Tag: conference

News

How To Build An Event Team For A Large-Scale Conference

Organising a large-scale conference requires managing many things such as logistics, securing a venue, and lining up speakers. It requires a skilled, adaptable and dedicated event team to ensure the conference runs smoothly and leaves a lasting positive impression on the delegates.

Building an event team involves careful planning, understanding the roles needed and matching the right skills to each position. Whether it is for registration, AV tech support or attendee engagement, each team member plays a crucial role.

Here’s our advice on how to build an event team for a large-scale conference:

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Before assembling the team, we would identify the roles and responsibilities needed to execute the conference. An event team for a large-scale conference would often require the following positions:

  • Event Manager/Coordinator to oversee the entire event and ensure all departments are working together
  • Logistics Manager to manage transportation and equipment
  • Registration staff to handle delegate check-in, badges and information desks
  • AV and Technical support to ensure all audio-visual equipment functions smoothly for presentations and workshops
  • Marketing and Communications to manage on-site promotion, delegate communication and social media coverage
  • Speaker liaisons responsible for communicating with speakers and ensuring they are prepared and punctual.

Sourcing the Event Staff

Large-scale conference events require a mix of skilled, experienced professionals and enthusiastic support staff.

If we were providing a client with staff for a large-scale conference, we would suggest that event managers, logistics coordinators and technical support staff are critical, and these individuals must have a proven track record in these roles.

We would also suggest event support staff for roles such as registration, delegate guidance and ushering. These staff would be highly motivated individuals with excellent communication skills.

Matching Skills To Each Role

When we source event staff for a large-scale conference, we match the right skill sets to each role to ensure a smooth-running event.

  • Communication skills: Essential for registration staff, ushers and speaker liaison.
  • Technical Aptitude: AV techs and IT support need a strong background in audio-visual systems and troubleshooting.
  • Problem-solving Abilities: For roles like logistics lead or event manager.
  • Organisational skills: Critical for the event coordinator.

Building a team with these strengths will ensure that each role is executed to its fullest potential and result in a well-organised and professional event.

Provide A Comprehensive Briefing

Before every event, we ensure that the event staff we provide to a client are briefed on the specific details and unique features of the conference. We cover:

  • Event goals and objectives
  • Event layout and schedule
  • Customer Service standards expected

Encourage communication and collaboration with the team

When we provide staff for an event, we really encourage that they have an open line of communication, especially teams with overlapping responsibilities.

Establishing clear channels and routines helps maintain order, even in the busiest of moments. Items that help this are using real-time communication tools (e.g., event radios), daily briefings if the event is over several days to highlight any changes or challenges that might arise, and check-in periods where the team check-in throughout the day to provide updates or any issues.

Finally, when we build an event team for a large-scale conference, we evaluate the event with our client post-event. We conduct a debrief to assess the team performance and gather insights for future events. We gather feedback, analyse the outcomes and recognise any achievements by the team, acknowledging the hard work of the event staff.

We believe that by carrying out this de-brief, we can refine the process, improve the team structure and enhance the event staff for future conferences. With the right team in place, your large-scale conference can achieve its goals, impress delegates and reinforce your reputation as a successful event organiser.

If you would like to discuss your event staffing requirements for your next conference, please get in touch.

 

News

Our guidelines for a safe working environment for event staff

The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) has set out guidance to support and assess the safe working environment at live events post COVID-19 to assist with the recovery of the events industry.

There is a number of items that will need to be considered post COVID-19 at live events so we have put together a short overview of the AEO guidelines for us all:  

  1. Approved by the UK government

The guidance will help to achieve common standards of health, safety and operational planning, management and on-site conduct for the events industry.

  1. The All Secure Standard – Risk Assessment Framework

The health and safety of industry professionals, customers and delegates must remain top priority to any event organiser. The ‘All Secure Standard’ has been set up to provide a best-practice guide to industry professionals.

  1. Key Measures

The AEO UK operations group has put together a list of key measures to consider when planning events that can be used in-conjunction with risk assessments. The measures are also scalable depending on the size of your event.

  1. Risk Assessment

An event risk assessment has been developed to identify the contact points where, when and how transmission at the event is most likely to occur and assigns the controls best able to reduce the risk of this transmission. The AEO. Have provided a basic risk assessment and a more comprehensive risk assessment.

We will be working towards adapting these guidelines to our client’s events and completing all risk assessments prior to any events taking place. Our guidance, along with the AEO guidelines, will be continually reviewed to ensure best practice is being adhered to at all times.

We are looking forward to getting back to providing knowledgeable, highly-skilled event staff to the events industry across the UK very soon. In the meantime, if you have any event related questions, please contact us.

News

Conference centres can now host events

The events industry has been waiting with baited breath for when live events can return to conference centres across the UK.

At the beginning of August, we saw the announcement that exhibition and conference centres in England could host business meetings and events for up to 30 people.

What does this mean?

Small events for up to 30 people are permitted so long as there is direct access to the smaller meeting spaces and COVID-secure guidance is adhered to. This guidance includes: social distancing must be maintained, different groups are kept separate and the venue can demonstrate it has followed the COVID-19 guidance.

To Cater or Not?

Basic catering can be provided at these small events with venues needing to follow similar guidance issued for bars, pubs and takeaways. Pre-packaged food is highly advised in these scenarios.

Receptions, award ceremonies, filming, fashion shows, product launches, and team building exercises are not allowed to take place until 1 October, on the condition that COVID-19 is deemed under control.

All events happening after 1 October will need to be risk assessed following AEO COVID-19 secure guidelines.

We have yet to be told if face masks need to be worn during business events and meetings.

We still need to ensure we are ready to create events that are as safe as possible, no matter the number of people. Organising an event will now have an extra step involved which will be incorporating the AEO guidelines to protect the wellbeing of all attendees and staff working at the event.

Things for event organisers to consider

  • Assess the risk of transmission of COVID-19 at your event and identify and manage those risks
  • Create pre-event checklists addressing the risks associated with COVID-19 at your event
  • Create safety guidelines and policies for suppliers, staff, and attendees to adhere to
  • Communicate all guidelines and policies prior to the event

As the UK Government makes more announcements over the coming weeks, we will be listening to see if any of the current restrictions are lifted further.

In the meantime, if you have any event related questions, please contact us.

Case studies

MCM Creative Group

MCM Creative Group is a fully integrated agency that creates experiences that change what audiences think, feel, and do. The agency was tasked with organising a 20th Anniversary event consisting of a conference and gala dinner for one of their corporate clients. Their client was bringing together 350 employees from around the world for the first time in 20 years.

THE BRIEF

Our brief from MCM Creative Group was to provide a team to support the 20th Anniversary event which consisted of a 2-day conference at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, an evening event at the Tower of London, and a gala dinner at the Science Museum.

We provided a team of 25+ staff across five days to support meet and greet at airports, train stations and coach transfers, and registration and event staff for the 2-day conference.

The staff covered a wide range of front-line, customer-facing activities including the list below:  

  • Supervisor
  • Hosts at London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports, Edinburgh Train Station and Kings Cross Train Station to meet and greet guests and direct them to their transport to London.
  • Coach Transfer Hosts to meet and greet all of the guests at Kings Cross Train Station and for all of the evening events.
  • Registration staff based in London, these staff checked-in all of the guests, handed out welcome packs, and an agenda for the event.
  • Conference staff to support the running of the 2-day conference.
  • All hosts used an online platform to register delegates at each of the meeting points.

THE BESPOKE SOLUTION

Pinnacle Event Staff worked together to provide the client with an experienced team of event staff to cover all the areas and activities requested. We hand-picked the staff in each area based on their strengths and previous experience and we also provided the client with a supervisor to manage registration and plenary sessions at the conference.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

“We were really happy with the hosts provided and would definitely request them again. They were efficient, took instruction well, used their initiative, and were super-friendly with our guests,” Senior Event Manager.

Case studies

Money 2020 Europe 2017

Money 2020 Europe is where the future of money is built. The event brings together the entire financial services industry for three days, ideas are created, partnerships are formed, and future trends are imagined.

THE BRIEF
Having a background in event management was crucial to fulfil this brief… The Pinnacle Team were asked back for the second year running to advise and create a staffing plan in order to support this large-scale conference and exhibition which had grown to 8000 delegates. We were entrusted by the operations team to create a staffing plan and recommend how many staff would be needed in each area to deliver this amazing event. The event also runs in Las Vegas annually with an impeccable track record for customer service, we were tasked with the challenge of recreating and managing a team to who could hit the ground running and deliver the same outstanding customer experience in Europe that has been experienced in previous years in the US.

THE BESPOKE SOLUTION
Our solution was a team of 63 experienced, passionate event professionals, this included 3 Team Leaders to manage and oversee the team onsite. The Pinnacle Team worked in the following areas/roles:

  • Event Managers
  • Team Leaders
  • Registration
  • Speaker running
  • Information Points
  • Track Room Managers
  • Green Room Manager
  • Speaker Room Manager
  • Cloakroom Stewards
  • Taxi Rank and travel Co-ordinators
  • Queue Management
  • Directional Staff
  • VIP Event Hosts

THE CLIENT FEEDBACK
Pinnacle Event Staff were superb to work with onsite at Money20/20 Europe 2017. Nicola and Elisa proactively managed their teams, coming up with solutions before we, as the organisers, even knew that there was an issue. They went above and beyond to fully understand what we were trying to achieve at the event and ensured that their team reflected this throughout.” Operations Director