This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
Name: Alex Carvalho-Lukachova
Company Name: Kaiser Permanente
Job Title: Senior Event Planner
Years of Experience: 15+
How were you able to adapt during COVID-19 when the meeting and events industry got disrupted?
I had to move quickly into the virtual events space, I had some previous experience with webinar and hybrid event production already, so the transition to full virtual events only, albeit very stressful, was manageable. I became DES certified through PCMA, VEMM certified through the ELI/MPI partnership, and thinking of the future, I also became Pandemic Onsite Protocol certified. There was also a lot of time spent researching virtual platforms available in the market, as well as a lot of research into audience engagement opportunities in a virtual environment. Internally there was also a lot of work done educating our stakeholders on what is possible in virtual meetings vs with in person engagements.
As a planner, what was the number one thing you learned over the past year?
When our industry came to a stand still in terms of in person events, I saw our community unite in a way I have never seen before, planners, suppliers, partners, all came together to aid and support one another, I was touched to see how far we came by working together, sharing in best practices, sharing knowledge, I was/am extremely proud to be part of this industry. I learned to that by working together, all of us, there is nothing we can't accomplish.
Is there anything you are changing in your planning process moving forward as a result of the pandemic?
Absolutely, to start, hybrid events are here to stay, so the planning process will have to include a planning team and partner for the hybrid component. I know that we are going to have to start looking very closely at internet and bandwidth capabilities when sourcing properties, as well as implementing and enforcing safety protocols so that our attendees feel safe to meet in person.
This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
