Are we leaving out the modern meeting planner?

One of the most underutilized resources: fearless, modern meeting planners

As the hospitality industry grows in popularity, young professionals are entering a career full of traditional processes and technology. And it's making them go stir crazy.

You've seen it before. The bright-eyed entry level employee with a binder full of notes, mind full of questions and heart full of hope and quietly think to yourself, "That enthusiasm won't last long."

But real talk here: can it be our obligation to ensure it does? Some of the most creative ideas come from those who see no logical boundaries. Some of the biggest risks are taken by those who haven't failed before. That millennials are joining the meeting planning industry is a positive sign for our future (and an incredible asset to acknowledge).

As we adapt to new technology and trends, it's a critical time to embrace the gap between experienced veterans and imaginative newbies. Diversity in the work place enables us to accomplish our various and ever-changing list of meeting objectives. (For example, it's invaluable that modern meeting planners know what millennial attendees want and need, a topic we'll touch on in the near future).

Here's what we've been doing lately to nurture this the resource:

Acknowledge their worth: We've invested in San Diego State's Hospitality Program in several ways to ensure we are nurturing the evolution of our industry. Through affiliations like PCMA's Student Chapter we go out of our way to provide mentoring opportunities that lead to work experience, and are even funding a voluntourism scholarship to Fiji for one lucky student.

Listen to their ideas: Sure, not all fresh ideas are solid, but we encourage and empower even our youngest professionals to become visionaries. When we take their thoughts seriously, they'll take the thoughts of others seriously, including industry leaders, competition and clients.

Give them ownership: From the get-go, it's important that there's one project for them to take full responsibility for. Whether it is researching and implementing a new technology or their first small program, it's crucial to be able to take pride in something. At the end of the day, this ensures even the smallest projects get someone's full heart- keeping our services relevant and our customers loyal.

Tell us, what have you found to be successful on the topic of nurturing young meeting professionals?