For credit union executives, cocktail parties and conference chicken could be just a few months away – at least on a limited scale.
After most organizers either cancelled conferences and trade shows or moved them to virtual settings in 2020, some credit union groups are gearing up for the return of in-person gatherings, though those events are likely to start small, with most national conferences not expected to return until later in the year or even 2022.
The push to bring back conferences comes after a year in which most industry conferences – generally in-person events that can draw hundreds or even thousands of credit union professionals – moved online as a result of the pandemic. But many have grown tired of that format and are eager to get back to normal.
“I find networking in the virtual world challenging at times,” said Andy Grimm, president and CEO of Apple Federal Credit Union in Fairfax, Va. “When I return from an in-person conference, it is often the contacts made that have the most lasting impact. You also need to acknowledge the benefit of getting out of your normal environment and routine.”
Credit union groups are far from the only event planners eager to get back to business as usual. Trade associations serving industries ranging from meatpacking and funerals to business aviation and school librarians all have plans to return to in-person conferences in 2021. However, many are also holding off on bringing large groups together until later in the year and augmenting those events with additional virtual content in the months leading up to those meetings.
One group that’s not pushing a return to live meetings, on the other hand, is the American Bankers Association. A spokesman for the group said its events, schools and conferences continue to operate successfully in a virtual environment, and while it is looking into whether in-person events might be feasible later this year, it has “made no commitments, given the continuing health threat. When we do return to in-person events, we expect there will be a virtual component giving people the option of attending remotely.”
Many credit unions saved money in 2020 thanks to reductions in travel spending, and third-quarter data from the National Credit Union Administration, the most recent information available, shows noninterest expenses for the industry grew at a slower pace in the four quarters that ended Sept. 30, 2020, than in the prior year. That could change if more events return and travel spending rebounds.
Planning for a variety of in-person events is already underway. Anthony Demangone, chief operating officer for the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, said a lot depends on the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine during the next few months, but NAFCU is planning an in-person option for its CEOs and Senior Executives Conference, scheduled for Key West, Fla., in mid-May.
The show is planned as a hybrid event for both in-person and virtual attendance, and in-person registration is already sold out. The group has already cancelled its largest annual event, scheduled for July in Savannah, Ga., but Demangone said all events from August onward are expected to be offered as hybrids.
NAFCU is not alone with its May target.
The CrossState Credit Union Association, which serves 519 credit unions across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is tentatively planning to hold its annual convention in person starting May 13 in Hershey, Pa. The gathering, CCUA’s largest event, will be the first of its kind since the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association and New Jersey Credit Union League merged early last year.
Mike Wishnow, senior vice president of marketing and communications for the association, said last year the group moved the annual convention from in-person to virtual and cancelled two other events. Some conferences just don't work as well via the internet or with Zoom as they do face-to-face, he said.
"Conferences that are geared toward groups of professionals convert reasonably well, but when you have a high percentage of volunteers attending — many of [whom] have other jobs — virtual does not work as well,” he said.
Are hybrid events here to stay?
The industry’s careful return to in-person events is largely in line with other sectors, said Sally Mainprize, CEO of Texas-based Iron Peacock Events. While comparatively few fields have events scheduled for the first quarter of the year, the calendar gets more crowded further into 2021.
"I think if we have an increase in the velocity of vaccines over the next few months we'll see a better increase in live events in Q3 and, if not, Q4 will see the increase," she said.
Declining confidence in virtual events could signal a strong rebound for conferences, both in terms of the number of events and attendees, she said. Time will tell if the hybrid conference model has staying power, she added.
"My own opinion of hybrid is it has its place, but will be a minor factor the longer we make progress back to live," she said. "Humans like to interact in person. It's who we are."
In some cases, the pivot to virtual events has resulted in lower-than-usual attendance. CrossState’s Wishnow said registration for the group’s annual convention was down about 25% last year, though its marketing convention saw about 50% more people compared to the prior year when it was held in person.
The industry’s largest annual event, the Credit Union National Association’s Governmental Affairs Conference, will be held virtually this year, and CUNA is hoping big-name speakers, including former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien, can help entice participants despite the change in format.
Not everyone is sold on the change, though. Evan Clark, CEO of the $570 million-asset Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union in Washington, said he typically attends the in-person event because it’s so close to home. But Clark is unsure if he will attend the virtual event because, for him, the highlight of the conference is usually visiting with vendors and peers to gain new insights and ideas.
“The conferences with a decidedly educational tilt are virtual, and we will continue to attend them until such time as they are once again live,” he said.
While potential attendees are eager to get back to travel and networking, Tom Brennan, chief marketing officer at Erie Federal Credit Union in Pennsylvania, suggested that because conference hotels and venues will be held to ultrahigh safety protocols that could increase the expenses associated with hosting, some of those costs may be passed on to credit union attendees.
In the meantime, some credit union leaders are becoming more comfortable with Zoom conferences.
Frank Almeida, who was
“While my experience has been that virtual meetings have served us well, there are those discussions that are best served from in-person meetings,” he said. Almeida added that “Zoom fatigue” appears to be setting in and some conversational nuances don’t translate well across virtual platforms.
The return of in-person events won’t meant he death of virtual events, either. NAFCU’s Demangone said enrollment for its 2020 virtual events was better than anticipated, and maintaining some virtual components provides more flexibility for organizers while keeping costs down.
And the revenue component cannot be downplayed.
Wishnow said the association earns a "fair amount" of money from some conferences, but on others it is closer to a break-even proposition. Because most of last year’s events were virtual, he said, convention revenues were about 25% to 30% lower than most years, he said.
And although CrossState is leaning toward a “live” conference in May, it will have to make a definitive decision in the next couple of weeks.
"The question is can we do it in a way that's safe," Wishnow said. "And when the answer to that question is yes, that's when we'll go back to it."
