Forget about your partners: 5 tips for successful event planning
By Neil Rosenbaum
1. Gratitude is great!
Letting your partners know how much you appreciate them still goes along way. Even more, don’t be afraid to let your partners know when you need them and when they are making you proud. I’ve been at countless events where a little earnest praise to security staff and porters has made measurable differences in the events end results. JC Penny was known for saying “Every great business is built on friendship.” These seven words say it all when it comes to your event partners.
2. Food For Thought
It might sound insignificant but the key to any good event crew is keeping the fuel tank full. Meals are a key element for crews and event staff. Whenever possible, make arrangements to feed your crew, staff and partners. Offering a meal and keeping everyone on-site means a better and more productive team. For added points, start every load-in with coffee and snacks.
3. Love Your Labor
I hear talk all the time about good labor, bad labor, union labor and non-union. Forget that these options are “labor”; shift your paradigm. Your partners are the only labels to use and without them the entire event could crumble. Today union labor is highly specialized and executes with great precision. While the up-front cost may be slightly higher the intangible cost savings of having your event setup correctly, faster and with smaller crews is an easy price to pay. Treating your labor like a partner will help produce a successful event in the least amount of time that is safely possible. So go on and spread the love.
4. Information Age
Keep everyone up to date. Use online file sharing like DropBox or Google docs to make sure everyone has access to the same updated event information. Never be afraid to over share information. Pre-cons, production meetings and site inspections are only valuable if the information gathered is shared and disseminated in a functional format. Being the event planner means taking all the information and putting it in a format that best suits everyone’s needs. The only downside to sharing all this information is that the more info you share, the greater the risk of getting stuff wrong. Make sure information is 100% right every time. If it’s not, then make sure you can share the details when it gets figured out. Rely on “TBD”, but only when you must.
5. Attendees Are In This Too
Don’t forget your attendees are invested in your events too. Even if your event is free, people are spending their time and energy to attend. The attendees see your event from a different perspective than the planners and will usually speak up. Use an event hashtag and monitor the event. Make sure to get the hashtag out there in advance and monitor weeks before your event. Using your attendees and their social media presence as a free instant event feedback system is a #NoBrainer.