Executive Director Update

MEETINGS ARE BACK

By Kelly Rodenberg

More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut down in-person meetings, the AKFCF safely brought members of the board back together from May 27-28, 2021 at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando. With many people vaccinated and mask mandates lifted, we felt it was time to resume some normal activity.

And let me tell you, it was amazing to feel those personal connections and unexpected ideas that come from meeting face-to-face and sharing a meal together. It’s often through an informal conversation that we can learn the most about each other and experience intangibles, such as values, that are hard to see through a Zoom screen.

It has been demonstrated that faceto-face meetings boost collaboration, creativity, and create positive business outcomes, all while building strong communities. Face-to-face meetings allow us to build powerful, personal connections and break down barriers through the ability to see facial expressions and detect other non-verbal cues that help to foster stronger, more trusting relationships.

However, we are living in a new world. It’s time to adapt and shift our mindsets, develop new skills, and rethink how we make decisions to stay agile, connected, and human. I believe we will see a modification in our approach about what “meeting” really looks like and how it can be achieved. I think there will be a new openness about the development of digital skills and ultimately a more inclusive approach to the technologies we use for meetings.

In the future, I expect that for most of us, virtual meetings will move from something seen as a nice-to-have to an accepted, must-have part of a blended meeting environment. They will just become a normal way of blending the two going forward. Another factor that plays into the dual meeting environment is time. Especially now with the labor crunch, time away from the restaurant is just not feasible. By holding hybrid options for members, this allows them to choose the best way to participate.

In Orlando, we tested the Meeting Owl Pro technology for the first time. The Meeting Owl Pro is a premium 360-degree camera, mic, and speaker combined into one, easy-to-use device. It creates the experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams and integrates seamlessly with the conferencing platforms you already use such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. I think it worked well and this will probably be something we purchase for future AKFCF meetings.

In the coming months, we will be generating and creating both types of experiences. AKFCF and KFC’s RGM Connect in July will be the first-of-its-kind, virtual event for RGMs. And happily, the 2022 AKFCF Annual Convention will be a live conference in Orlando from March 7-10. Both events will provide a “shared” experience, creating connections that make a lasting impact.

I look forward to seeing and meeting you over this next year, whether face-to-face or virtually. Great things happen when people come together, because when we meet, we have the power to create new opportunities. n

Meeting Owl Pro