Introducing VALTs: Virtual Assessment, Learning & Training Source
We know that distance and time can be a barrier to effective training.
Why not have one source for all your expertise available to your team accessible at any time from any location. Right at their fingertips. Designed with security, ease, reporting, and cost-savings in mind.
Introducing VALTs, our Virtual Assessment, Learning & Training Source, which allows you to train more effectively than ever!
Use VALTs to:
Deliver resources & event content
Reach all onboarding requirements
Create assessments to validate comprehension
Generate completed training documents
Refresh rapidly changing content
Track your team’s progress
VALTs. Centralize your expertise. Propel your team.
A lot has changed in the past 21 years in the events industry and Miller Tanner Associates has aspired to adapt to those changes along the way, staying ahead of the curve with your events and with meeting technology. However, a lot has remained the same – like our longstanding commitment to compliance, our continued efforts to cultivate vendor partnerships around the world, and our dedication to delivering exceptional customer-focused service to our clients.
We’re proud to continue serving you in every corner of the globe and helping you plan and execute successful face-to-face and virtual events. We thank YOU for being part of our story for the past 21 years and we’re grateful to be part of yours through your events.
Though face-to-face investigator events are ideal in many ways, virtual events, despite some misconceptions, can be an equally effective way to deliver your investigator meeting. Common reasons for offering a virtual investigator event might include:
Short timelines – Virtual events can be planned with very little lead time compared to face-to-face events. Additionally, the length of the event itself is a more concise, efficient way to educate your audience.
Urgent important protocol amendments – When urgent updates occur in your study, a virtual event is the quickest way to disseminate the information.
Budget constraints – For limited budgets, a virtual event is an ideal solution for training, particularly for audiences that are in multiple locations and multiple time zones.
When you drill it all down, the key to launching a successful event is the attention to the details. Whether you are providing customized gifts for each attendee, designing the space in a way that nurtures conversation, or implementing a theme that resonates with your audience, it’s those numerous details that make a lasting impact.
This is where the Miller Tanner Associates Team as expert planners can help you add the WOW factor to your event. With over 20 years of experience in the event industry, we know how to execute every detail of any event.
2. Make it Interactive
Want a stronger corporate team? The trend in training these days is to make it interactive and experiential. Not only does this keep your trainees fully engaged but it also helps with learning retention. Get creative with how you deliver your messaging and content. Is it through an interactive tour? Or maybe a role enactment? Make it interactive and you are sure to ramp up the engagement from your attendees.
We planned an interactive training, in partnership with our client that was incredibly well received by the attendees. By collaborating with the team, we helped to bring their idea to fruition. The idea was to create an interactive tour similar to a museum tour – our Miller Tanner team designed the space with white wall panels, rental furniture, and lighting. We also had fresh popcorn available just outside the door along with Bluetooth headsets so that each attendee could learn at their leisure. It was a successful approach to sales training that made a lasting impression.
3. Customize it
Cookie-cutter events are so passé. Make your event stand out by customizing it! You can do this a million different ways from room drops to planned excursions. When you take the time to customize your event in a way that speaks to your audience, you’ve tapped into something special that will make your event memorable for years to come. Not sure how to customize it? Our planning team uses several methods for determining the best way to customize your event for your attendees.
4. Include CSR Activities
One ingredient of creating a meaningful event experience that WOWs is to personalize it through team building.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects are an excellent way to initiate team building. This is a highly effective approach in that it boosts motivation, builds collaboration, fosters communication, and engages your team. Your company and your employees gain impressive benefits by doing good in your community. And as an added bonus, companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%!
At Miller Tanner, we practice what we preach. CSR activities are an integral part of our annual internal meetings when our team from across the globe comes together for training each summer. We’ve built bikes for the Boys and Girls Club, collected toys for hospitalized children, worked to spruce up a children’s home, built a Habitat house, and have taken part in many other enriching activities throughout our 20 plus years as a team. Our team agrees that this has a lasting WOW effect on any event.
5. Get Outside
Break up the meeting with time outside of the venue. Doing so will help invigorate your teams and keep them more engaged and productive. You can incorporate being outdoors while participating in your CSR activities; or why not take your event outside under the stars, beside the ocean or in the middle of a vineyard. Engaging all the senses of your attendees adds value and makes for a more energizing event.
6. Don’t Forget the Cultural Experiences
No matter where your event takes place, be it Atlanta or Athens, mixing in some cultural experiences of the location creates a more dynamic, rich and memorable experience for your attendees. It breathes life into your event and builds a connection among your attendees with the destination.
We’ve planned everything from an antique road rally along the coast of Portugal, an Irish music pub tour through Dublin, and a Spanish Fiesta evening to include a traditional Horse Show while in Southern Spain. If you want to add magic to your event, be sure to include the cultural excursions.
By incorporating these six ideas, you can deliver the WOW factor to any corporate event. We have a team of planning experts located around the world who can help you plan the perfect event in the upcoming year. Contact us today!
Because our Miller Tanner team members are located around the globe, we have the great fortune of supporting organizations and those in need throughout the world. We embrace that opportunity to serve and make an impact in our respective communities by encouraging our associates to participate in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Over the past year, here are just a few ways that our incredible team members have generously contributed their time and talents to corporate social responsibility. This speaks volumes to “the gift of service” and altruistic nature of the people who work at MTA – always looking for ways to serve others whether it be our clients or those in need. We are grateful for the work that they do across the globe not only professionally but also philanthropically.
Our Media and Production Team, consisting of members based in the US, South America, Europe, and Asia, pooled donations to support the work of Kiva.org, a person-to-person micro-lending program. What an impact they’ve made globally! They’ve currently loaned $5,625 to date serving 225 people in 72 countries.
Our Barcelona-based associate, Gemma, volunteered with Banc dels Aliments, a local food bank in Barcelona whose main objective is to recover food surpluses and distribute them among local entities so that they can reach people in need. Gemma helped with food collections at a local supermarket and school and filled almost 5 large boxes during her volunteer hours. With Gemma’s help and other generous supporters, the organization collected more than 4 million kilos of food in the Catalonia area in two days!
Our Denver-based associate, Meredeth, volunteered her CSR time to help with Jewish Family Service “Lunch Box Express“, a free lunch program serving kids up to age 18 during the summer months. The program has 5 buses that run daily throughout the summer handing out between 700-1000 lunches every day!
Our Canada-based associate, Glenda Ann, has dedicated her CSR time to support several causes throughout the year. She volunteered to help with Habitat For Humanity Women Build Quebec all-female building teams that raised $5000 and built a home for a single mom. She also helped launch an Out of the Ashes campaign to help families in the Province of Newfoundland who were evacuated from Fort McMurray, Alberta due to the forest fires. With help from others, they supported 35 families by collecting donated items and raised $2,500 for the Red Cross. Using social media to get the word out and hosting a fundraiser in collaboration with local musicians, they raised $45,000 to support the cause! She also worked with friends to collect donations for care packages for the Syrian refugees living in Montreal. The packages included clothing detergent and other useful toiletries. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Meilleurs Coeurs Solidaires Orphanage in Benin, Africa which hosts 27 children.
Fifteen of our Tennessee-based MTA staff had the opportunity to volunteer with Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that provides safe and supportive housing, the opportunity for economic independence, and a strong community of advocates and partners for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.
The day began with an inspiring meditation led by graduates of the Residential Program, followed by a couple hours of work in the Thistle Farms Studio and Body & Home Manufacturing Center. Our team partnered with employees (many of whom are graduates or current participants of the residential program) to clean and organize their art/paper studio and assist in the production of handmade bath and body products. By adding 15 extra people in the mix of their normal operations, the team was able to make a huge impact, especially preparing their manufacturing center for a fast-paced and demanding holiday season.
Each summer, our entire global Miller Tanner Team comes together for annual training and a team-building CSR project. Miller Tanner proudly donated 7,050 school meals through the Feed Projects and our team members also dedicated a morning to sprucing up a local children’s home by cleaning, painting furniture and walls, and giving the property a fresh new look. It was amazing to be part of the transformation and experience the difference that a little paint and a lot of teamwork can make.
The Miller Tanner difference is our people. That’s why we want to introduce you to our team of superstars that brings our corporate meetings and events to life for our clients.
Today, we introduce you to Annalisa Battistini, our European-based global experience designer – events, who brings her attention to detail and excellent customer service to our Global Experiences Team.
On this page, we’ll explore the basics of budgeting for events.
It is imperative to pull off a fantastic event that dazzles your attendees, but it is equally important not to let that event break your bank. At Miller Tanner Associates, we work tirelessly to provide you with the best value for your budget. We can help you craft world-class events that work for your business.
What Is an Event Budget?
An event budget is a comprehensive projection of how much money you will spend on an event. It helps you manage your spending and earnings and provides a metric for measuring the success of your event. The value of an event budget cannot be overstated. While creating and managing a well-planned event budget takes work, it can make all the difference.
Controlling Your Event Budget
Take Control of No-Show Food and Beverage Costs
Food and beverage costs are frequently the most mismanaged expenses, and event planners rarely search for savings in the right places. Inefficient registration processes that limit visibility and accountability for the sales team are often the cause of high no-show rates. You can track your event outreach with integrated reporting tools using end-to-end event management software to coordinate all communication efforts around your events. By personalizing and tracking all event communications, you can reduce no-show rates and reduce food and beverage costs.
Employing Vendor Partnerships
Effective event planning firms can employ vendor partnerships and volume usage to negotiate pricing that favors all their customers, big and small. Due to the volume of use that premier event planning firms have, these vendor partnerships provide excellent service to clients and offer special pricing or discounts on some of the event expenses. When vendor partnerships offer us discounted pricing, those savings are passed on to you, allowing you to control your event budget.
Hiring an Expert Event Planner
In addition to vendor partnerships, expert event planning firms can help manage the cost per attendee by leveraging their extensive industry knowledge to recommend the most cost-effective venues and times of the year for your event. Excellent event planners present solutions that will fulfill your needs and fit within the budget limits you have set for your event. In addition to helping clients with venue selection and event schedules, good event planners also help clients with expense management by ensuring that flight and other event-related fees are booked in the most appropriate time frame.
Miller Tanner Associates has planned, hosted, and executed events of all types, styles, and sizes for more than two decades. In its 24+ years of practice (10 years in virtual events), MTA has managed thousands of events worldwide across Boston, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Budapest, and other major hubs. We have organized an expansive volume of guests and a broad clientele with unique needs, objectives, and event concepts. The plethora of experiences gathered makes MTA your ultimate event partner.
Running a Multi-Level Review
Running a multi-level review of event expenses can help you manage the cost per attendee. This protects you from false charges or inappropriately charged rates on pass-through expenses by ensuring that all contracted and rendered services are accurately billed at the appropriate rates.
Along with a multi-level review, MTA thoroughly evaluates all your attendance reimbursements to ensure that all funds are reimbursed according to your cost reimbursement requirements.
Mitigating Event Risk
MTA mitigates risk by creating standard organization contract clauses that automatically appear on every vendor agreement. These clauses provide you with the peace of mind that our vendors will deliver on their promises.
Leveraging Technology in Event Automation
Technology can save you a great deal. If you haven’t tried virtual or hybrid events yet, you’re missing out on immense cost savings due to fewer travel-related expenses for event attendees. Both virtual and hybrid meetings can help you save money while still providing opportunities for collaboration and networking.
When you consider the advantages of virtual and hybrid events, it’s easy to see why they have become more mainstream; however, they are not without challenges. It is critical to work with a reputable planning team. If you want to reap the most out of these meetings, you’ll need an experienced team that understands how to maneuver them with ease.
With MTA’s virtual and hybrid event planning experience, you’ll have plenty of sophisticated technology to integrate into the overall event experience, resulting in a shared experience for your face-to-face and virtual attendees. No one will be left out, regardless of location.
With MTA’s VALTs Virtual Assessment Learning and Training Source, you can expand upon your training offerings with on-demand content. It’s the tech-driven training solution you didn’t realize you needed but will undoubtedly become a standard for your team in the future.
Event Budgeting FAQs
1. Can Miller Tanner Associates process and audit the reimbursement of expenses for attendees?
Yes! All reimbursements are audited and reviewed to ensure that each aligns with your event’s expense reimbursement directives.
2. Does MTA practice proper transparency? (for Life Sciences)
Yes! We continually seek knowledge to stay informed of the changing transparency spend regulations for regulated industries such as the Life Sciences industry. We can provide transparent reporting in both MTA’s standard template but also in client-specific templates as well.
3. Does MTA provide expense management and review?
Yes! We work across multiple departments to review all meeting-related expenses and perform numerous levels of review to ensure the services were appropriately billed based on the services contracted and received. Vendor partnerships and discounts provided often pass directly to our customers. For every event, we work diligently to protect client spend amounts.
4. Does MTA offer billing portfolios?
Yes! We provide a complete package at the finalization of a meeting, including the supporting documentation for all charges and reimbursements. This comprehensive billing portfolio provides details and support for all event-related expenses. It is then indexed for your convenience, providing easy access to documentation for any charges related to the particular event.
Connect with MTA
Locking in the maximum cost savings in your event budget will go a long way in building organizational efficiency. Remember to closely track your event costs and reimbursements for the best results. You can also reach out to an expert to help you. MTA is a WBENC-certified full-service corporate event planning firm that has been in operation since 1997. We deliver excellent face-to-face, virtual, and hybrid event experiences that exceed your expectations through personalized knowledge and tailored solutions. Contact us today to maximize your cost savings.
