Workshop choice

There is no substitute for face-to-face business meetings in any industry, and likewise, well organised social engagements can pave the way for further business collaboration in a relaxed environment. It has often been said that the best business can be done at the bar or over dinner!

The problem agents and educators are faced with is deciding which workshops to attend, and when asked "how do you decide which events to attend?" a variety of viewpoints are thrown up, underlining that a wide range of events seems to suit the varied requirements of participants. Nevertheless, the number of workshops on offer has truly mushroomed in the last few years and there are now at least 28 different workshops available year round. Some are specialised and some are open to all.

"I think a lot of choice is a great thing," says Han Steen of Universo Educativo in Mexico. "However, it starts being a problem if too many are organised in the same venue: [such as] Vancouver last year with two fairs in May and the CEC fair in November."

Steen says he makes his choices based upon the venues of the workshops. "I go to an event and visit as many schools as possible [in that location], new ones and the ones we are already working with." However, in contrast, Emilio Lavarini of Mundoeducativo in Panama says his decision "does not really have anything to do with a particular location, rather who I find there".

Diverse attendees

A range of educators representing the language learning, high school, vocational and higher education sectors is a common request from agent delegates of workshops. As the study abroad market expands and evolves, workshops need to be able to offer more than meetings with just language schools. In the UK this year, the first workshop dedicated to the boarding school sector was organised; testament to the fact that a greater variety of institutions are interested in meeting agents in a workshop format.

Jack Cao, Managing Director of DY Oceanic Consultants Co. in China, is one agent who would welcome more workshops geared towards the higher education sector. "We have not been attending workshops for over two years. Frankly speaking, the main reason is that most of the institutions that agents will meet are language schools. But in China, the majority of the students intend to study degree programmes," says Cao.

Many operators prefer a workshop that encompasses all types of study sectors. Workshops to meet companies in the work placement and volunteering fields are also popular – Icef and Gwea organise targeted events for these industries – but, aside from the WYSTC event, workshops for these sectors have been kept separate.

Arnold Rubinstein of System 3 Education in Russia attests that he likes those workshops that are "universal". "Actually we like workshops dedicated to one country, but it is not necessary to attend them every year," he adds. In Italy, Vito Carbone at Prolingue makes the point, "Workshops are quite useful as long as new schools attend them. When providers are those of the year before, a workshop is quite useless."

Timing and cost

Other factors that influence an agent';s choice about which events to attend are the timing of the event, the cost and the distance to travel – which becomes an additional cost consideration. Ernest Lau at Wise Education Services Centre in Hong Kong observes that he mainly goes to workshops in Asian countries because then it doesn';t take too long to travel to the event.

Carbone at Prolingue says he would consider "any city that is easy to reach". He says that his other considerations are the number of participants at an event and that there "should be almost no cost".

Some workshops have traditionally charged agents a nominal amount to attend, with much of the cost for their accommodation during the event essentially funded by the educators who pay far more to go to a workshop. However, with a glut of events around the world, it is now more normal for agents to attend a workshop at no charge. Some events even provide breakfast or lunch for them too.

At Séjours Homestay in France, Christine de Chanaud makes a point about when she can attend workshops. "We can only go to workshops between September and March when we are not overwhelmed by calls and applications," she says. "The big event for us that we never miss is Icef Berlin in November."

Given that agencies have varying busy periods depending on their location and trends in booking, this observation of being busy stands true, but relates to different periods, depending on the location of the agency. Generally speaking, however, workshops tend to occur between February and May and late August and early December each year, and these patterns don';t seem to be changing.

Fam trips on offer

For many agencies, attending workshops is an important part of enhancing business, but their benefit has to weighed up against time out of the office – and this is a particular consideration for smaller companies with fewer staff.

Fam trips offered before or after a workshop can be a useful way of maximising time out of the office and visiting education providers, but not all agencies are in agreement that fam trips – operating on an agreed schedule that is convenient to the majority and to the schools participating – are beneficial.

Firstly, Pedro de Diego Coppen, Director of EBI Idiomas in Spain, makes the point that although fam trips may be informative, "we don';t always have time to attend them". And Carbone says that he is no longer interested in fam trips. "You see a lot, you also see what you do not need to, and come back confused," he says.

De Chanaud in France is in two minds about the usefulness of fam trips. "Fam trips are great in large countries where you can travel quickly from one area to another and visit many different programmes in a short time, because then all the travel arrangements are made," she says. "They are not that interesting in a small country where you visit ‘next door'; competitors who sort of offer the same thing in the same area."

Nevertheless, some agencies are happy to take up fam trip opportunties, and a number single out Australia as having provided very useful fam tours. "Two very good [fam trips] have been in Australia travelling the east coast and the other one was visiting projects in Kenya," relates Lott Carlsen.

(Net)working after hours

What certainly is on offer at all workshops are social activities, which most agencies approve of as a facility to continue working, albeit in a more relaxed atmosphere. "I find that you make just as many deals in the bar or at dinner after a conference day as you make at the business appointments during the day," says Lott Carlsen. "It is important to have good personal relationships before starting to promote a new programme. So social activities are very important, and not to forget, fun." De Diego Coppen at EBI Idiomas agrees, "I think [social activities] are a key element at these events."

But again, not all agencies agree with this point. A successful workshop really has to try and account for all personal and intercultural preferences – and those attending workshops have to remember that there are many diffferent ways to seal a deal. Lavarini in Panama states, "Social activities attract employees rather than employers. I belong to the latter group."

Social plans for the evenings of workshops tend to centre around eating and drinking, and happy hours, meals in restaurants and even late night conversations in a hotel bar can lead to business opportunities. Many workshops are keen to impress delegates by taking them out of the hotel to a new venue or specially organised event. Other types of social activities tend to centre around sport – at Alphe USA, for example, a golfing competition has been organised for the past two years for any delegates interested.

Outlook for the future

As to how the workshop environment may progress in the future, it is possible that all the current events on offer will continue to be available to agents. But with new locations on the cards from some established workshop organisers – such as a new Alphe Latin America in Brazil next year and English UK moving to London from Brighton – it is likely that the market will continue to evolve. Fewer workshops will remain "must-dos" in the agent calendar while others will be tried out, or – if a workshop moves location each year – visited depending on the location and its suitability/proximity to agents.

Certainly, some workshops inspire loyalty in participants, but Rubinstein points out that there are well established events that are visited regularly, only for maintaining old contacts, while other events offer newer and different partners to meet. As De Diego Coppen underlines, all decisions about attendance at workshops are ultimately commercial decisions, "based on dates, staff availability and the needs we may have for future collaborations". Which means that the workshops that provide the best range of educators to meet, or another useful selling point such as desired fam trip or convenient location, stand the best chance of winning the workshop wars.