Londonโs Olympia was at the epicentre of all things office* just a few short weeks ago, with the award-winning event for executive office support professionals welcoming over four thousand attendees through its doors on 13-14 October.
Boasting a fresh new look for 2015, office* provided the perfect backdrop for the nationโs PAs, EAs, VAs, and office managers to network and share best practices, top up on vital training, research new products and services from 150 exhibitors, and get inspired by over 50 expert speakers.
This yearโs show certainly gave the Twittersphere plenty to talk about and thousands of comments using the #office15, #NationalPAday and #PApower hashtags helped share the office* experience to followers at the show and beyond.
โBusyโ, โfantasticโ, โinsightfulโ, โmotivatingโ, and โfunโ โ are just some of the words attendees have used to describe office* 2015 so far, with nearly 90% of surveyed visitors already planning to return in May 2016, when the show moves to ExCeL London.
โStill processing all the great things Iโve learnt today from some very inspirational speakers. Thank you for a great show,โ tweeted Julie Mann, portfolio support manager & PA at UBM.
โExcellent, inspirational and informative event: good networking, fantastic keynote speakers and seminars, and a good opportunity to meet new suppliers,โ says Jacqueline Kershaw, โassistant to commercial director and commercial team support officer at โHS2 Limited.
โI absolutely love coming to office*. Iโve attended three times now, and enjoyed it every time. Itโs a fabulous one stop shop for all the things that PAs really need to have, and have access to,โ says Teely Webb, EA to Professor Judith Petts, pro vice-chancellor (R&E) at University of Southampton.
โIf youโve never been to office* then youโre missing out. Itโs the perfect opportunity to network and meet likeminded EAs and PAs. The seminars were inspirational and motivational โ I left feeling empowered! It was definitely worth the visit,โ says Sarah Pratt, PA to CEO at Lexia Solutions Group.
PAs, EAs, VAs, secretaries and administrators (68%) are by far the showโs biggest audience, with just over half working at companies which employ 250 staff or more. Attending seminars topped their list of reasons for attending, together with researching products/services, sourcing new suppliers, networking, and attending Keynotes.
โThe energy from this yearโs office* was electric, with 4,020 visitors of the highest calibre converging for two days to develop their business networks and expertise,โ comments Sarah Cooper, office*โs event manager. โThanks to the dynamic mix of engaging and relevant exhibitors, and renowned world-class education programme, office* 2015 has been cited our best edition yet โ so we really couldnโt ask for a better result!โ
One of the showโs key draws has always been its exceptional educational content. Nearly 80% of all visitors took in one or more of the showโs ten free Keynotes, eight free office* Experts Theatre sessions, eight hot topic group discussions, and 32 seminars on offer across the two days.
โCollectively, universally, I canโt think of one executive professional that can succeed without support,โ commented Melba J. Duncan, a former executive assistant and president of the Duncan Group. โItโs a great profession and it takes great people to do this profession,โ she said, calling for assistants to stand up and โacknowledge how great they are in doing what they do.โ
