What value accreditation?

Peter Gray, an independent Motivation Consultant, presents a regular Business Events News feature on current issues in the Conference and Incentive industries.

FELLOW columnist, Karen Sainsbury, recently set out a great case for accreditation within the business events industries. Let me say from the outset and as one who strived hard to develop and promote the incentive industry’s accreditation scheme - the first such scheme for the business events industries developed by the now defunct AustralAsian Incentive Association - that I wholeheartedly support accreditation and agree with what Karen had to say about it.

However, as one of the initial 42 incentive practitioners to be accredited prior to the demise of the AIA, no client, prospect or enquirer has ever asked me about it or what it means for them. Sadly this is also true of many of my colleagues across the gamut of business events.

The reason is simple: hardly anyone knows they should ask about it! Nor is it government policy. Alas, although Karen’s article will be seen by a number of incentive practitioners, meeting managers, event managers, PCOs and other readers of BEN it will generally not be seen by the people who matter - our clients. The organisations and associations that have developed accreditation schemes since the AIA started the trend hardly ever publicise them and certainly never point out what guarantees accredited operators offer their clients.

And what do they offer? Insurance against an event being mismanaged? Financial assistance when an accredited operator - company or individual - doesn’t deliver on time, or at all? To investigate complaints about accredited operators? The answer is a resounding ‘No’. They certainly require evidence of competency, previous client satisfaction and financial security all of which are essential. But no matter how much an individual or company can prove they know what they’re doing (or have done in the past) and that they have all the required personal indemnity and public liability insurances, when an event goes wrong it’s invariably in the latter stages when what’s needed is not having to negotiate with insurance companies but someone to take over and deliver the goods!

Maybe there should be a set of minimum requirements for any accreditation scheme with the focus on client satisfaction and not just compensation (or not compensation at all if the project is completed as otherwise contracted).

The next question is ‘who pays?’. Does the client pay a premium as a form of insurance that their project will be successfully managed or does the operator pay. I find it hard enough to convince clients to insure their projects for the normal risks let alone mine. The operator certainly pays to be accredited in the first place but what about continuous education? We live in an age of technological development which is so fast even the everyday technology we use in our offices is out of date as soon as it’s purchased. So, keeping up to speed with what’s happening in our respective industries can be time consuming and expensive.

Yes, we do need industry accreditation but it has to be relevant to our clients - and they need to know about it.