Here Are the Things You Don’t Want to Miss When Planning an Event!

Event planning is not for the faint-hearted, especially if on the day, at the 11th hour, you realize that you have forgotten something important. Worse still, in the middle of the event, you notice that something vitally important is missing.

Mistakes happen but you may wonder as you reflect on the event, how you managed to miss something so obvious!

But here are the essentials i.e. the stuff you really don’t want to miss…

Food

Food and drink is very important – hungry delegates or guests are not happy ones. It can be easy to miss some of the finer points when catering for an event:

Intolerances and allergies – the list of what we can’t stomach seems to be growing by the day and as an event organizer, you need to be uber-confident that your catering team is up to speed.

Most delegates or guests will let you know if they have any special dietary requirements but make sure you ask too because forewarned is forearmed. However, you may get someone who rolls up on the day and tells you they are a gluten-intolerant vegetarian.

Feed staff and volunteers too – with any event, our prime goal is to ensure that our guests or delegates are well-fed but it can mean we forget about the staff or volunteers. Make sure you have catered for them too.

Logistics

The biggest drain on your energy on event day will be the small stuff including:

Trollies/Transport

Frankly, the one thing that every event organizer needs are a set of wheels. Moving stuff around is a big drain on your strength during the day and a set of wheels such as a trolley/box on wheels etc. is worth its weight in gold. For heavier items, you will need to hire heavier trollies or carts.

Schedule

Your schedule might be as clear as day to you, but is your schedule clear to others? Miscommunication or no communication at all are two things that could be the nail in the coffin of your event, with people not being where they should be at the time they should be. Planning an event takes time and organization.

Printed master sheet

There is a lot of detail to your event, from essential mobile phone numbers for use in an ‘emergency’, Wi-Fi passwords, and so on.

You may have them, but if the chef needs them because there is a vital ingredient missing and needs to know where the nearest supermarket is, or there is another piece of information someone desperately needs, how are they to get hold of you?

Name tags

Even today with digitalization name tags often handwritten are a small but important detail. Delegates and guests like to know who they are talking to.

Music permits

Do you need a license to play music? The venue may have a license or permit. Check with them before the event.

Emergency kit

Scissors, sticky tape, safety pins… you name it, you will need it on the day so have a kit of ‘bits and bobs’ stashed away. Better still hire a first aid provider.

Communication

Communication fails are memorable and it’s not the impression you want to leave with your attendees so make sure you have the following in hand:

• Wi-Fi passwords – essential for everyone, staff and delegates
• Charging stations – for mobile phones and walkie-talkies
• Walkie talkies – essential if your event is over several venues or locations

Post-Event Review

An important aspect of event planning is reviewing the event and de-briefing staff and volunteers after the event has drawn to a close.

De-briefing is important for one singular reason – feedback from event staff can make all the difference to the popularity and success of future events. They can also have some great suggestions or ideas too.

With delegate feedback, you can create and publish a post-event report, an important feature in planning future events.  Hopefully, you are also asking your delegates or guests to evaluate the event and their feedback is essential in making changes to future events.