6 Tips to consider when Organizing your Event Staff
Make sure everyone knows where they have to be and at what time. Account for people being late, or not showing up the day of and be sure to tell the staff exactly where they have to be in the building.
Pretend these schedules are going to elementary school children, and go above and beyond with the instructions so that nothing is misunderstood. Events are typically chaotic, so eliminating any room for misunderstandings about scheduling will help the day of the event run more smoothly.
Learn about state-specific labor laws. Since events are usually very long days of work, some events will require that you pay overtime or get special signatures and permissions for those who are under 18.
Communicate constantly
Create a group text, chat, or email thread that everyone has access to. Consider implementing more than one due to the risk of failure such as email deliverability. Also, create a phone tree in case major announcements need to be made. These two things will ensure the staff has no excuses for missing information.
Constant communication allows for less room for interpretation. Because events are detail-oriented, one slip up can cause a domino effect. Even if you feel as though you’re bothering the event staff, keep communicating. Making use of project management tools can help your team identify their job responsibilities and progress on goals. The more clear and concise information everyone has, the smoother the event will go.
Hold an onboarding meeting
People often skim emails or texts, so hold an onboarding meeting and go through some form of a dress rehearsal. This is the meeting where you should discuss what they should wear, including closed-toe shoes and if dealing with food, hair pulled back.
If possible, this meeting should be held at the event space itself so that people can learn how to get there before the day of the event.
Then, give a presentation about etiquette, roles, and responsibilities on the day of the event. From there, have people go to their stations and do a quick run-through of the event.
At the end of the meeting, give people a one-sheeter of things they must remember the day of the event. Include their specific shift time on this document.
Make sure people are in the right positions
Determine a team lead, or many team leads so that you can delegate some of the management to them. These team leads should be experienced event staff with a more intensive knowledge of the event details. They will be held accountable for the team member’s performance.
From there be sure when hiring event staff that you are placing people where they are comfortable. Even if you are short-staffed, putting someone in an unfamiliar role can cause a plethora of issues.
Placing people in the correct positions will help you focus on the bigger picture.
Use automated platforms
If it’s in the budget, consider using event planning software. Event planning software helps manage everything from developing a schedule to employee resource allocation.
Using this type of software will help make the event planning process more seamless while keeping all of the details in one place rather than scattered throughout your email inbox.
Maybe you only organize a couple of events per year and investing in dedicated all-in-one event management software is not on the horizon yet. In this case a rocking project management software such as Monday.com is your best friend.
Hold a wrap up meeting
Even though events consist of a very long day for most people, holding a meeting after the event is a good way to gain insights about how the event went overall.
If it’s a larger event, you will not know about every single hiccup, but it is important to know so that you are not caught off guard when your client comes back and tells you about a certain situation.
Lastly, thank the event staff for putting in all of the hard work to make the event a success. Without your event staff, there would be nothing. Their cooperation and attention to detail are what can turn a good event into a great one.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best
With these six tips for organizing event staff, you can feel more at ease about your event, party, or conference going smoothly.