The new year had got off to a good start for Mr Dylan Sharma. His wife was expecting their first child and his event management company was set to repeat its strong showing of 2019.Each day brought more bad news of a mysterious viral plague, sending jitters around the globe that trickled down to Tricom Events, which he had set up in 2006 with a business partner, Ms Janice Swee.
The bottom fell out But just as their 20-strong team was gearing up for the peak season that hits full swing from April, the bottom fell out of their world. Borders began closing and screws were progressively tightened to limit physical interaction and curb the virus spread in Singapore. The sector is a key player in Singapore’s tourism industry. Last year, it contributed $3.8 billion in value-add to the economy, or nearly 1 per cent of the GDP, and supported more than 34,000 jobs. But with demand cratering almost overnight, it was one of the first industries to be hit — and will be among the last to recover.
From April to June, all the staff took a few days of no-pay leave each month, effectively working a four-day week. They reverted to a five-day week in July but with tiered pay cuts, ranging from 20 per cent for junior staff to 50 per cent for Mr Sharma and Ms Swee. Training was on the fly. Everyone was playing catch-up. We are all still learning. Ms Janice Swee, 41, Co-founder, Tricom Events “Training was on the fly,” Ms Swee recalled. “Everyone was playing catch-up. We are all still learning.”
Driving the hybrid model The Singapore International Energy Week 2020 was the first pilot Mice event, hosting up to 250 attendees on site, under the Singapore Tourism Board’s Safe Business Events Framework. Tricom Events, which had long pencilled in the event for October, quickly adapted training for a hybrid event, studying the logistics, technologies and potential pitfalls of staging a physical event with a virtual component running in parallel.
The team emerged from the baptism of fire with precious takeaways. For one thing, they found there was far less wiggle room in a hybrid format, which is in essence running two events at the same time. Plus, extra variables thrown up by the digital segment meant having to ensure scheduled speakers dialled in on time, and constantly checking on technical aspects such as the connection and audio quality.
Mr Tim Rockell, who chairs the Energy & Utilities Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, believes the country can lead the way in the new model. A trusted host city and wired business hub, Singapore has demonstrated its medtech capabilities, such as rapid testing, and boasts the broadband infrastructure needed to run a successful digital segment in tandem.