The health and safety of event attendees has always been a big consideration for meeting professionals. The COVID-19 outbreak, however, has brought health and safety into focus like never before. As many organisations consider resuming incentive group travel programs, health and safety is the most talked about element and an area of uncertainty as COVID protocols rapidly evolve and organisations work to understand the lines between privacy and duty of care. Questions about policies, privacy and onsite procedures all need to be addressed to help set incentive travel programmes up for success.
With the increased focus on health and safety, attendees are being asked to provide more information than before, including daily health screenings, vaccine status or COVID test results and more. Managing that data in a way that protects the privacy of the individual is critical for meeting professionals and an area of sensitivity for many attendees.
Getting back to events safely requires knowledge and best practice sharing across all areas of health and privacy, as well as significant advanced planning and strong attendee communication around protocols and expectations. This paper shares insights into approaches to health and safety, as well as managing the privacy of information gathered in the pursuit of a safe event. With the guidelines for corporations, venues, countries and states changing regularly, it will be important for meeting owners and meeting planners to keep up-to-date and in close contact with their supplier base.
Health Information and Attendee Privacy: Getting Back to Meetings and Incentives Safely (IRF website)
