Showstopper or sunken soufflé? The recipe for a successful trustee event

Around 13m viewers tuned in to watch Great British Bake Off contestants battle it out for glory in last week’s grand finale, the most watched TV show of the year to date.

The BBC has nailed the recipe for great TV; Mary Berry’s penchant for frothy peaks and distaste for soggy bottoms, all baked in with some sugary show-stoppers, have made this show a national treasure.  

But baking is one thing, pensions is quite another. A different mix of flavours is required to have any chance of luring audiences with the same relative success as GBBO.  

However, a gruelling year in the pensions industry could help secure record number for the pensions industry's flagship event this week.

Does it involve staying away from home, because the question then arises – who funds that? Is it the individual? The AMNT? Or the board?

David Weeks, AMNT

The agenda has all the key ingredients for a great event, including heavyweight keynote speakers to underline a vast range of expertise and insight from across the industry.

David Weeks, committee member of the Association of Member Nominated Trustees, who professes to be a “big fan” of industry conferences, says events need to tick the following boxes: 

• The keynote – Industry-leading keynote speakers;

• Content –Cutting-edge presentations addressing the latest ideas and thinking;

• Interaction – Provide a forum for interaction and questions with industry experts;

• Experience-sharing – Opportunity for trustees to share ideas and experiences.

Conferences keep trustees up to date on the latest developments across the industry spectrum, says Weeks, who says the AMNT is currently putting a lot of thought into this issue.

For Weeks, conferences offer trustees a useful platform for comparing ideas and offerings.

“The value is in hearing alternative viewpoints from different suppliers of service,” he says. “You get conflicting views – always a good thing to have in parallel with official [trustee] training.”

However, Weeks says conference attendance fees, accommodation and transport costs raise concerns for many trustees.

“Does it involve staying away from home, because the question then arises – who funds that? The individual, the AMNT, or the board?"

Sharing ideas

Alan Herbert, chair of trustees at electronic rental company Box Clever’s scheme, said trustee attendance fees have come down due to increasing competition in the market from bodies offering resources for free.

“Over recent years I’m very pleased to say that conference fees for trustees of pension funds have come down,” says Herbert, adding that trustees often bring ideas from conferences to the board table.

“I think it does stimulate better discussion,” he said.

Sharing ideas and education must be the main drivers for conference presentations, said Chris Roberts, trustee representative at professional trustee company Dalriada, but added that presentations that smack of a sales pitch can be a turn-off.

"When you talk about niche ideas and the speaker would be the one selling the product, there is a very fine line between sales and presentation,” he said, adding that event organisers are primed to prevent the lines being blurred.

“[Speakers] shouldn’t be talking about the benefits without the pitfalls – I want to be seeing both sides of the coin.”