London based event venue, The QEII Centre, has found seven frustrations shared by training providers when booking venues for their courses.
According to the survey of more than 500 professionals responsible for delivering training, a room that is the wrong size (40%), badly lit (33%) and set up incorrectly (33%) are the top three frustrations when booking venues.
Bad acoustics (24%), a limited choice of refreshments (22%), failing IT (17%) and lack of onsite assistance (11%) were also on the list.
With an increasing number of training courses set to take place at meetings and event venues when lockdown restrictions lift, venues need to know how best to cater for providers and their delegates to capitalise on this growing area.
The way to create the perfect environment for learning is to give delegates access to fresh air and provide an inspiring view.
Offering a modern well-decorated room with the ability to adjust the temperature were other favourable features. The layout is also key to stimulate effective learning. Approximately 3% believe asking delegates to stand for a session is the most effective format. Alternatively, the equally most popular room set-ups to engage delegates were traditional table groups with chairs facing forward, or enough room to sit as well as facilitate group working, which was closely followed by a horseshoe of tables with chairs.
While clocks on the wall serving as a constant reminder of the time were a low priority, trainers said a schedule for pre-determined breaks with catering served in a separate room is the best way to keep delegates fuelled. This was preferable to flexible breaks where refreshments are ready in the room for when energy levels dip.
Diane Waldron, sales and marketing director, the QEII, said: “The pandemic has created many changes within employment and as a result, many people are now looking to re-train, or brush up on skills to return to, or start in a new workplace.
“Our research shows that 40% of training professionals use external venues for more than half of all courses they run and an even higher percentage – 91% – claim that holding their training event off-site is either essential or helpful, so clearly there is likely to be a growing demand for venues with facilities to host training courses as lockdown measures begin to ease.”
Waldron added: “This insight into the needs of professional trainers and their thoughts on environmental factors that are more conducive to learning than others will therefore be valuable to those looking to book or run face-to-face training and development courses.
“The QEII Centre has a wealth of experience in holding training sessions, conferences and other events where learning is central to the cause and our team will listen closely to training providers to be able to advise on the best space, room-set up and facilities relating to each client’s needs.”
