Here's the kind of problem you'd like your meeting attendee to have: Your multiple education tracks offer such exceptional content, s/he has trouble deciding which session to go to during a given time slot. How do you get there from here? Many associations will conduct a needs assessment, recruit highly rated speakers from last year to present again, create a peer review system for quality control, and even monitor and coach speakers to deliver interactive sessions. While each organization has its own methods for collecting, evaluating, and organizing its education program, many are benefiting by focusing on streamlining and automating the program's associated business processes. According to Corbin Ball, meeting industry technology expert, "Many have realized the benefits of automating the attendee registration process. Speaker and content management automation offers similar benefits for staff efficiency gains, cost savings, data quality, and speed improvement."

If you are juggling Excel spreadsheets, speaker correspondence, or doing lots of cutting and pasting, your organization will likely benefit by leveraging a database technology solution. Here is what an automated system enables you to do: 

• Online submission - collect and store all proposals and abstracts for sessions or posters. Automatically respond to and thank potential presenters for their submission and provide next steps.
• Peer review - provide online access so that the volunteer program committee members can evaluate, grade, and comment on each submission.
• Scheduling - expedite the scheduling of each approved session into the proper track, time slot, and meeting room.
• Speaker communication - broadcast e-mail and track important speaker correspondence including confirmations, denials, AV requests, room setups, taping approvals, and thank you notes. Make it easy to pinpoint and follow up with speakers who have not responded. Move all paper-based forms, consents, and communication online.
• Promotional information - collect, store, and manage photos of your speakers. Distribute user names and passwords to your speakers and allow them to log in and edit their own session description and biography. Integrate this content in your advance program, Web site, and final program.
• Session search and schedule builder - use the session scheduling information to enable attendees to search for sessions (by category, speaker, and key word) to build their own personal itinerary.
• Integration with attendee registration - collect data for speaker registration and credential processing.
• Collect handouts and PowerPoint presentations - organize, store, and manage a great deal of information and formats in one central location.
• Reporting - print out AV requirements for your vendor.
• Speaker performance - summarize and report satisfaction scores for returning speakers.

Some organizations have developed their own "homegrown" solutions to realize benefits for the speaker management process. Others have implemented turnkey speaker management technology software. Some have outsourced the logistics and technology altogether. Two independent Web sites that can help you explore available options include www.corbinball.com and www.meetingtechonline.com.

 Organizations that are able to streamline the abstract and speaker management processes give themselves more time to focus on improving the quality of their session content.

Dave Lutz is managing director of Velvet Chainsaw Con-
sulting, www.velvetchainsaw.com, a business improvement
consultant specializing in the meeting and event industry.
His company assists organizations in realizing top- and bot-
tom-line growth by delivering customer-focused solutions in
business development, best practice and process improve-
ment, strategic planning, and training.