Are Third-Party Planners Stealing Your Job?

Many association planners are quick to pin the blame for industry layoffs on third-party planning companies who tempt their organizations to shed salaried employees in favor of less expensive external planners. But Bruce Harris, who heads up the Cleveland-based independent meeting planning firm Conferon, says it just ain’t so. Conferon may be picking up a hundred new clients this year, the majority of which are associations, but "We’re not replacing their planner—we’re working for their