Live from Walt Disney World – It’s STLE 2022!

Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report January 2022

The dynamics of a face-to-face meeting can’t be fully replicated.
 
Research confirms what most people are already feeling. We miss live meetings.

The research comes from technical publisher Wiley, which for the past seven years has surveyed members of scientific and technical societies about a variety of topics. More than 1,400 respondents from 45 different disciplines in 113 countries contributed their opinions and experiences to the latest study.1

Many of the questions dealt with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most frequently cited impact, by a wide margin of 53% of respondents, was missed opportunities from not attending in-person conferences. This compares to 32% of the respondents who experienced restricted lab access or canceled field research. Many technical groups, STLE included, turned to virtual conferences last year as a way of sharing information and connecting participants. Evaluations from the 2021 STLE Virtual Annual Meeting told us that the content delivery was fine, but that virtual can’t provide the connections that occur when people with common interests gather under one roof to exchange information and network.

As we begin a new year, STLE is fully prepared and committed to hosting an in-person 2022 Annual Meeting & Exhibition, May 15-19, at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.

Like previous years, this conference will showcase more than 400 technical presentations, lubrication-specific education courses, a professional exhibitor trade show, commercial marketing forum, networking opportunities and more—all valuable in-person content that can’t be replicated outside of the live event.

While STLE is all in on an in-person 2022 Annual Meeting, it is also worth mentioning a related observation in the Wiley study. That is the recognition that virtual meetings do have certain advantages.

According to the study report, “There’s little doubt that future, post-pandemic conferences will retain at least some virtual components. Not least because virtual conferences save financial and environmental resources, tend to be more time-efficient and enable more researchers to attend more conferences. Just as importantly, they also widen access for those who would not usually be able to attend due to cost, location or caring responsibilities.”

The points about access and inclusion are consistent with STLE’s purpose, which is stated concisely as “Connect, Learn, Achieve.” STLE policy states that embracing diversity and practicing inclusion amongst its members and stakeholders is required to fulfill that value proposition. Consequently, we are exploring ways to expand meeting access and to provide a virtual component when it fits the conference format and purpose.

Another caveat from the Wiley study is that a plurality of respondents (about 40%) were from the academic world. The study included smaller percentages of people working in government, research institutes and commercial enterprises.

However, there are numerous signs in the marketplace that confirm those in the world of business and commerce have the same opinion. Some of the evidence is anecdotal. For example, several speakers at a recent STLE local section meeting emphasized that customers were starting to ask for in-person visits again after many months of restrictions. The audience nodded in agreement.

Advance indicators point to that attitude carrying over to the 2022 Annual Meeting & Exhibition. More than half of the Commercial Marketing Forum presentation slots were booked in mid-November—six months before the start of the conference. Exhibit booth sales also were matching the pace and patterns of prior in-person STLE meetings.

So, here’s to a successful and much more normal business year in 2022. Hope to see many TLT readers in May—live and in-person at Walt Disney World.

REFERENCE
1. Available here.
 
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.