Has speaker onboarding just got a lot harder?

I was chatting with a client recently about speaker onboarding, the process that begins once you’ve secured a speaker or facilitator for your conference. It raised an interesting question: has speaker onboarding become significantly harder over the last few years?

On the face of it, the process hasn’t really changed.

As organisers, we still need the same core information to deliver a successful event.

We need session submissions to build the programme.

We need biographies, photographs and session descriptions so we can market the event effectively.

We need details about timings, room layouts, technology and equipment requirements so we can plan the delegate experience.

And, ultimately, we need presentation slides or other resources before the event so our production teams can prepare.

So why does it often feel like getting this information has become more difficult?

Part of it is simply that speakers are busier than ever. Their inboxes are overflowing, they are travelling more, and speaking engagements are often just one small part of much larger roles. Our requests inevitably compete with hundreds of other priorities. Also, even non-marketing emails are getting trapped in corporate spam filters. Without doubt it’s becoming harder to fulfil good communication with this group.

But I also wonder whether the rise of AI has unintentionally changed behaviour. It has become incredibly easy to produce a session description, biography or even a presentation at the last minute. That may reduce the perceived urgency of responding to organisers early because, in the speaker’s mind, the content can always be generated tomorrow.

The problem is that while creating content has become easier, organising conferences certainly hasn’t. Every late biography delays marketing. Every missing session description creates gaps in the programme. Every unanswered technical question introduces risk for the production team. And every presentation that arrives five minutes before someone walks on stage increases the chances of something going wrong.

The irony is that great speaker onboarding has never been more important. Conferences are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Delegates expect slick production, personalised programmes, hybrid delivery, accessible content and seamless technology. None of those things happen by accident.

So how do we solve this issue?

As organisers, we probably need to rethink how we onboard speakers. Rather than relying on a long series of reminder emails, perhaps we should make the process simpler, break requests into smaller milestones, automate where we can, and explain why we’re asking for information when we do. If speakers understand that an early session description helps attract delegates, or that receiving slides 48 hours early allows accessibility checks and production testing, they’re often much more willing to engage.

Perhaps we can also consider how we can use technology better to help with onboarding. Can we use other communication channels, such as WhatsApp, for onboarding? Can we use AI to generate the session descriptions and bios for their approval? Can we even reuse last year’s picture?

Good speaker onboarding isn’t just administration. It’s the foundation of a well-run conference. And perhaps that’s the biggest lesson. The information we need hasn’t changed. The world around our speakers has. It’s up to us to adapt our processes accordingly.