In June the Russian Convention Bureau and the Russian Committee for Quality signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The goal of this interaction is to improve the quality of services provided within the framework of the national meetings industry, exhibition and fairs and congress activities, as well help create a system for effective appraisal of the quality of services provided by members of the RCB.
One of the steps to implement the agreement was inclusion of RCB staff in the list of experts of the Russian Committee for Quality. RCB members — Yulia Mikhaleva, Head of the Department for interaction with partners and state bodies, and Sagid Zaremukov, Head of the Department for industry cooperation, have completed the necessary training and joined the work of specialists who assess the companies nominated to the Russian Government’s Quality Prize. «Annually we see a growing number of candidates to receive the nation’s highest award in the sphere of quality. The geography of the prize and the number of spheres in which it is awarded is growing, too. Therefore, it is very important for us to increase the level of expertise and attract professionals from new spheres. I am sure that high qualification and priceless experience of experts representing the Russian Convention Bureau will allow them to become real ambassadors of the Russian Government’s Quality Prize and develop best practices of management in the event industry,» Head of the Russian Committee for Quality Maksim Protasov said.
The Russian Government’s Prize for Quality was established by order of the Government of the Russian Federation on April 12, 1996, No. 423. It is awarded annually in a contest of applicants who achieved significant strides in quality of their products and services, as well as introduced highly effective methods of quality management. Prizes in the sphere of quality serve as effective instruments in influencing businesses that make continuous improvement of quality of their products and services one of the main goals for their development.
Since 2004 a total of 130 companies won the prize. And although formation of service standards and introduction of the quality system in the event industry is just starting, such major market players as JSC Expocentre and PJSC World Trade Center won the Russian Government’s Quality Prize in 2008 and 2011 respectively (data from https://roskachestvo.gov.ru/).
Aleksey Kalachev, Director of the Russian Convention Bureau, said: «The issue of introducing quality standards in the event sphere have always taken an important part in the agenda of the RCB. Provision of high-quality services will help us attract new customers, and therefore open new business opportunities. Expert activities within this contest will help us add to the importance we give to this topic. We are hopeful that companies’ members of the Russian Convention Bureau will start using the modern methods and instruments of management that will allow them to become laureates of the Prize and earn the reputation of leaders in their industry.»
