Introduction
The science of event management has become a necessity in today’s business world. Since events are occasional, proper planning is important to ensure that an event is successful. Although some of the plans are overridden by occurrences during the actual event, planned events are better in relation to the impromptu ones. Events management involves various stages of planning.
Moreover, various resources are necessary for different events. In addition, events require a certain degree of leadership skills that are necessary for the implementation of the event. Human beings require a certain level of control. Therefore, events managers have a duty to co-ordinate, organise, and develop working teams. Proper, clear, and concise communication is imperative in events management.
Constant communication between events managers and clients before, during, and after the event is important. Events managers are therefore charged with the responsibility of installing proper communication systems throughout the process. This paper discusses business events management in the modern business environment.
Importance of Planning
Planning is an important skill in evens management. Planning is carried out in various stages during events management. The importance of planning is to ensure that the management is not caught up by eventualities during the actual event. According to Brenner (2009, p.26), with a good plan, the management team is able to respond quickly to various occurrences.
A well-developed and authenticated plan will enable the event management team to ensure better satisfaction of customers’ needs. Various resources that are necessary for a particular even are also delivered in time. The delays that are witnessed in most of the events are therefore eliminated through proper planning. The team is not caught unaware by various demands from customers.
A good plan enables managers to foresee the whole idea in a particular event. It is from such a plan that the management team carries out a systematic implementation of the program. De Snoo, van Wezel, Wortmann, and Gaalman (2011, p. 2101) confirm that plans act as a reference during the actual event. For instance, managers can use it as a checklist for various requirements.
Planning will also save time and money that events take. Time is an important factor in events management. A good plan enables planners to allocate a specific amount of time to particular portions of events. This ensures that there is no procrastination and/or mix up of events. A good plan gives every portion of the event ample and adequate time. Such a program enables completion of all components of the event with little or no rush.
Stages of Planning and the required Resources
Planning of events involves various stages. The first stage of events planning is the pre-planning meeting. This meeting enables events managers to introduce all stakeholders to be involved in the process. The pre-planning stage also enables the team to set rules and/or share roles and responsibilities. The team also gets an opportunity to know the members and to have them committed to the process.
De Snoo, van Wezel, Wortmann, and Gaalman (2011, p. 2101) reveal how event managers also get an opportunity to match every members’ skills with an interest. The second step is the setting of objectives. Events management team meets to set the objectives of the whole program. Objectives should be explicit, quantifiable, satisfying, practical, and time specific.
The other step is setting up the project, which involves the allocation of timelines and responsibilities. At this stage, the scope of the program is outlined and broken down. Job subdivision and elaboration to the individual employees takes place at this stage. The next step in event management is risk management. Makda and Bayat (2012, p.62) argue that the team have to assess the expected risks in the whole process.
Risk mitigation measures are discussed and set up. The next step is the monitoring of the process. Monitoring of the progress of events is a continuous process. Soteriades and Dimou (2011, p.371) show how a continuous assessment ensures that the time limits that were set during the initial stages are met. It is through the assessment that the management is able to work well with the providers, for example suppliers.
It is also important to monitor the progress of events in order to make changes in case of failures. The next step involves organisation of the actual event. At this stage, stakeholders are counter checked in the actual implementation of activities. Every stakeholder is also monitored to ensure full implementation of the project. The other step is the implementation of the event. At this stage, the actual activity is implemented.
The event is run and the management supervises every step. According to Brenner (2009, p.26), it is important to respect the needs and instructions of the client. Finally, the event management process is evaluated through a systematic assessment. The manager assesses the implementers, with the feedback being used to improve the future process.
Leadership Skills and Actions to Administer an Event
Events management requires certain leadership skills to implement. The event manager must be able to plan for the whole event. According to Soteriades and Dimou (2011, p.371), planning involves forecasting, estimation, and implementation of the budget. Organisational skills are also required for one to be able to control and/or move the stakeholders. In an events management process, teamwork is important.
The leader must be able to show leadership to employees. Supervisory skills are also important. Events managers should be able to supervise their staff members to ensure that they motivate them towards achieving their dreams.
How to Organise and Develop a Team
Team building is important in events management. Leaders must ensure that they build working teams and that the teams are working together. Project leaders must guide their teams towards working together for the success of the event. Teams are built through various steps. The project manager begins by establishing common objectives.
During the establishment of common objectives, all people involved in the event come agree on what they want to achieve together with how they will do so. Team developers also train team members. During this training, members are furnished with certain important skills that are necessary for the specific events that they are to manage.
For example, if the event is cultural, team members are taught various cultural beliefs that they must observe in the event. In some communities, some members of the community are not permitted to consume some parts of animal meat. The team members must therefore be keen when organising the menu for the event. For example, they are taught to separate certain parts of animal meat for particular people.
In some instances, training of team members involves incorporation of clients or their representatives. In fact, if the organisation is planning for a local government event, it has to train its team members certain rules that must be observed during the event. The next step is the provision of the team with constant communication.
For a project developer to ensure that he or she comes up with a good team, he or she must ensure proper communication. Makda and Bayat (2012, p.62) observe that the developers have to plan and organise for clear, concise, accurate, and purposeful communication. At all times, the team members must be furnished with adequate information about the event.
The team is also trained to be enthusiastic. At this point, the team builder is also supposed to be very enthusiastic. Energy and vigour enable the team to work better. Team members develop a feeling that other team members are also working towards achieving a similar goal. All facets of the team must work together. For example, there should be equal participation by all members.
Team building also undertakes the execution of the initial plan as agreed. The team is charged with the authority to implement the event management plan. According to Richardson and Taylor (2012, p.475), every member of the execution team must clearly understand the execution plan.
Proper understanding of the whole picture is important at this stage. An individual team member should be able to correct his or her fellow employees in the process of executing the program. The team builder also recognises the achievements of individual team members. Recognition and reward are crucial in motivating team members to repeat a certain good behaviour.
In the same way, project managers should also punish any bad behaviour as a way of discouraging it. Punishment is also a way of rewarding employees. For example, if a team member is punished through salary deductions, he or she will ensure that the behaviour is not repeated. Team builders are also supposed to keep on evaluating the success and failures of the team concessionary.
Constant evaluation of the team ensures that the initial plan is implemented in every step. Evaluation will also enable the project developer to correct any errors that may happen during the process of implementation.
Importance of Team Coordination and Communication
There is a need to have constant coordination of the team and its activities to ensure uniformity and coherence. During the coordination of team activities, communication becomes paramount. Proper coordination of the team ensures that there are minimal chances for confusion. Team members are also united in the performance of their duties when there is clear and constant communication.
It is important for the team developers and managers to provide avenues for communication. Soteriades and Dimou (2011, p.371) affirm that every team member should be given an opportunity to voice his or her opinions towards the achievement of the plan. Communication ensures that there are less or no conflicts between team members and/or between the teams and the management.
Certain levels of autonomy are also enhanced when there are high levels of communication flow. It is through communication that openness is promoted. Team members can share ideas and/or consult each other in case of errors or mistakes. Team members should also be able to communicate properly to clients during the implementation of the event program. Event involves people of a different nature or character. For example, some people are easily angered. Others are peaceful while others are troublemakers.
It is also possible that some visitors turn arrogant at service providers in some events such as cultural and individual events. In such cases, team members should be patient enough to communicate well and even to manage any crisis that may arise. According to Kose, Argan, and Argan (2011, p.2), chances of misunderstanding are also minimised through proper communication.
Communication enhances trust between team members and/or between the event managers and the client. Openness is a key driver of proper communication. When there is openness, anxiety is reduced even in case of a crisis. The client, team members, and even visitors are able to understand any eventuality when there is clear communication.
Communication Systems for Managing and Monitoring an Event
Establishment of proper communication systems during the process of events management is important. According to Kose, Argan, and Argan (2011, p.2), every adopted communication system should be clear and easily understood by the target audience. In most cases, messages are misinterpreted, thus leading to confusion among team members.
Understanding of the target audience is important in ensuing clarity and proper interpretation of messages. Encoding of messages relies on the understanding of the audience. With a clear understanding of the recipient of the message, the encoder is able to package the information in a way that the recipient can easily decode the message. Communication is said to have taken place if the intention of the sender is correctly interpreted.
Events managers can easily communicate different information to different stakeholders using various modes of communication. For example, Richardson and Taylor (2012, p.471) observe that, when communicating to internal publics, event managers can use a verbal mode of communication. For example, the manager and supervisors can call for meetings and/or deliver the message orally.
These can be one on one meeting with individual team members or a meeting with the whole team. It is easy to communicate orally with internal publics. Internal memos are also a good means of communication. The events manager writes the memo and posts it on the notice boards. The memos can also be delivered to the individual employees. Memos are simple and clear.
Hence, team members can be able to understand the message directly without the need for interpretation. The firm can also make use of intranets and the internet. Intranets are wire communications that are installed to work within the organisation. Managers can therefore use this system to communicate with the internal publics. For example, a manager can call the supervisors directly on the intranets.
Intranets ensure less exaggerations since messages are conveyed directly to recipients. Messages are not mediated. Hence, it is easier to eliminate noise and interference. On the other hand, the project managers can communicate to the external publics through several ways. For example, they can use e-mails, videoconferencing, letters, television, and radio advertisements.
Various factors are considered when choosing the mode of communication. In fact, if the project manager wants to use a certain mode of communication, he or she must consider the frequency, the reach, and the speed. A good communication system will have people, communication devices, and the environment. All these facets are made to work together in the project management.
Conclusion
Project managers require a high level of skills in administering and coordinating the process. Team building skills are important since team members have to work together for the success of the events. Managers have to ensure a clear and an easy-to-understand communication strategy to enhance the success events.
Events manager are also supposed to choose a communication system that is frequent, speedy, and with a wide reach. Internal communication systems such as intranets and the internet are important. The project managers can also use televisions, radios, and print media to reach the external publics.
References
Brenner, K 2009, ‘Life-Event Segmenting Offers Optimisation of Benefit Effectiveness’, Journal of Financial Service Professionals, vol. 63 no. 3, pp. 26-29.
De Snoo, C, van Wezel, W, Wortmann, J & Gaalman, C 2011, ‘Coordination activities of human planners during rescheduling: case analysis and event handling procedure’, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 49 no.7, pp. 2101-2122.
Kose, H, Argan, T & Argan, M 2011, ‘Special event management and event marketing: A case study of TKBL all star 2011 in Turkey’, Journal of Management & Marketing Research, vol. 8 no. 1, pp.1-11.
Makda, T & Bayat, S 2012, ‘Risk Management In Events In South Africa By 2010 And Beyond’, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, vol. 3 no. 11, pp. 62-85.
Richardson, A & Taylor, G 2012, ‘Understanding Input Events: A Model of Employees’ Responses to Requests for Their Input’, Academy of Management Review, vol. 37 no. 3, pp. 471-491.
Soteriades, D & Dimou, I 2011, ‘Special Events: A Framework for Efficient Management’, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, vol. 20 no, 3/4, pp.329-346.