EVENTEX // Congratulations to Soundings Founder & CEO, Tracy Judge, for being named one of Eventex’s Top 100 Most Influential People in the Event Industry!

THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL // "A return to events requires greater flexibility" Soundings has made it to the August edition of the Meeting Professional! As we head towards an exciting recovery filled with projected major growth, understanding the state of talent is imperative in preparing for the future.

More than 56 million people freelanced this year, according to Upwork’s and Freelancers Union’s “Freelancing in America: 2018” survey. As the workforce continues to gravitate toward remote and flexible positions—Nasdaq predicted the percentage of working Americans choosing freelance work over a traditional 9-5 job to rise to 43 percent by 2020—the meetings and events industry should be collectively embracing the shift.

CORPORATE EVENT NEWS // Across all aspects of the industry, labor shortages will cause anything from headaches to cancellations for the foreseeable future. Now that the pandemic is receding, Tracy Judge, Founder & CEO of Soundings, is no longer ahead of her time in raising the alarms about how short-staffed teams are going to operate events.

The economy is changing constantly, and with these changes business is being conducted in new ways. Freelancers will need to keep up to date on new technology and soft skills in order to thrive in this competitive job market.

Live Meetings are coming back but what has changed? Hotels and service may look a little different than we are used to. Here is what we noticed. Hotels Rates Are Not Competitive Surprisingly, hotel space is more limited. Many cancelled events from 2020 have been re-booked for 4th quarter 2021 and 2022. As a result, hotel space is selling at a premium. Many travelers assume that hotels are reducing rates to attract guests but, they don’t need to.

Many are anxious to meet again but are we ready for live meetings? Whether it is a live or hybrid event, meeting professionals can create a safe environment for attendees and staff with proper planning and preparation. When sourcing meeting locations, ask for the current safety policies and emergency plan. How are they preventing infection?

COVID-19 has forced many event and hospitality professionals to think about new ways to generate income, and long-time corporate employees are opting to take advantage of freelance/contract opportunities. Whether it is project management or virtual event planning, freelancing has become popular for both the company needing help and the professional seeking project-based work.

Do you love the idea of freelancing, but also love the perks of corporate world benefits? As a best practice, add 15-30% to your rate to offset costs like payroll taxes, 401K matching, insurance and workers’ compensation.

SMART MEETINGS // In honor of International Women’s Day, Smart Meetings announced their 2021 Smart Women Awards. Soundings is excited to announce Tracy Judge, Founder & CEO, as a 2021 Hall of Fame Awardee!

EXHIBIT CITY NEWS // Soundings and Virtual Events Institute are joining forces to offer affordable and readily accessible learning opportunities for freelance meeting and event professionals racing to meet the demand for versatile skill sets and virtual event experience.

SMART MEETINGS // In honor of International Women’s Day, Smart Meetings announced their 2021 Smart Women Awards. Soundings is excited to announce Heather Black Cosgrave, Director of Operations & Customer Engagement, has received the Rising Star Award!

At Soundings, we believe product and service solutions have the highest impact when everyone wins. The Soundings Thrive Platform Playground was created to be a “triple win” for organizations, freelancers, and our platform partners.

Learn more today.

CORPORATE EVENT NEWS // In an effort to connect the many dots—that draw a picture of 2021—VEI has forged a partnership with talent platform Soundings that will benefit all affected groups. Under their new brand, Soundings Thrive, a vibrant members-only freelance community, the company is collaborating with VEI to offer offering additional education and networking opportunities for freelance event professionals to help them become workforce-ready for assisting virtual and hybrid events.

Soundings and the Virtual Events Institute announce exclusive North American partnership to offer freelance meeting and event professionals a launch pad into the world of digital experiences

EVENT CADENCE // Collaborative partnerships that create win-win situations for both parties are becomingly increasingly important. Partnerships help find and recruit adept talent for multi-channel market growth, and they harness creativity and innovative thinking for new avenues of inspiration.

We are excited to announce our partnership with Event Cadence for the next Platform Playground Mock Events program!

SMART MEETINGS // COVID-19, social distancing and furloughs, oh no. It has been a troubling year for those working in the meetings and hospitality industry, with pandemic precautions resulting in huge economic loss—and unfortunately, many unforeseen career changes. Throughout the year, Smart Meetings has been posting resources for the business owners, employees and independent planners navigating their way through this new reality. Whether you are job searching, adding new skills or trying to keep your business afloat, take a look at the best Smart Meetings career articles of 2020 can offer you some guidance.

CORPORATE EVENT NEWS // Take a behind the scenes look at how Soundings Founder and CEO, Tracy Judge, live-streamed her presentation for the 2020 Intrado Digital Media Summit.

Live-streamed from Rev Studio in La Jolla, CA.

SMART MEETINGS // Earlier this year we launched Soundings Thrive, a platform providing tools for freelancers to stay relevant in the marketplace and accelerate their business. Since the launch, our primary focus has been to help freelancers embrace their potential in the virtual event world.

Read about the top 5 things we have learned from launching the Platform Playground mock events program for freelancers.

Webcast Producers are known for their ability to combine a high level of customer service with tech-savvy to help configure, test and execute webcasts for live and virtual events. In support of clients, Webcast Producers set up and perform all necessary A/V tests by troubleshooting webcams, microphones and telephones to ensure optimum webcast delivery.