Hayley Nicholson, event content specialist and owner of Nuff Said agency, shares her thoughts on the need for bigger investment into content and speakers – starting with covering the cost of attending events for speakers.
Over the last five years of working as a conference producer for various organisations, publications and clients, I see a huge disparity in the investment for speakers.
For many events, content is the key driver for attendance. We can say networking opportunities, exhibition halls, goody bags etc. are other reasons for attending, but generally, the audience comes to a conference to learn.
What is currently offered to speakers?
This entirely varies on the organisation, but I’ve never seen or heard of a clear policy. I’ve worked with a number of companies that set aside some added benefits for speakers: covered transportation, overnight accommodation, free tickets for colleagues, maybe a thank you gift following their presentation. But generally, this is offered on a hush-hush basis. The content team, which drives the purpose of many conferences and meetings, will get a small amount of budget. And then, this is typically solely spent on a keynote speaker.
I have to ask, is that an effective use of budget? I’ve seen anywhere from £1,500 to an astonishing £30,000 dropped on keynote speakers who share 30 minutes of witty insight and anecdotes. But asking for some budget to cover a £120 return rail ticket for a Manchester to London trip in the quiet carriage? God forbid! Why should a speaker come to our event if we make them incur the cost?
How can we better support speakers?
Further appreciation of the time that speakers give us when we ask them to speak is needed, and that needs to translate into some support for them. We heavily rely on their involvement in our events, and they juggle their work and personal commitments to be there. We have to start factoring in childcare responsibilities, dependents, whether they’re self-employed or if their employer will approve their attendance. Not only that, but not every speaker’s employer will cover their costs.
Plus, what about all the hours beforehand preparing, creating slide presentations, practising their speeches, sitting on prep calls. It’s dedication and commitment to our work, not theirs. So, why can’t we cover their transport fees?
What response are you seeing from speakers?
I’m seeing more speakers reject invitations to conferences, especially if the cost of transport is not covered. Their time is valuable, that’s why we invited them to speak.
I’m not saying we should start booking out the First Class carriage on GWR or reserve a whole floor at the nearest Novotel, but I encourage organisers and senior leadership to start allocating a little more budget to your content team to at least cover a minimum fee for transport costs for every speaker. We can do a lot with nothing, so imagine what we could do with something.