A brand new study from Meetings Mean Business & Skift, details what the next generation of meeting professionals is looking for and how they think.

Recognizing the nuances of working with Millennials and understanding the expectations that Millennials bring to a meeting or event are important not only for professionals in the industry, but the business community more broadly.  While many feared that the evolution of technology would dampen the meeting industry, Millennials find meetings greatly valuable and beneficial.

The report identifies 5 key strategies for engaging Millennials in the meetings industry.

1. Customize event education — “People in all age groups are questioning the traditional one-way speaker lecture format but none more so than Millennials. The speaker/captive audience dynamic still has a lot of value of course, but planners should add audience participation apps like Slido.com and Conferences.io to develop live polls and inspire audiences to ask questions”
2. Create hybrid meetings with exclusive virtual content — “People in all age groups are questioning the traditional one-way speaker lecture format but none more so than Millennials. The speaker/captive audience dynamic still has a lot of value of course, but planners should add audience participation apps like Slido.com and Conferences.io to develop live polls and inspire audiences to ask questions.”
3. Include Millennials in Website Development & Social Media — “Create a Millennial task force for special projects so they can work together on shared goals like new social media campaigns, pre/post online content, app content conversion to web-based platforms, etc.”
4. Kill the Cocktail Reception — “Well, maybe not kill it but definitely add some interactive knowledge sharing that helps Millennials develop either personally or professionally. Many Millennials in this report said the traditional cocktail reception is intimidating because it feels so unnatural to them to just walk up to someone to try to start a conversation without some kind of shared interest beyond the event theme”
5. Create Young Professional SIGs- “Everyone loves special interest groups (SIGs) because they’re smaller gatherings with people who really identify with a niche subject. Planners should think about creating one solely for young professionals, especially at association conventions, where Millennials can let their guard down and network in a more relaxed ambiance.”

Read the full report to better understand what Millennials want from meetings & how you can continue to attract them and grow the meetings industry.