The State of the Company: M&IW in 2024
Meetings & Incentives Worldwide’s signature event, the M&IW Summit, brings together our entire community of customers, employees, and supplier partners. It is a time to connect and learn as we come together to share best practices, explore the latest trends, and shape the future of meetings, events, and incentives.
The theme of the 2024 M&IW Summit, held last week, was SOAR. It defines what happens when we have the courage to seize the opportunities that arise and swiftly pull together as one team. It is safe to say that the M&IW community has certainly SOARed to greatness in the past year.
In her State of the Company address, M&IW CEO Tina Madden shared how we’ve used the momentum of years past to reach new heights and achieve impactful success in 2024.
Gaining Momentum to SOAR
During the peak pandemic years of 2020–2021, “our goal was to do more than survive,” said Tina. We had an agile approach and were working to provide real-time solutions that met our customers’ needs during an unprecedented time.
In 2022, we started our Journey to World Class. We were intentional not only in getting back to business but “doing so in a way that set up for future success and growth,” said Tina. We wanted to achieve more than we had pre-pandemic, so we invested in building our team, which has paid off. “We are now thriving when so many other agencies are still struggling with staffing and service,” Tina added.
Our Journey to World Class continued in 2023. While 2022 focused on ramping up our team in order to successfully take on the resurgence of events, 2023 had a more internal focus. We recommitted to a company culture promoting mental and physical health and wellness. “We have to take care of our people so they can take care of our customers,” said Tina.
Now in 2024, we are SOARing to new heights while staying grounded in our purpose of transforming organizations through the power of human connection. We are also grounded in what makes us special to our customers: our culture that bleeds into our service and our ability and desire to be flexible, agile, and innovative. In may seem contradictory, but staying grounded in these core beliefs is what allows us to continually raise the bar and SOAR to the next level for each and every event.
“No matter how we grow and evolve in the future,” said Tina, “we will double down on who we are and continue to embody the qualities that have allowed us to establish and thrive in our partnerships.”
M&IW’s 2024 Highlights
“Customer satisfaction in the past year has averaged 94% across all customers,” said Tina. This incredible achievement is possible thanks to three important areas: One Team spirit, intentional growth, and operational excellence.
One Team Spirit
Employee retention is at an all-time high thanks to our One Team spirit which embodies the values of collaboration, cross-training, proactive solutioning, and “clear is kind” communication. We’re also welcoming back many “boomerangers,” as Tina calls them—employees we lost during the Great Resignation who have decided to return to M&IW.
With so many event agencies struggling with turnover and lack of training, it is a competitive advantage for M&IW to have such a tenured, talented team.
Intentional Growth
“We have been more strategic in deciding where and how to grow our business,” said Tina, “to ensure we have the right people and the right resources to support our customers.”
As organizations continue to add new and bigger events post-pandemic, we built up our capabilities to manage large and complex events and conferences. However, we understand the lasting importance of virtual and hybrid events, which is why we’re still strengthening our virtual meeting capabilities to ensure we meet all the evolving needs of our customers.
Other areas of growth within M&IW include our Incentives & Engagement team, which has grown to better support the high-end incentive programs that have become “increasingly popular with our customers,” said Tina, “even those who have never offered incentive trips before.” We also expanded our internal creative agency, Flow, and our internal consulting division, Intent Strategy Group.
Operational Excellence
Finally, operational excellence has always been a top priority at M&IW, but we went above and beyond in the past year. Standardized, streamlined processes and procedures help our team work more efficiently, providing faster and better service for our customers.
One example of a recent operational accomplishment is the creation of customer playbooks with strategic plans, information, and standardized documentation of our customers’ processes and needs. In addition to being a vital source of information, these playbooks improve the onboarding process for new talent and make it easier for current team members to successfully work across accounts.
Another example is our expanded supplier program, including a supplier diversity program, and an expanded industry relations team to ensure we’re partnering with the very best in the business. We have annual reviews with all of our supplier partners, sometimes even quarterly reviews, and are always on the lookout for up-and-coming offerings as well.
SOARing to Continued Success
In Tina’s own words, “the state of M&IW is GREAT.” The benefit of being in such a solid position is that it gives us the time, the space, and the confidence to identify, develop, and implement initiatives that fit with our culture and best serve the needs of not just our customers but also our employees and partners. This in turn helps us not only aspire to be better but leads the way in improving all events. Learn more about the initiatives shaping the M&IW difference.
Contact us to learn more about how M&IW can transform your organization through the power of human connection. Already an M&IW customer? Contact your Customer Success Manager.
Interested in joining the M&IW team? View our open positions.
Collaborator
Tina Madden, CPA
CEO
Meetings & Incentives Worldwide, Inc.