Coaching and Mentoring

Supporting a team through a high-profile project

One of Kay’s regular clients took up a new role with a well-known, pet health company and found herself responsible for the organisation of the company’s biennial scientific meeting – a highly regarded event in the scientific community.

Without an event management background and with an in-house team inexperienced with this type of meeting, she asked Kay to mentor the team through the planning and delivery of the project.

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Client

  • Global pet health company

Locations

  • São Paulo

  • Chicago

 

Responsibilities

  • Assess the project needs and the team’s experience

  • Create a coaching and mentoring plan

  • Set up day-to-day working processes and key documents

  • Guide the team to the delivery of a successful event

The Background 

The anticipated attendance at the event was 250 pet nutrition specialists. Originally scheduled for São Paulo, the conference was transferred at short notice to Chicago for business reasons.

The event followed the same format as an international medical Congress:

  • 2.5 days of plenary, break-out and poster sessions

  • Submitted abstracts

  • Self-funded delegates and invited speakers

  • Evening reception and networking event

  • Conference dinner

The Role

 Kay was a freelance consultant on the project. She worked with the team throughout the 18-month lead-up to the event.

To start the process, Kay set up and led a kick-off meeting for the company’s full project team:

  • Event Planners

  • Medical Director

  • Marketing Manager

  • Finance Team

  • Admin Support

The objective was to:

  • Review the meeting objectives and parameters

  • Agree roles and responsibilities

  • Establish timelines and working methods

Kay worked closely with the events team at every stage of the project development:

  • Coaching them through the pre-event and on-site management

  • Developing key project documents

  • Reviewing supplier proposals and contracts

  • Advising on venue selection, catering, room layout and technical requirements

With her broad range of meetings’ experience, Kay was able to give the team a clear overview of all the moving parts of the project. She knew the likely pitfalls and the questions to ask at each planning stage. She guided the team through key meetings and tricky negotiations.

Despite the late change of venue, the meeting attracted a higher than anticipated audience and exceptional feedback from attendees. The processes, key learnings and document templates were developed into a ‘Best Practice’ resource to support the development of future events.

What They Said

“Kay acted as consultant and mentor to me whilst organising an international science conference this year. Her breadth of knowledge, experience and eye for those key details is exceptional. Kay was a pleasure to work with and I look forward to the next opportunity to work with her.”

Development Project Manager

 

“Thank you for your support on the meeting. We would have been lost without you. Your calm and methodical approach helped to steady our nerves and made sure that we stayed on schedule and got everything done properly. You have given us an excellent skill set for future meetings.”

Scientific Director