Whether you have a specific event you want support with, or an annual calendar of events, hiring services from event management companies, or event agencies, is an important step towards reducing your stress levels. So let’s walk through the process of how to hire event management services in an effective way…
So, you’ve recognised you want to expand your capacity to make your dream event or events come to life – brilliant! You may need particular skills, technical knowledge or simply additional hours to make it all happen – you need an events management company.
Aligning with your purpose
Most event management companies will require a number of key bits of information to be able to understand what you want and what you need. But wants and needs aren’t the same things, so be aware that, to get the best experience for you, your attendees and potentially your boss, discussions and developing a relationship of trust is going get the best outcomes.
We often find clients get the best outcomes when we’ve worked together to get to the ‘Why?’ of their event. Great questions to ask are things like:
- What are the underlying purposes for having the event?
- What do you want to achieve?
- How does it feed into your overarching organisational or marketing strategy?
- What data would you ideally collect?
- How can that most easily feed into your data systems?
- How do you want people to feel before, during and afterwards?
- How does this activity link to your internal and external comms and social media activity?
- What formats are most likely to achieve your event goals?
- How can we make this event more sustainable?
Event Management service providers will be able to spot opportunities to maximise the value of your events and where there may be opportunities to streamline work or increase the impact of it, post-event.
This is why at Autumn we often facilitate a workshop with our clients to really understand the details of your event and the ways we can help you achieve all your event goals, including the ones our discussions uncover!
Event management services required
Here’s a list of the typical types of services you may require from your event management company:
- Venue Sourcing
- Venue Management
- Sourcing Speakers
- Speaker Booking
- Speaker Briefing
- Speaker Management
- Delegate Registration
- Delegate Management
- Supplier Management including Audio Visual, Signage and Catering
- Exhibition Management
- Programme Curation
- Overarching Event Design or Event Architecture
- Creating Engaging Interactive Spaces
- Using Audience Engagement tools
With virtual and hybrid events, there are additional considerations to manage and incorporate, including the building of online venue spaces / systems and camera crews.
Researching event management service providers
It’s always worth doing your homework and getting some insights into what Event Management companies say and do, and if there is any proof of their competence.
Have a look at their website and look for examples of their work and client testimonials. Are their clients real people on LinkedIn? Can you look on Twitter and LinkedIn and find positive chatter about the events they delivered?
If you need a provider to enable virtual or hybrid events, do they use reliable tech with a solid reputation? Do they make their events interactive, enabling people to connect and contribute?
Getting recommendations
Speak to others who have used their services, any good event management company should be happy for you to speak to their clients. Do you know anyone who’s been to events they’ve delivered? What was their experience?
Asking for a proposal
Allow time for an initial conversation or workshop, as this will mean any proposal will be far closer to your real needs and take specific details into account.
Then request a proposal outlining the company’s approach, an overview of the staff team that will be working on your event, and an overview of costs. At this stage, many of your costs will be subject to further work, such as scoping exact technical requirements, dependant on the number of speakers you book. And venue costs will vary greatly until you’ve worked together to identify the right place.
Be careful of any proposal that is either too vague, or promises the earth! Remember, a relationship of trust is going to get the best outcomes, so get lots of clarity and specifics, so everyone knows where they stand. It’s okay to ask lots of questions, in fact it’s better, as you can make a much more informed decision.
Agreeing and moving forward
Once you’ve decided who you want to work with, make sure you agree regular meetings, project management milestones and review periods. This will be a collaborative effort and ideas or situations can evolve, so make sure you’re regularly in contact and moving in the same direction. One thing we do at Autumn is quickly set up a shared project plan with all the key workstreams, tasks and deadlines, which we all have access to. This helps everyone stay on track, be accountable and stay informed.
One more thing – make sure you don’t lose track of all the post-event work in the busyness of the event build up and recovery period! Getting those post-event feedback surveys out promptly, compiling the data, putting together the highlights video and sending it out, making the session recordings available quickly and having that all-important post-event debrief meeting are all essential to keep improving.
Conclusion
Hiring event management services doesn’t have to be stressful, but there is some key things to consider:
- Have a thorough discussion / scoping workshop
- Identify all the services you need
- Do some thorough research
- Get recommendations
- Get a detailed proposal
- Appoint
- Have a shared, accountable work plan
- Don’t forget the post-event elements
Once they’re in place, and everyone’s working from the same plan, then the magic can happen – a seamless, stress-free event that achieves all your event goals and leaves everyone feeling inspired and energised – let’s go!
