Back in July, we celebrated the 12th Birthday of Delegant, highlighting how we’ve grown each year since the company began back in 2011. As part of our celebrations, the team took the time to reflect on their greatest personal and joint achievements from throughout the past 12 years.
Join us as we take a trip down memory lane, from first events to back-to-back events, growing through COVID to transforming conference spaces, to everything in between, and discover the journey that brought us each of these achievements.
Achievement #1: Not only a first conference in a different country, but a first time in different country
Back in March 2023, our Digital Marketing Executive Beth joined the team for an Annual Conference we were running in Barcelona, marking her first ever international trip. Beth shares why this was such a memorable achievement for her:
“My greatest achievement at Delegant was going to Barcelona this year for a conference we were running, especially since this was my first ever flight. It was something that seemed scary at first but turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It was great to experience their culture, take in the sights and be involved in a fantastic conference for over 370 delegates. It’s a trip I’ll always remember.”
“One of our greatest achievements was to not just navigate the pandemic, but to thrive during it.”
Achievement #2: When the world came to a stop during COVID, Delegant certainly didn’t
Our Technical Director Adrian takes us back to 2020 and 2021 during the heights of the COVID pandemic for his achievement. Adrian reflects on how the company was continuing to grow through these times, and how we adapted to suit the change in needs of our customers:
“One of our greatest achievements was to not just navigate the pandemic, but to thrive during it. We’d always built Delegant based on one of the first rules you learn in business – don’t just sell ice-creams, instead sell ice-creams and umbrellas. Yes, we run big in-person events, and a stop was put to those during COVID, but we also provide full-service management for a wide range of membership associations. What did we do? We moved to organising the events in a virtual world, and we found the members of the associations needed more support than ever. So much so that we took on more customers and had to recruit more team members. As a result, we came out of the pandemic bigger and better than we started it.”
Achievement #3: First and favourite event
Laura, our Finance Manager, takes us back to 2016, where she attended her first event with Delegant in Zurich. This was a special event for Laura, and she tells us why:
“My personal achievement at Delegant will always be my very first event with the team, a Clinical Trial Investigator Meeting in Zurich. One of the moments that stands out for me was watching the interpreters work. We had 150 delegates in attendance from 12 different countries, so this event was translated into 4 languages simultaneously. As well as being my first experience of events, it was also my favourite.”
Achievement #4: From working hard, to letting our hair down
In 12 years Delegant has achieved so much, and only picking 12 achievements between us has been a challenge. Our Managing Director Angie tells us about how hard the team works, as part of her achievement:
“When asked to choose achievements from the last 12 years of Delegant, it is a tough choice as there have been so many. Whilst we work incredibly hard to deliver memorable events that are organised professionally and seamlessly, we sometimes like to let our hair down and have some fun. Life would be boring otherwise.”
Achievement #5: Overcoming the challenges of starting a new role during COVID
Joining a new team during the COVID pandemic brought a range of new challenges to many people. Dominique, our Meetings & Membership Coordinator, shares how this became a personal achievement for her:
“The personal achievement that stands out for me is starting work with Delegant, as I joined the team at the start of the first national Covid lockdown. Starting a new job from home was a very strange experience, that’s for sure. Working from my kitchen, learning new systems via Zoom, I hadn’t even met the team I was liaising with daily. Every day would bring a new training session via zoom and I steadily began to learn more and more, allowing me to work independently as the time went on. The support from my management was incredible, always at the end of a phone, email or message to answer my questions. We had regular calls allowing me to get to know the team and to keep up morale. When the rules allowed, going into a new office with new people made it feel like it was my first day all over again. Starting and learning a new role virtually was tough, but it sharpened up my communication skills and made me appreciate the support and kindness of colleagues, even if they were miles away.”
“We started working with them in 2017, and we’ve worked with them to turn things around completely.”
Achievement #6: Delegant likes a challenge
Making a difference to the companies we work with, is a priority for what we do at Delegant. For this next achievement, Adrian takes us through the work we’ve done for a membership association and the results this has created:
“In 2017 we were asked to provide a proposal to take over the management of a not-for-profit membership association. Their financial reserves were rapidly disappearing, they were loss making and the numbers across the board did not look good. We started working with them in 2017, and we’ve worked with them to turn things around completely. Membership numbers are booming, their offering has broadened geographically, their annual conference is growing at an incredible rate, their social media presence is sector leading, and their financial reserves are growing. We’ve done this for several struggling membership associations, but this one is one of my favourite achievements over the last 12 years. We’ve also made some fantastic friends through working with this group.”
Achievement #7: Running two events back-to-back
During May 2023, Kate, our Meetings & Membership Coordinator, joined the team at two back-to-back events in less than a week for the very first time. Kate tells us why this particular week was such a huge achievement for her:
“My personal achievement at Delegant is working with the team to deliver two events back-to-back in less than a week. During the week I was away from home and juggling working two events in a job and career I love, but also juggling being a mum and wife and managing things at home too. Both events went so well and being a part of one of Delegant’s biggest events in their 12-year history is a massive achievement for me. Before joining the team, I had been out of the events industry for over 10 years, and it was certainly noticeable that doing events in your 20’s and 30’s is different to your 40’s. But the success of the events is something I’m so proud of.”
“Seeing the results of our work is always an amazing feeling.”
Achievement #8: Getting the results for our efforts
For the next achievement, Beth takes us back to March 2022 and her first event with the team. From working with a photographer, to delivering live event social media and seeing the results, Beth shares why this event was so special to her:
“One of my favourite things at Delegant is getting to join the team at the events we run, to deliver live social media for our clients and work with a fantastic photographer and videographer. My first event at Delegant, back in March 2022, will always be a standout for me. It was my first opportunity to deliver any kind of live event social media and work closely with a photographer. We had to plan and develop a system for how we worked, to ensure that we captured every moment of the event whilst finding time to get the photos uploaded and ready to share. We found our system pretty quickly and were able to work seamlessly together throughout the event to deliver for our customer. We’ve continued this teamwork for further events, and even worked to incorporate video into our live social media at recent ones. Seeing the results of our work is always an amazing feeling.”
Achievement #9: Growing events
As a team, we find it extremely rewarding to see the events we organise grow year-on-year here at Delegant. This next achievement is a joint one from everyone:
“One of the greatest achievements for the team at Delegant is growing the events for our clients year in, year out. We organise a variety of events for several different associations, each with their own goals and objectives, and it’s so rewarding to see how these have grown over recent years. We saw significant increases at events this year, including an annual conference in Barcelona where attendee numbers increased by 64% in comparison to 2022, and an annual conference in Newcastle which saw 600 delegates previously increase to 850+. The dedication and hard work of our team contributes to the growth and creates the success of each event that we run.”
Achievement #10: Design makes all the difference
From programmes to backdrops, light boxes to table talkers, delegate bags to websites, and everything in between, Delegant provides a range of graphic design services for our clients. For this achievement, our Creative Manager Tracey shares about the different work she produces and the impact it has:
“One of my greatest achievements at Delegant is watching my designs come to life at the events we run and online. From transforming conference spaces for over 850 attendees, to seeing my work featured on websites and social media for audiences across the globe, I take immense pride in the impact of my work.”
“The hard work of our team contributes to the growth of these associations and helps ensures their members have their needs met.”
Achievement #11: Growing associations
As a team we support several different associations daily, from bookkeeping to graphic design, secretariat support to marketing, event organisation to training, and everything in between. In this collective achievement from the team, we share some of our highlights from our work with associations:
“One of the greatest achievements for the team at Delegant is being able to see the associations that we support, grow year on year. A few of our highlights include tripled the membership of a global membership association in 6 years, increased annual conference attendance for a UK based not-for-profit association by 100% in 5 years, increased conference sponsorship revenue for a global healthcare-related association by more than 10 times in 5 years, and organically added more than 10,000 LinkedIn followers to a not-for-profit association’s social media page. The hard work of our team contributes to the growth of these associations and helps ensures their members’ needs are met.”
Achievement #12: The Team
Last but certainly not least, we have our twelfth achievement. For this one, Angie shares the one achievement of Delegant that makes the rest of this list possible:
“We’ve shared a lot of different achievements in our celebrations, from growing events, thriving through the pandemic, growing associations and more, but there is one achievement that makes this all possible. The Team. In the world of event and association management, the team’s dedication, innovation, and commitment has shaped our journey at Delegant, and made a significant impact to all the organisations that we work with. Together we create professional and memorable events and deliver services that enriches the experiences of many individuals and organisations. As a team, we were so excited in February 2022 when Delegant was announced as a Theo Paphitis #SBS (Small Business Sunday) Winner. As a small business, it was amazing for our hard work to be recognised in this way.”
We want to take the time to say thank you to the different organisations that we get to work with each day, as we now look ahead to the next 12 years of Delegant – which promise to be even more exciting than the first 12.
Get in touch today to see how Delegant can support your event and association management.
