Avoiding Event Disaster
Have you heard these before?
“The best laid plans can go awry.”
“Hope for the best, plan for the worst.”
When you are planning a company event, sometimes things can go wrong. Working with a Professional Event Planner can help avert trouble based on the event planner’s industry experience BUT there is still a chance for unforeseen challenges to arise. Now here is where a planner’s problem solving skills really come into play. A great planner will not only anticipate issues before they become problems, but will also address challenges on the day-of before guests even know there was a potential hiccup. Here’s a quick list of things to think about when planning your next corporate event:
1 – Keep on schedule
Identify potential bottlenecks that will impede your event from staying on its planned timeline. There are often components to an event that have a timetable attached to them and it’s always a good plan to think through these to ensure you have adequate bandwidth.
- Registration periods – Do you have enough stations or people to help with keep people moving through based on the number of attendees?
- Providing food – Do you have enough buffet stations, or boxed lunches or tables and waitstaff to keep up with the crowds?
- Transportation – If you are moving people from one place to another, do you have enough busses or the like to move the number of attendees based on your locations, time of day and number of attendees?
- Out of town Speakers – Are they arriving before the day of the event to make sure they are there on time? Are they crystal clear on how much time they have to give their talk? Is there a visual reminder you can have to help them stay on track?
2 – Test the technology
There is nothing worse than finding out a projector is broken, you don’t have a video adaptor for a mac, the microphones in the ballroom are cutting out, or the Wifi at the venue can’t handle the bandwidth needed to play your video! Carefully prep your venue with ALL of the technology requirements for your event well ahead of time by actively asking all speakers for their needs, listing all required items out in detail and what your backup options are with the venue (or internally). Then take it one step further by requiring a dry-run (ideally) the night before the event to check all components and their set-up.
3 – Outsmart the Weather
The weather will always be a risk factor in planning any event, but having a way for it to continue despite Mother Nature’s meddling is important.
- Outside alternative – If your event is outside, what can your venue provide as an alternative space should the weather not cooperate? If the venue isn’t able to bring your event inside, rethink the location.
- Virtual experience – If your attendees aren’t able to reach you but paid for the experience then LIVE stream the event!
- Stick to low-risk weather locations & time – There are seasons and reasons to avoid specific locations all across the country, so do your homework to ensure you aren’t going to the Caribbean during hurricane season or Minnesota in the height of winter – no matter how cheap the venue costs are (as you may never get there)!
Again, working with a Professional Event Planner, like Swank Events, will help you avoid the most common issues when running an event and keep your company’s reputation intact!
