I was recently asked what the biggest trends are surrounding health and wellness of today’s meetings/events. My short answer is “wake up at 4:00am, fore-go breakfast but overload on coffee, skip lunch and dinner, go straight to the after party where I grab a bite of whatever is being passed around (Gluten-Free of course) and enjoy a beverage before closing the event around 12:00am”. However, as a seasoned conference planner, I encourage you to not follow my bad habits. On a serious note, there really is a growing awareness of the importance of health and wellness in events. We integrate this into our events in a multitude of ways; Physical, Mental, Nutrition, and Eco-Friendly Initiatives.
Quiet Zones/ Unplugging Spaces
Having a small room, with lights that are a little dimmer where attendees can go to decompress for a few and get away from the hustle and bustle of the conference. I have recently seen where many grocery stores have “quiet hours” telling the hours when the store is typically less busy if a quieter shopping experience is preferred. This solidifies the fact we all need a quiet moment throughout the day to recharge.
Small Engaging Spaces
Creating small engaging spaces to encourage attendees to mingle and network. This can be done with fun seating in a foyer space. This creates a sense of comradery and well-being. Oftentimes, more elaborate and meaningful conversations happen in smaller groups.
Giveaways
We have given away exercise items such as resistance bands and had one of the executives demonstrate how to use them. Not only was this a great item to give to attendees but it added humor when the executive was showcasing their resistance band expertise, or lack thereof.
Speakers
We like to bring in expert health and wellness speakers to engage the audience and discuss current topics and research on nutrition, emotional intelligence, how your body responds to different foods, stress (financial, work/life), etc. Side note: the speakers have usually written a book and offer to do a signing after the session!
Healthy Food Options
Offer healthy food options such as low-sugar foods, especially during breakfast. Even our “steak and potato” lovers are leaning in to the healthy foods. We have found that providing nutritional food options helps keep attendees alert during the conference, because if we are being honest there is always one that is sleeping in the back of the session. Build-your-own food stations are very popular with attendees as this allows them to omit any food/toppings they are not comfortable eating.
There are also a few specific health and wellness components that are not popular among attendees. When we organize yoga and group mindful/meditation practices that seems to go over like a toot in church and is poorly received (unless it is a conference specifically about Health & Wellness). At one point we thought that organizing morning walks/runs was not something the attendees preferred but, we found when we did not offer this that groups of attendees would make plans on their own to meet for a sunrise walk or a nature hike.
Social and Occupational Wellness are sometimes underrepresented components and not as common at conferences, but these are vital topics. Health and Wellness being incorporated into the conference also improves productivity and increases engagement – when attendees feel their needs are met and are cared for they are more involved overall in the conference, and build stronger connections among attendees. Integrating a strong health and wellness component into corporate meetings and events not only enhances the immediate experience of the attendees but can also have lasting positive impacts on their professional performance, personal well-being, and the overall corporate culture.
Designing a conference agenda that is conducive to getting plenty of sleep, and avoiding extremely early starts or late finishes is imperative to a successful conference. Do not overpack the agenda with back-to-back sessions and be sure to incorporate a little free time. Otherwise, attendees can feel burnt out and run down. When incorporating health and wellness, start with one or two new items. Once you see what your attendees are most receptive to, you can tailor your event based on their preferences, i.e. What healthy Food Choices do your attendees like?, How much movement can you promote during your conference?, Do you offer relaxation spaces? Always evaluate and adapt.
Health and Wellness in meetings will not only persist but will continue to evolve – it is a critical component of all aspects of life, including professional events. Technology has made it easier to incorporate health and wellness into meetings. As technology continues to progress, I envision that we will use more technology to incorporate health and wellness into our events. We will use event mobile app push notifications to send mindful notes – similar to how Apple Watches tell us to “Breath”, we will use gamification with exercise and food goals with winners at the end of the conference. We may even have a virtual trainer/hologram at the morning session, featuring Princess Leia in athletic-wear. The possibilities are endless.
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