Conferences that break boundaries and why it’s time for the industry to embrace change

It’s the start of industry conference season. LinkedIn is awash with people declaring they are going to be at different conferences and asking followers to get in touch if they want to meet up. Excitement is building around all the activities that will be happening and great people who will be speaking. It should be a great time for everyone. Yet it always seems to disappoint.

Every year, it seems to be the same people attending these events, the same people getting the opportunities to network, the same people being given the platform to share their work and raise their profiles.

This is not the way we keep improving our industry. This is the way we keep our industry the same.

Sometimes, I think conference organisers have got the memo about diversifying speaker panels. I think finally they’ve realised that we want to hear new voices. We don’t want to just hear from the CEOs of this industry. We want to hear from those that have got something really interesting to say, and often it’s those that are really involved in the nuts and bolts of a development or programme of works that can provide that insight.

We don’t have a very diverse c-suite in our industry, but we do have people from different backgrounds coming through the ranks, people whose profile would really be raised by having these speaking opportunities, and as a business, why would you not want to give them that opportunity?

We know our industry is built on relationships. It’s the connections we make, the people we speak to and the community we make, that help us to find out about and win our next investment or project. Networking is therefore a really important opportunity to meet new people and strengthen current relationships. It’s human nature to connect with people who are like yourself. But who are you missing out on speaking to by sending the same people to these events?

By sending a diverse group of people, your company will gain broader connections, as well as upskilling your colleagues who haven’t had these opportunities before. It’s worth remembering that junior colleagues today may become industry leaders of the future, and these conferences could be the start of a long successful relationship.

We can continue doing the same thing, or we can try to do things differently.

In 2022, a new type of property conference launched, called UKREiiF. With its core values including sustainability and inclusion, its aim is to be the most diverse and inclusive property conference, and I have been working with the organisers to achieve that from the start. It’s not easy. It does take some work and requires some difficult decisions, but the impact has been great.

There is gender diversity on every panel, ethnic diversity is much greater than the industry average and the organisers are not afraid to include junior professionals in the discussions too, which makes for some really fresh conversations and ideas.

The industry has really got behind the concept, with companies taking time to consider who they bring along. Instead of focusing on sending the same people, they are thinking about who could really get something out of the conference, both personally and for the business. This might be rising stars who they know will network really well once they’ve had a bit of guidance from their senior colleagues. It might be people who are often behind the scenes, but would benefit from listening to the many panel discussions.

This new focus for a property conference has created a vibrant buzz, not only at the event itself but around the industry. Many groups of people who would never normally attend these types of events are contacting each other to see if they can meet up for a coffee while there or discussing the fringe programme or who else might be going.

Conferences need to be refreshed. Hopefully seeing the success of UKREiiF, others will be influenced to make similar changes and we’ll all see the benefits across the industry.