2023 AMCI Conference “AMC’s Engaged: The New Normal. Now What?”
Many congratulations to our CEO Ruth Abrahamson who Chaired the 2023 @AMCI Conference “AMC’s Engaged: The New Normal. Now What?” We recently spent the week with AMCs from across Canada and the US in beautiful Oklahoma City. The conference was hosted jointly by the Omni Hotel Oklahoma City and Visit Oklahoma City. We also had the opportunity to tour the Oklahoma City Convention Centre, enjoying both breakfast and the closing ceremony there. Transportation to the Awards & Recognition Gala was creatively supplied by a series of vintage vehicles that brought a smile to us all!
The keynotes were informative. From Amy Downs we learned that we all have a magic wand! Amy showed us how to consider a problem, what are the limitations, how can we do something small to take a first step? If you had a magic wand…
Keynote Tonya Muse helped us understand the Younger Generations Z and Millennials who will make up 79% of world’s work force by 2029, with their priorities focused on environmental and climate initiatives.
Then onto the breakout sessions! In the appropriately titled “IYKYK Bruh” speaker Tracy Grzybowski kept the room entertained as she enlightened us further on Generation Z and how they communicate and engage with the world. Most association members and potential staff are using tools and channels such as TikTok, Instagram etc., Fewer use traditional tools such as Twitter, Facebook. I left the room feeling that our AMC does a good job prioritizing Selfcare and Wellness, alongside Flexibility, with senior leadership modeling this behaviour. However, we could do a better job telling our story and how our AMC’s work has a positive impact on society.
In the AMC by Size session, led by Constance Wrigley Thomas & Peter Waite, discussion highlighted the challenges faced by Small and Medium AMCs, as well as some solutions and tactics to overcome them. Discussions centred around Talent Recruitment and Retention, Technology Solutions for various activities within the AMC, Client Retention and Turn Over, etc.
The HITT sessions featured extremely knowledgeable speakers sharing their expertise on everything from Accidental Mentorship to Benefits of Economies of Scale, Information Mobility through the power of a Napkin Sketch and Best Practices for Recession-Proofing your AMC. Emilie Perkins, Tim Altbaum, Calvin Gilman, Serene Melancon, Sandra Nam and Dan Streeter all optimized their time to increase our expertise and efficiency!
The final day brought us to a thought-provoking and activity driven session, expertly led by Joy DesMarais-Lanz where small groups were given a handful of challenging scenarios. Working together we saw how our organizations respond in a crisis. The session wrapped with a discussion on how to prepare staff for crises and emergency situations in advance.
Everyone then joined in the Plenary room for this year’s Hackathon “Employee Recruitment and Retention” – a hot topic throughout the whole conference. For 90 mins groups each tackled different challenges and came up with various strategies to implement throughout their organizations. We certainly came away with new ideas to consider for Base Consulting!
The final session I attended was entertainingly and engagingly led by Rob Gates who had another fun group activity showing us how cross-functional teams can come together to solve problems and develop new ways to do things.
All in all, the AMC’s Engaged 2023 Conference led us through content targeting some of the critical issues we all face, from Talent Recruitment and Retention to technology issues and client management.
We are looking forward to next year’s event in Montreal, July 29th 2024!
