Covid-19 hit every industry hard, but the events industry suffered the biggest blow and Kim Stephen, head of event and conference sales at P&J Live in Aberdeen, knows all about the impact first hand.
After working from home for a year, Kim revealed: “Getting the building back up and running has been great, but I also think we can’t underestimate the importance of being back operational has had on the mental wellbeing of our staff.”
Lockdown stopped events happening at P&J Live last March, just seven months after it opened. At that time, the state-of-the-art venue – and its 70 staff – had high hopes for its first full year of trading with “a busy event calendar in place”, explained Kim.
“Our team were out and about across the UK, and further afield, selling Aberdeen and P&J Live to event organisations globally and there was great interest in bringing events to the region – we were literally showcasing our brand new, state-of the art event complex on an international stage.
“And then Covid hit…
“After a busy opening spell, it was a tough pill to swallow.”
Nearly every single event that was booked was either cancelled or postponed and, as head of sales, Kim was in the midst of all the changes, which began to take its toll.
Kim revealed: “You always knew it was nothing personal, but having postponement conversations constantly was quite draining. And I think that was accentuated by working from home, as you didn’t have colleagues around you to pick you up.
“That said, it wasn’t long before everyone adopted the approach that ‘we’re all in this together’. Finding ways for us to work together for a positive resolution became really important and I think has really strengthened our relationships with clients.”
Now, and ever since the gravity of Covid, the P&J Live team has been holding meetings – and showcasing P&J Live – virtually which, of course, brings its challenges.
Kim explained: “Many of our clients did make the move to virtual after postponing their physical event.
“It was more of a ‘sticking plaster’ as it solved a challenge short term, but they [event organisers] really miss the face-to-face, networking element of conferences, and the social aspect of dinners and banquets. These just can’t be replaced on a virtual platform.”
Looking ahead, “it’s really promising” as there is light at the end of the tunnel, as the P&J Live team is working closely with Aberdeen Convention & Events Bureau, the Universities and NHS Grampian to bring international events, conferences and exhibitions back to Scotland’s third largest city – some as far as six years into the future!
Kim added: “We are actively engaging with organisations from across the globe to showcase Aberdeen as a destination of choice. These include events for 2022 but also as far down the line as 2027.
“It’s been vitally important for our sales effort to continue even whilst we’re operating in an ever-changing landscape.
“Although events are somewhat uncertain in the short term, it’s really promising to see just how confident organisers are that events will come back, bigger and better than ever long term.”
One way P&J Live is ensuring safety for its event organisers, visitors and staff is by introducing VenueShield, a health and safety programme implemented by P&J Live operators ASM Global to protect everyone. This global initiative – which Kim says “goes above and beyond current requirements in terms of health and safety” – has been instrumental in winning back business.
“Knowing the policies and protocols have been derived from global experts in events and the medical profession gives our teams confidence that we are doing everything we can to keep people safe,” explained the sales chief.
“Sharing this information with organisers and conveying this confidence during the bidding process is definitely beneficial and has seen us reap rewards, with several confirmations received in the midst of lockdown.”
Currently being used as a mass vaccination centre for NHS Grampian, P&J Live – with VenueShield – is already proving that it is putting safety at the top of its priority list, Kim explained: “In speaking to members of the public who’ve been in for their vaccination, the vast majority have been so positive about their experience. Even though they might not have visited before, they said are looking forward to coming back whether that be for a conference or concert.
“I sure can’t wait till we get back to those days.”
To find out more about VenueShield and how P&J Live is keeping you safe, click here to visit the website.