Andrew Harrison talks to Hospitality & Events North magazine to outline the vision for the trade body in 2023 and the importance of effective leadership.
The whirlwind of the past three years, which has seen the events industry swing on a pendulum, has underlined the importance of leadership and the support ESSA provides.
ESSA’s annual conference highlighted the importance of effective leadership where good leaders help create the right environment to facilitate great input, which in turn can lead to resoundingly positive output where the rewards speak for themselves. It all starts with the power of listening.
At ESSA, we have listened to our members’ pain points and have worked hard on further developing our training and education proposition, improving our representation at government level, helping tackle the talent shortage and much more for 2023. Everything we do is centred around our four key pillars simply designed to benefit members.
With the Events Industry Alliance, we continue to Lead & Represent business events at government to ensure better advocacy and recognition.
Additionally, alongside our members, we have conducted extensive research covering all aspects that affect our industry. The result is a report called ‘ESSA’s Asks’ which will serve as our 2023 blueprint to benefit all stakeholder groups.
ESSA Accredited is still the only industry-specific health & safety and sustainability accreditation. We Enable our members to stay on a path of continual improvement so they can lead the way when it comes to raising industry standards.
Collectively, our Community of members are responsible for driving growth and taking the supply chain to new levels. Put simply, more ESSA members equals a better sector with higher standards.
We strive to offer Value to our members in multiple ways, in particular with training and always seek to expand and evolve in this area, starting with certified in-person regional training on sustainability in February followed by D&I training.
With ESSA members at the helm, we have big ambitions to rebuild better and drive industry growth this year.
Article published in the March 2023 issue of Hospitality & Events North magazine.
