1. Compliance, Capability and Competence half-the-battle won

2. Nick Milne Company Secretary Conference and Catering Manager

3. ABOUT AIM The industry owned and recognised accreditation scheme. Assesses UK meetings, conference and events venues. Clearly identifies quality and professionalism through a three level system of Entry, Silver and Gold. Demonstrates capability, compliance and decency. At the high levels demonstrates a commitment to service excellence. Offers assurance to meetings and events organisers. we assess for fitness for purpose, professionalism and service excellence

4. AT ENTRY LEVEL a self-assessment process, of which 10% are verified annually, demonstrating: Legality (annual declaration of compliance) Facilities (annual re-assessment) Probity (annual re-assessment) Portfolio of evidence: ready for inspection Complaints: 100% investigated at Entry level you can expect; a good level of facilities, good quality catering and a fit for purpose venue with transparent and realistic pricing

5. AT ENTRY LEVEL PROVE legal compliance ACTS encompassing: health and safety, discrimination, consumer protection, weights and measures, sale and supply of goods, data protection, employers liability, licensing laws. REPORT on the minutia of the venue facilities Meeting space offer; location and access, cleaning and decoration, space and furniture, charges, accessibility 69 reporting criteria; carefully weighted to enable the grading system to assess a venue for eligibility for the standard. COMMIT to a strict code of practice to prove that as a venue operator they are Consistent, Open, Decent and Ethical. we ask venues to jump through a lot of hoops before awarding them AIM

6. at Silver level you can expect; catering of a very good quality, efficient & helpful staff, a transparent and realistic price reflective of the quality of the venue and service AT SILVER LEVEL Visited by professional assessors. Assessed for evidenced service delivery. Assessed for customer environment. Identifying centres of excellence. Renewable every third year. Annual Entry level renewal and declaration of compliance. Criteria met and deployed.

7. at Gold level you can expect; exceptional catering using the highest quality ingredients and equipment, efficient staff with an eye for detail and transparent and realistic pricing reflective of the quality of the venue and service AT GOLD LEVEL Visited by professional assessors. Assessed for evidenced service delivery. Assessed for customer environment. Identifying centres of excellence. Renewable every third year. Annual Entry level renewal and declaration of compliance. Criteria met, deployed and obvious results.

8. AT SILVER & GOLD LEVELS The venue is examined by independent assessors who are experts at identifying centres of excellence. Facilities. Business planning Resources including food. Understanding Customer needs. The customer environment. Booking information and procedures. Pricing and payment procedures. Service delivery. Staff recruitment and training. Service recovery. Continuous improvement.. a considerably higher hoop for AIM Silver and Gold

9. Protecting the efficacy of the standard is key to its success PROTECTING THE EFFICACY FOR YOU Entry level is renewed annually by all venues. Silver and Gold levels are renewed every three years. All venues renew their legal compliance annually. Independent consultants assess the standard every six months for legal appropriateness and fitness for purpose. All complaints made against an accredited venue are investigated using a published complaints procedure. If a venue fails to meet the requirements of AIM they are forbidden from using the AIM brand. protecting the efficacy of the standard is key to its success

10. SO, WHAT DOES AIM REALLY MEAN FOR YOU? how does it work for me?

11. It means knowing every element of the venues costs in advance. Which could be the difference between making budget and breaking budget. straightforward budgeting with no surprises

12. It means doing business with credible, legally compliant venues and ticking all of the procurement boxes. legally compliant; procurement boxes ticked

13. It means industry approved contracts and terms and conditions in a straight forward format with no small print so you don't have to work your way through a whole heap of paperwork. industry approved contracts and terms and conditions

14. It means doing business with venue professionals that really care about your business. professionals that really care

15. It means events and meetings where you know your delegates are looked after and where your event will be rated at its very best. your organisation at its best

16. It means stress free venue selection. Because AIM has done all of the worrying and checking for you. venue selection made easy

17. FIND ACCREDITED VENUES Ask your booking agent. Visit www.aimaccredited.co.uk. Read Meeting Makers. Use the My-Venues search facility Use Venuefinder.com. Use VenueDirectory.com. Use ChooseYourEvent.co.uk. Ask the conference office in your chosen destination. Search Google for AIM accredited venues Always ask a venue to prove they are accredited. just ask for AIM

18. Want more information? AIM booklet Telephone 0845 230 5508

19. Nick Milne Company Secretary Conference and Catering Manager

20. Compliance, Capability and Competence half-the-battle won