‘The role is getting busier and busier ...’

 

For Karen Edwards, becoming one half of ABPCO's new co-chair team has been a baptism of fire. 

“I had no idea what I was walking into!” she laughs.

Jessica Letters, by contrast, was already on the association's board and had a better idea of what she was letting herself in for. 

The pair may have approached the role from different directions, but that difference is precisely what they believe makes their partnership work. 

Letters works in-house at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, while Edwards is a freelance event professional working across a range of clients. They had both been ABPCO members for two or three years before taking on the role - but had actually not worked closely together before. 

“You only know what you know, right?” says Letters. “So I might be thinking of working in the way that I'm familiar with, but actually, Karen will have thought about it in a different way or will be aware of other challenges.” 

Edwards says her experience of working across corporate, charity and association clients means she can bring a broad perspective to the role. 

“I work across lots of different clients,” she says. “So I can say to Jess, oh, I've seen this and done this and that. I can bring that wealth of experience.” 

There is also a certain amount of learning going in the opposite direction. 

Edwards describes herself as a “front facing planner”, while Letters is more comfortable with the governance and administrative side of the association. 

“I do like the back end of governance, I'm a governance nerd!” Letters jokes. 

For Edwards, that is an area in which she expects to learn during the two-year during the two-year tenure.

A bigger job than ever 

One of the biggest challenges facing the profession, the pair believe, is simply the sheer breadth of the modern PCO role. 

The days when an event organiser could concentrate primarily on logistics and programme delivery are long gone.

“People don't just want a PCO” says Edwards.

“They want somebody that can do technology, AI, sustainability, health and safety, marketing, social media and more.” 

For Letters, the challenge isn't necessarily that event professionals need to become experts in everything.

“I think the key thing about event organisers is that we're all really adaptable,” she says.

“The tricky thing is knowing where to go for trusted advice and knowing who to speak to to navigate all of these extra things.” 

That is one area where ABPCO hopes to play a bigger role. 

The association is planning a new AI group, for example, designed to help members tackle the practical questions around the technology and identify when external expertise might be needed. 

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels

Making ABPCO more useful 

The co-chairs also want to broaden ABPCO's reach and make membership more useful to people who may not currently see the association as their natural professional home. 

The association is looking at new ways for members to participate through committees and specialist groups, while Edwards says increasing membership among in-house planners is a particular priority. 

The association is launching a knowledge hub where members will be able to access documents and policies rather than having to create everything from scratch. 

“If you're just one person in an association, and events might not even be your full-time job, it's potentially quite lonely,” says Letters. 

“That's what ABPCO is there for; to meet other people doing exactly the same job as you.” 

The aim, she says, is to allow members to solve problems collectively, sharing resources, ideas and experiences. 

Edwards also points to plans for more webinars and recorded content, recognising that attending every industry event isn't realistic for busy planners. 

“People's time is precious,” she says. “We're here to say, look, we can support you.”

AI: opportunity, not another burden 

AI is inevitably part of that conversation. 

Both co-chairs see considerable potential in the technology, but neither believes event professionals should simply accept every new tool. 

For Letters, the biggest opportunity is to automate repetitive work. 

“I'd really like it to do some of the boring repetitive tasks that I don't like doing - and do them better than I could have done them,” she says. 

That, in turn, could free planners to concentrate on strategy and creativity. 

But she is wary of what she describes as “AI washing”, with technology companies increasingly attaching the term to products without necessarily making them more useful. 

Edwards agrees that AI has a role, particularly in administration, reporting and generating ideas. But there is a catch. 

“You would never just send something out unedited, because I think it's the personalisation that you still want.” 

That human element becomes particularly important when considering the future of live events themselves. 

Why should anyone attend? 

In a world where information can be accessed instantly online - and increasingly through AI - the co-chairs believe association events need to be clear about why people should make the effort to attend them. 

For Letters, the answer is simple. 

“You've got to make your events purposeful and people will attend things if they feel that there's a point to them,” she says. 

“That point is to meet other people and pick up ideas and to have productive headspace.” 

That means being prepared to rethink the traditional conference format. 

Edwards argues that events shouldn't simply run from 9am to 5pm with a packed agenda. 

“You're looking at different areas, you've got a plenary, but then actually you break it out into different things and those workshops all feel different,” she says. 

“And it's the whole experience, isn't it? It's not just an event, it's the experience now that we look at.” 

Inclusion is another part of that experience. 

Letters, who has championed accessibility and neurodiversity in her own events, believes the industry is improving but that there is no point at which organisers can declare the job finished. 

“It's never a finished thing,” she says. “And it's never that you shouldn't do it because you expect to be perfect every time. It's a continual improvement, really.” 

The key, she argues, is continually asking how an event feels to somebody with a different perspective. 

“The more we start thinking about it and don't just deliver things in the same way that we've always delivered it, I think the more inclusive we'll become.” 

Building the next generation 

Looking further ahead, both co-chairs have clear priorities for their two-year tenure. 

For Letters, it is about ensuring in-house association planners recognise ABPCO as their professional home – and ensuring their employers understand the value of what they do. 

She wants to see more recognition of the need for event professionals to have access to professional development and opportunities to connect with their peers. 

Edwards is particularly passionate about students. 

Her ambition is to strengthen the bridge between universities and the industry, bringing students into the ABPCO community earlier in their careers and giving them opportunities to build confidence, knowledge and connections. 

“We can get them onto the membership, get them meeting people, and coming to different courses and events that we do,” she says. “We'll bring them in and watch them grow.” 

Letters believes association events offer an especially compelling story. 

“The beautiful thing about association events is that actually you could be working on something that makes a real difference,” she says. 

“You could be changing people's lives. You could be helping the latest medical research. You could be working on innovative ways of powering the next generation.” 

For two new co-chairs taking on an association at an interesting point in its development, there is clearly plenty to keep them busy. 

And while Edwards admits she is still discovering exactly what she has signed up for, both are optimistic about what comes next. 

“It's such a lovely association,” says Letters. “Everyone is really supportive and it's a pleasure to be co-chair of.” 

For Edwards, the attraction is similarly straightforward. 

“The world of events is a place to grow in and learn from.” 

And, judging by the breadth of responsibilities now sitting on the shoulders of the modern PCO, there should be no shortage of things to learn.