Event Bookings and Cancellations policy

This page outlines the guidelines regarding booking and cancelling from an in-person Helm event.  

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1. Bookings Policy

Depending on your membership type, we welcome you to book into any events that are suitable and relevant for you and your business.  

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When booking an in-person event, please follow the below guidance:  

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• We kindly ask you to only book into events that you are sure you will be able to attend. Last-minute cancellations have an adverse effect on the quality and value of the event, and it also means you are preventing another member from attending.  
• If you book into an event, the expectation is for you to attend. We understand that emergencies do arise, but we strongly recommend that if something does come up you contact the Events Team as soon as possible (see section 2 for further details).  
• If you book multiple events in advance, please ensure all events are relevant for you and you can commit to attending the events. We want to ensure that members attending events are the right fit to make them as valuable as possible.

• Members agree to be mindful of the availability and quantity of events they are booking and support fair usage.  As a guideline, we encourage you to book no more than 2 events in an 8-week period.  

1a. Forum Attendance

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As a forum member it is compulsory to attend all Forum sessions. This is to ensure you get the most value from being a Forum member and to respect the time commitments of your fellow Forum members.  

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Forum members must adhere to the following guidelines:

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• All Forum sessions including Forum Retreats are compulsory.  
• If an emergency does arise which prevents you from attending, please inform the forum chair and the Membership Team immediately.  
• If you cancel a Forum retreat, please be aware that the cost of the retreat is non-refundable.
• We understand that you might need to miss one session due to an emergency but cancelling 2 sessions in a year will be taken seriously. Your Forum chair will be in touch to discuss this further with you.  

2. Cancellations Guidance

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The Helm Team spends a great deal of time and effort on carefully curating the events, which includes the selection of event topics, the curation of members and the choice of speakers/hosts to provide a varied event offering.    

Cancelling diminishes the value of the event to your fellow Helm members and means that another member might miss out if you cancel, especially at the last minute.  

If you are unsure whether you can commit to attending due to personal or work commitments, then we ask you not to book a ticket.  

We do understand that emergencies can arise, so we ask that in these instances you give as much notice as possible (at least 72 hours) by emailing the Events Team with the reason why you are unable to attend. The longer the notice period, the higher the chance your spot will go un-filled and another member will miss out on the event.  

3. Repeat cancellations

Repeatedly cancelling from an event will be taken seriously. This is due to the negative impact it has on the quality of the event and on your fellow Helm members. There is also a time and cost impact from Helm whenever we put on any in-person events.

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3a. What happens if you need to cancel an in-person event

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We fully understand that there will be rare occasions when an emergency arises (serious illness, family death, etc.) which is outside of your control, meaning you are unable to attend an event. In these instances, we ask that you contact the Events Team as soon as possible providing the reason that you are unable to attend (this is so we can let the host and the other guests know).

3b. Two strike rule:

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Whilst we appreciate emergencies do arise, it is unlikely to happen often. To avoid diminishing the value of the event and adversely affecting the other members who have taken the time to attend the event we have implemented a ‘two strike’ rule. This will kick off from the date of your first cancellation and run until the end of the year.  

• If a Helm member cancels from an in-person event without a non-emergency reason, they will be given a written warning in the first instance.  
• If a Helm member cancels a second time for an in-person event after being given a written warning, they will incur their first strike.  
• If a Helm member cancels a third time, they will incur their second strike.

• If a Helm member gets two strikes, they will be contacted by our team and invited for a call to discuss. This may result in restrictions on booking future events, or it may be decided that the club is not right for you at this time.

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3c. No-shows:

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We take no-shows very seriously. If a Helm member fails to show up for an event and has not contacted the Events Team or contacts the Events team once the event has already started, they will be given their first strike straightaway.  

Any questions please contact the Events Team.  

FAQS

What happens if I need to cancel from a digital event?

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There are no charges for cancelling a digital event, but please be mindful that cancelling has a negative impact on the event and the value other Club members receive from it. For some digital discussions we keep the group size small to encourage better discussion and give all members a chance to share. Dropping out or not turning up can have a negative impact on event quality for fellow members.  

If you do have to cancel, please email eventmanager@helmclub.co as early as possible.

Can I send a substitute in my place if I am unable to attend an event?

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Most of our in-person events are members only, with members wanting to share experiences with fellow founders. But some events, such as certain digital events and in-person workshops, are open to members and their senior team.  

You may send a substitute Helm member to the event, but please inform us as soon as possible by emailing eventmanager@helmclub.co.  

For some events (digital and workshops) you may be allowed to send a member of your senior team in your place if you are unable to attend. All requests for substitutions must be received via email at least 48 hours before the event with the name, job title and contact email for the replacement attendee.  

What happens if Helm cancels or changes an event?

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We will always try to deliver the event as promoted, however circumstances can arise such as train strikes or low sign-up numbers which might mean we have to reschedule or even cancel an event. In this instance, we will inform all registered members via email as soon as possible.  

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