Business View Oceania | Volume 3, Issue 8

41 42 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 a small yet mighty team of seven, which supports 420 members from all over the world. Membership is split across three tiers and ranges from $640.00 to $10,000.00 per annum. Silver, Gold and Platinum tier members enjoy benefits including representation and advocation, industry resources and insights, data and information updates, event platforms, marketing abilities, education, training and upskilling opportunities, marketing plan reviews, strategy and policy input, website presence and searches, international and domestic business relationship opportunities, database access, preferential pricing, newsletter subscriptions, regional updates, annual conferences, calendars and events guides, membership logo access, workshops, education and training programs, Talent and Mentoring programs, and a presence at Australian tradeshows and exhibitions. BEIA also supports Affiliate members from other areas of the industry, Hopkins shares. “We obviously advocate for the industry and our members when it comes to things like policy and representation up to government, but we also provide marketing and working platforms and work a lot in the space in terms of data to help members understand more about industry demographics. Education is also very important to us. There’s a number of different things that we do as an association for all types of membership.” Supporting both international and domestic members comes with a variety of challenges, the largest of which has been the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Affecting staffing, communications, and the organisation’s overall ability to market and run events, the pandemic has called for a major shift in BEIA’s management and operations. Hopkins elaborates on some of the strategies BEIA has put in place to combat the effects of COVID-19. “Something concerning that we noticed is that people were feeling very isolated. So, we have put in place initiatives like weekly zoom call check-ins, where we have key speakers talk about current events and government level information to keep our members informed and up to date. And they proved to be really, really popular. Because everyone was working from home, they could just take an hour out of their day to tune in and either have conversation or just feel like they’re part of a collective, dedicated group. A great way our association has demonstrated its worth is by bringing together our members and educating them, because a lot of our members are small businesses themselves. We really want them to feel that they have a solid support.” In supporting members’ knowledge and skills, Business Events Industry Aotearoa organises programs such as Emerging Leaders, which will be put into play in late 2021. Emerging Leaders will provide participants with professional development training that will support them as they move forward in leadership, Hopkins explains. “By looking closely at team leader, manager, and supervisory roles within the sector, we make sure that members are equipped with the proper tools and support structures they need to really look at it as a fulfilling career. It’s a wonderful industry to work with, and it’s got so much variety. So, we really want to nurture and retain those brilliant people as they reach and develop those roles.” Business Events Industry Aotearoa works as a voice for its members to advocate for ideas and resolve issues within the industry. The organisation has been involved in a diverse range of advocacy initiatives, in areas such as tourism, economic development, infrastructure development, and planning for the future of the business events industry. Hopkins mentions that despite the plethora of issues it has introduced, COVID-19 has also had some unexpected positive effects. “In light of the pandemic, the government is now truly understanding the value of our sector and the important role it does play in our economy. So that’s been a little silver lining for us.” BUS INESS EVENTS INDUSTRY AOTEAROA