Events Industry Council Releases Resources Business Continuity Guide

Washington, DC, USA (27 January 2021) – Today, the Events Industry Council (EIC) released the Business Continuity Accepted Practices Guide. It is the latest accepted practices guide produced by EIC’s APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force.

The EIC Guide focuses on:

• How organisations prepare for future crises or disruptions, such as the current global pandemic
• How businesses reliant on in-person events navigate through a crisis when such traditional in-person event models are not possible
• Curating business continuity resources for event professionals
• Understanding and implementing value-based adaptions and innovations

“It is critical we continue to raise the notion of resilience and adaptions to drive innovative practices,” said Amy Calvert, CEO, Events Industry Council. “A resource that aggregates and curates principles of business continuity will support industry professionals and organizations as they work to strengthen their business models and prepare for recovery and their future relevance.”

The guide presents a three-stage framework for recovery: Assess, Adapt and Accelerate. The Assess–Adapt–Accelerate framework may be applied to any business, but event organisers have unique needs and specific opportunities which are highlighted in the Guide.

“Continuing to operate through the pandemic puts many business continuity plans to the test,” said Amy Ledoux, CAE, CMP, chief learning and meetings officer for the American Society of Association Executives. “This guide delivers a methodology, case studies and resources to build a plan to come out stronger and better positioned.”

“Organizations may be at different stages of continuity planning,” said Peggy Fritz, event services supervisor, Toyota North America. “Our hope is that regardless of the stage, the steps and examples we outline in the Guide will help organizations continue that journey to succeed and thrive.”

“This guide helps organisations of all types re-think their strategies, diversify their revenue streams and pivot quickly,” said Chuck Ghoorah, co-founder and president of sales & marketing, Cvent. Members of the Business Continuity working group will host a webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 12:30 p.m. EST/(UTC/GMT -5) to review the guide. Register for the free webinar: https://bit.ly/2KAiIj1. 

Previous releases of EIC accepted practices guides and supporting materials include the Meeting and Event Design Accepted Practices Guide, a Code of Conduct, Health and Safety for Hotels Accepted Practices Guide, EIC Principles for Recovery, Key Questions for Event Organisers, Resources for Workforce and Wellness Accepted Practices Guide and Resources for Destinations Best Practices Guide.

The APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force is led by Co-chairs Michael Dominguez, president and CEO, Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), and Kristin Horstman, senior director, Strategic Events, Salesforce. With representation from across the many sectors and regions of the global events ecosystem, the APEX COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force provides a voice in planning, preparing and participating in our recovery and our future.

The full roster of Task Force members can be found on the EIC website here.

About the Events Industry Council

The Events Industry Council’s more than 30 member organisations represent over 103,500 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties involved in the events industry. The Events Industry Council’s vision is to be the global champion for event professionals and event industry excellence. It promotes high standards and professionalism in the events industry with the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) programme and signature programme activities. The CMP credential is recognised globally as the badge of excellence in the events industry. The qualifications for certification are based on professional experience, education and a rigorous exam. The four signature programmes – Sustainability and Social Impact, Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), Knowledge and Leadership – represent the key initiatives, assets, services and products for the Events Industry Council. Learn more online at www.eventscouncil.org.