The recent experience of a friend who applied for, was offered, and rejected a position as the meetings and event manager of an international five-star resort goes to the core of the issue facing many individuals working in this industry. Accommodation was included in the package but the not-so-generous remuneration was $35,000 per annum.
The position wasn’t for a cleaner, kitchen hand or bellboy (no offence intended to these vital people) it was for a meeting and event manager of a major venue with clients from all over the world. Big clients too. Ones that spend a large amount of money on business events.
Another friend quit a job quite recently at a large PCO company because they were also being paid a pittance and were working incredibly long hours because they were expected to and because there was nobody else to do it. They cared about the clients and they were paying for it.
And what did they do after 12 months and a bout of flu (read sickness from being run-down) that wouldn’t go away? They quit, have left the industry and vowed never to return. One smart cookie that will probably wind up in the finance sector.
This is the problem with the business tourism industry. Many people are paid peanuts and are expected to work like dogs while the venue or the CEO of the PCO company is doing very well thank you.
It is not enough anymore to tell staff that their salary may not be great but the experience they can expect to gain in the job is invaluable. The role of a PCO, a meeting manager, or a sales and marketing manager at a venue should be positions that young people can work towards, knowing that when they get there they will be rewarded for their efforts. Only then will the business events industry be truly recognised as a profession to be coveted.
Having said that, it is up to company directors to ensure that what they pay their staff can be sustained. Once they’ve hired staff they have an obligation to keep them employed for the length of their contract. Following the sad demise of The GET Group last month CEO Richard Somerton made a very poignant comment when he said, “the assets of the business walked out when the staff did.” How very apt when the industry is described as being in the grip of a “skills shortage”.
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