SUMMER EDITION 2007 - Faculty of Business and Law - Victoria ...

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SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY, TOURISM & MARKETING evaluating Evaluating for an encore With the increasing numbers of festivals and events across various locations, consumers are becoming more discerning as to what they expect. The increased expectations highlight the fact that it is critical for festivals and events to be evaluated for sustainability. In 2005, as part of a Sustainable Tourism CRC research project, Prof Leo Jago of Victoria University developed the Encore software program to assist event organisers to better evaluate their events. Future employers will benefit from the knowledge and handson experience that these students will bring to their company, which will ultimately flow on to enhance the professionalism of the overall industry. The software enables organisers and sponsors to assess the magnitude of new funds that are attracted to the host region or state as a result of a festival or event, which means the economic evaluation is consistent, allowing for comparisons between events. Encore is very user-friendly, and was developed so that it can be used by people who have not received specific training or don’t have a background in event evaluation. Students studying the subject Meetings, Conventions and Events have been using Encore as part of their major assignment. Staff lecturing in this subject were given inhouse training by Leo so that they could then use the program as part of their teaching. The assignment requires students to prepare a business plan for an event of 10,000 attendees. Some of the events the students have planned have included a German-style Christmas market at Falls Creek, a Kick It with the Socceroos family event, an international comedy conference and a charity university ball. To evaluate the success of their hypothetical event students must prepare a questionnaire for the attendees, which is where Encore is particularly helpful. In this scenario students are not using the program to its complete capability however they do have a lecture and a tutorial on the kit and receive detailed explanations on how the Encore program can be used. A new version of Encore, with improved flexibility in the questionnaire, data entry and reporting modules, was recently released. The new version is being distributed world wide by the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA); this means VU students are at the cutting edge of event evaluation. For more information on Encore, go to www.crctourism.com.au/ CRCBookshop. Components of Encore Encore has four key modules: Demographics, Economics, Marketing, and Additional. These modules allow users to profile event attendees, assess marketing performance and measure the direct in-scope expenditure in the region and state as a result of an event. Encore can produce up to three separate questionnaires to cover attendees, competitors or performers, and exhibitors. Encore includes its own survey instrument to collect data from event attendees which may also be collected via PDAs. Additionally, Encore allows users to select from a variety of pre-prepared questions. Most questions can be modified and additional questions may be added as required. Encore provides a reporting tool that presents results for each question in both tabular and graphical forms, which can be printed as a report, or copied into company reports. It is set up for international markets so that events in different countries using different currencies can be evaluated. VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY, TOURISM & MARKETING Heading up tafe Degrees spoke with Nic Beredimas, the new Head at Victoria University TAFE’s Hospitality and Tourism Department. Degrees: You’ve been on the School of Hospitality, Tourism & Marketing’s Program Advisory Committee for a long time in an advisory capacity, and now you’re an academic within the university structure. What are the things you’re learning now that you didn’t realise Nic Beredimas: The fantastic diversity of the uni, and that it is important to work with others both inside and outside VU. And how important it is to treat them like a customer - if you don’t, then you treat people as though you are doing them a favour and this doesn’t build good, long term relationships. D: What made you enter the hospitality and tourism profession NB: I’d worked in kitchens for a while and I wanted to do more, so I undertook a hospitality course. I was a trainee manager for a hotel group in Adelaide in South Australia and worked my way up to Venue Manager. But then I went on holiday and stayed away three years… I’d recommend that to anyone young, because you need to get that sort of thing out of your system to have a real career. D: What did you do after your three year ‘sabbatical’ NB: I came back to Melbourne and worked at the famous Florentino restaurant, and the Tramcar restaurant in hospitality and front of house. That sort of role can teach you so much about people. When Florentino was sold I was in limbo, and I worked as a casual skills trainer for Tourism Training Victoria because I had five star restaurant skills, teaching food and beverage skills to the long term unemployed. I was working with some very damaged people: people who had self-esteem issues, drug problems, abuse problems, and my role was to help them get the training they needed to find a job. And I did; everyone who wanted a job got one! It was fantastic. D: But then you went back to study. Why NB: I wanted some formal education and training skills, so I enrolled in a postgraduate course at VU. But I also worked for Delaware North AVS as National Training and Development Manager, which is where I learned about big business and how to deal with many different projects and teams, mostly on remote control. Nic Beredimas with his children Isabella and James D: You ran your own consultancy for a long time. How did that happen NB: After Delaware North I joined Sodexho as Learning and Development Manager, where I looked after the southern regions, including New Zealand. I secured funding for the Front Line Management trial project, but business got very tough and my position became redundant, so I set up my own business as a consultant, which I ran for nine years. It’s still going strong now, under its new management. D: Today you’re head of the TAFE Hospitality and Tourism Department at VU. What does the role entail NB: Too many meetings and not enough time to do real work! When I say real work I mean income-producing. It’s a very administrative role that could do with some tweaking to allow me to get out there and promote to industry and develop networks on a more regular basis. Budgets are very important as it is a fair sized department and we have two restaurants and bars and all the stock and equipment as well. Phew! D: What advice would you give to prospective students – those who are thinking of getting into the industry NB: Have a great attitude to people, and as with any industry, be prepared to start at the bottom. Learn the ropes and how to do things, but never, ever forget that the key as I see it, is knowing how to deal with and understand others: people are the greatest strength as well as potentially the greatest weakness for any business. D: Who do you think has most influenced you in your career choice NB: My mum, who brought me up alone as a widow. My wife of 20 years who has supported me the entire way (as well as my kids James and Isabella). And an ex-teacher and mentor of mine, Karon Hepner, previously from RMIT, now Group HR Manager for Compass, who taught me that if you want to get ahead, focus, work hard and believe in yourself and your abilities. D: On a personal level, what sort of hobbies do you have NB: The kids and I love footy so we go during the season, supporting my kids’ activities and interests, relaxing in our swim spa, bike riding and COOKING – that’s right – I am still very handy with a spatula and rolling pin (in the kitchen that is) and I tend to take over other people’s barbecues when I visit, because meat should never be cooked on a roaring, firespitting barbecue! When I see that happening, and if they’re wearing a ‘kiss the cook’ apron and ask me how I like my meat cooked, I reply ‘cooking it myself thanks!’ VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
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