Founder and director of Autumn Live, Jan has comprehensive background in event management, marketing and social media developed over the past 20 years, working across public, private and third sector organisations. Working agency side, Jan has previously been the Operations Manager for the National Institute of Clinical Excellence’s national exhibitions at all the major UK exhibition centres with hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of delegates. She has also managed events in Munich, Paris, Lisbon and Milan and has completed the Complete Sustainable Events Course delivered by The Meetings Show and ISLA.

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Event stressed? How to scale your team to deliver events

Have you ever been running at full capacity, back to back meetings all day? There’s literally no time between meetings to make lunch, have a cuppa or have any time to do any of the work that’s required from all the meetings you’ve been in all day. I think most of us have had days like this over the past few years. In the run up to events, it can be like this every day. So how do you scale your team to deliver events at certain times of the year?

A cup of black coffee, an open notebook, pen and macbook on a wooden desk. In a sepia tone.

Event planning and becoming an event planner

Event planning is something we have probably all had to do at some point in our lives. It is the process of organising and co-ordinating an event, usually with a number of people there (I’d say more than 5) which has a purpose of gathering people together. It can be a conference, seminar, launch, workshop, webinar, summit, awards ceremony, live podcast recording or even a board meeting. Event Planning is a core aspect to our business.

A pile of scrunched up paper in and around a recycling bin - illustrating the need for the event industry to do more about sustainability

What is the event industry doing about sustainability?

The event industry is traditionally very heavy on single use items. Carpet that gets installed for a 5 day show then scrapped.  A car track created for an 8 minute new product launch, then scrapped. Venues have seen it all.  The whole industry can have significant environmental, social, and economic impacts on the communities in which their events are held. So what is the event industry doing about sustainability?

An illustration of lots of colourful pages from a calendar.

What’s the best time of year and best day to host an event?

This is a question we often get asked, and of course it’s not as easy as saying “Tuesdays in March”. Is it even possible to identify the best time of year and best day to host an event?

Well, it depends on your audience and it depends on what else is going on in your industry – or the industry of the people you are trying to gather. Let’s dig into the detail…

How to create productive hybrid events

What was the best hybrid gathering you went to? Did you know you were at a hybrid gathering or were you just connecting with the main speakers and the others who were sharing the same space as you? Everyone made the pivot to online meetings and events in the pandemic because we had to. We didn’t necessarily choose this, but it might not surprise you to learn hybrid meetings are not going anywhere. So let’s explore how to create productive hybrid events…

Contingency planning for face-to-face events during Autumn and Winter

Great news yesterday, as Covid19 hit its lowest infection rate since October 2021 in the UK. This is fantastic for events, connections and getting people together. We are in the process of planning in-person events for Winter 2022 – but it would be foolish not to think about our contingency planning, you need to have robust plans in place, should the situation change. 

As part of our event planning we are always doing risk assessments. Part of the risk assessment is contingency planning – considering all the possibilities and options to overcome them. Covid19 contingency planning is just part of the risk assessment and is good practice. 

How to make value central to your event success

It has been said time is the most valuable resource that you have, we all have to choose how we spend it. Time is a pressured element because there seems to be so much to do and not enough time to do it all. If someone chooses to come to your event it has to offer value above their usual tasks. The event needs something that captivates them enough to choose: “I’m going to use my time attending this event instead of doing my usual activities”.  So, let’s look at how to make value central to your event success.

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