Hiring an Event Team: Finding the People Who Make Events Run Perfectly

• Updated on: 2019-06-16
• Read original article here

Pulling off a successful event is a team effort – it’s impossible to do it all alone. By surrounding yourself with a team of professionals that have demonstrated their knowledge and expertise, you are helping to ensure the success of your event. Let’s take a look at what it takes to put together a great team.

Any kind of event is made up of several teams of people, led by those known as key players. The planner/director is the head, as they are the person who is running the show from start to finish. From there, the production team is responsible for putting everything together on the day of the event- from décor to design, they are the wheels that keep everything moving. The head of catering is in charge of food and drink for all guests. Lastly, a logistics manager runs the team of lighting techs, transportation coordinators, security guards, and the like.

We keep many of the key players in house, but we do like to outsource local suppliers as needed. For anyone that is hired, we are sure to do a test before giving them the green light. Depending upon their expertise, we will have them show us a trial setup, lighting test, or sound test.

The importance of good communication when planning an event cannot be stressed enough. People will be spread out all through the event, so having a system set in place that everyone is familiar and comfortable with is key. Our team relies heavily on Skype and phone calls to reach one another, since we find that emails and SMS messages can be easily forgotten or misconstrued. However, every team works differently and you have to figure out what works best for you.

Communication should be happening often during the months of planning – once a week is a good place to start. In the final weeks before the event, it should become more frequent, even daily. This keeps everyone up-to-date on any changes and holds each person accountable for their contribution to the final event.

Lights, camera, action! Depending on the size and complexity of the event, setup should have begun at least 24 hours before the event’s listed start time, if not more. With everyone in place, start by holding a team meeting with everyone– from the caterer to the setup crew to the restroom staff, everyone needs to be involved. Discuss final details of the event and ensure everyone is set to go and knows what they are doing. Add a pep talk as well to get everyone excited for the day(s) ahead. Set your communication plan in motion and be ready for anything that may need immediate attention, and trust that everyone is doing their job.

Once the event is over (and a success!), it’s always a good idea to have a postmortem meeting with the key players that were involved. Discuss the things that you thought went smoothly, as well as things that you thought could have gone better. Make sure to get their feedback as well so you have everyone’s perspective. This is a good rule of thumb for any event as it identifies ways to improve in the future, as well as highlighting your strengths.

These are just a few of the key tips you need to know to put together your dream event team. If you take nothing else away from this, remember that the most important part of a successful event comes down to good communication- it can’t be reiterated enough.

How do you piece together your own event A-team? Let us know on Twitter @socialtables and on Facebook.