educated workforces with common goals and common values. This could happen through team-building, education sessions, or, like the famous Timberland example of Servapalooza, community service events. Doing that helps create sustainable workforces and directly impacts the bottom line.

Steel doesn't cry. People do.

People make sustainability happen, environmentally, socially and economically.

Events create connection, networks and the cohesion necessary to be sustainable on all levels.