Introduction
There are many underlying topics that correspond to the term ‘events’, but for this paper we are focusing on corporate events. Corporate events refer to activities, such as meetings, conferences, or a gathering of executives and their staff and employees to talk on important subject pertaining to their organization.
The kind of event, that includes the objectives, should first be identified before going on to other details of the events plan or the project management. The job of the events planner is simple – to plan the event and implement the plan. If the events manager is not systematic in the planning, the job becomes complicated and may not be successful.
Definitions
Business and corporate events can be defined as “any event that supports business objectives, including management functions, corporate communications, training, marketing, incentives, employee relations and customer relations, scheduled alone or in conjunction with other events” (Berridge, 2007, p. 11).
As the term ‘event’ connotes, it is a happening called for a specific objective; it does not happen impromptu or accidental, but has to be planned and managed like a project.
The Chambers Dictionary (1998, p. 560, cited in Bowdin et al., 2006, p. 14) defines events as “anything which happens; result; any incidence or occurrence especially a memorable one; contingency or possibility of occurrence; an item in a programme, etc.”
The accepted Practices Exchange Industry Glossary of terms (CIC, 2003, cited in Bowdin et al, 2006, p. 14) defines an event as, “An organized occasion such as a meeting, convention, exhibition, special event, gala dinner, etc.”
Business events include conferences, exhibitions, incentive travel, and corporate events. These are sometimes grouped as discretionary business tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions/events), and so forth (Bowdin et al, 2006, p. 20).
Conference and meetings are a growing industry. It is a young and maturing at a rapid rate. Conferences are at the forefront of modern communications, whether this is for internal communications or as a vehicle for communication with key audiences. ‘Conference’ is a generic term to describe a diverse mix of communications events. (Rogers, 2003, p. 44-45)
The meetings industry is a large contributor to the gross domestic product of the United States and the UK (Craven & Golabowski, 2001, p. 3).
Several objectives for an event could be to train, inform, educate, explore a concept, introduce something or someone, come to a decision, and so forth.
Planning, organization and management of the event should be considered as a ‘project’ and that the events planner and the team in charge of the implementation should adopt a ‘project management approach’ to planning and delivering their event (Conway, 2004, p. 10). And as in any other business, the business plan has to be written (Allen, 1995, p. 15).
The Role of the Corporate Event Planner/Manager
The primary duty of the ‘event manager’ is to make or confirm all decisions and be the director of the entire event. The event manager should have a staff or a team to carry on the objectives and implement the plans. The staff may compose of talented and expert deputies and assistants who should carry on and implement the objectives. Although he/she delegates power, the events manager should be able to retain control of the project, in order to deliver the event on time and within the designated budget.
The event manager should be able to pinpoint the target audience for the event. The corporate culture – to include values, heroes, and rituals – should be well positioned in the course of the event. A clear objective of the event should be well defined whether it is for the purpose of enhancing sales, production, or management of the corporation, or to foster good relationship with the external customer.
The corporate culture information can be obtained through a careful but respectful studying of the client’s records pertaining to past events as well as records from the client’s sales/marketing personnel, managers, and human resources contacts. The manager can identify focus groups that may provide information about the expectations, needs, wants, and desires of the customers. Most of the information can be included in the goals of the event. (O’Toole & Mikolaitis, 2002, p. 9)
The event manager has to be resourceful and creative. Event planner Ellen Martin (cited in O’Toole and Mikolaitis, 2002, p. 10) states that being creative can be a challenge. Martin does something different. The different attitudes often reflect the dynamics of the organization and its impacts on the employees. During the course of the plan, Martin does the feasibility phase with a complete understanding of what is going on within the corporation.
Moreover, the event planner should have knowledge of the politics within the corporation. There are things that she has to deal with, for example union employees, who may be opposed to the event or who may have something to say about the event. Every event in the corporation is meddled with some political connotations. The event manager should see to it that the event management does not fall into some corporate political traps. This can be cleverly handled by identifying the real decision makers of the organization, and any further decision should not be influenced by those ‘meddlers’.
The event planner maybe in-house or someone hired by the corporation for the particular purpose. This could be assigned to a professional corporate planner, who often resides in marketing, corporate communications, or human resources.
Event project life cycle
As the entire project of event planning and implementation is going on, some priorities will change focus and the manager or planner should be able to identify the changes. The planner and the team should be able to fit the components mentally or visualize the project before everything happens, so as to determine how the event will happen in the actual run. They must be able to identify the changes or some unexpected happenings. Planning includes foreseeing any problems and identifying solutions right there and then. However, there are things that cannot really be foreseen, the unexpected. The job of the event manager and the team is to reduce the number of problems because problems are really inevitable. (O’Toole and Mikolaitis, 2002, p. 17)
An event objective must have value to the company holding the event, those taking part in the event, and cross over from professional to personal benefits and vice versa (Allen, 2009, p.4).
Laying out the proposed budget on a cost sheet in Excel will allow the events manager to clearly see what items can be included and still keep within the budget. It will also show how money is being spent, and enable the event manager to look at alternate choices and see how they would work within the cost parameters. (Allen, 2009, p. 41)
Answering the 5 Ws and H, is the key to successful planning. Who are the guests? How many people are to be received? Knowing who the guests are plays a part in how the event is designed. From the entertainment to the décor, knowing helps the event manger to choose how it will look, what kind of entertainment will be appropriate, and so forth.
The event planner/manager should regard the event as a project, and managing such a project can be similar to project management. Project Management offers the corporate event manager a number of advantages, which include establishing a systematic approach to all events, depersonalizing the event, facilitating clear communication, and so forth.
References
Allen, M., 1995. Visionary business: entrepreneur’s guide to success. Canada: Publishers Group West.
Allen, J., 2009. The ultimate guide to successful meetings, corporate events, fundraising galas, conferences and conventions, incentives and other. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Berridge, G., 2007. Events design and experience. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Boehme, A. J., 1999. Planning successful meetings and events. New York: AMACOM Publications.
Bowdin, G., et al., 2006. Events management. 2nd Edition. Great Britain: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Conway, D., 2004. The event manager’s bible: the complete guide to planning and organizing a voluntary or public event. United Kingdom: How To Books Ltd.
Craven, R. E. & Golabowski, L., 2001. The complete idiot’s guide to meeting and event planning. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books.
O’Toole, W. and Mikolaitis, P., 2002. Corporate event project management. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rogers, T., 2003. Conferences and conventions: a global industry. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Wolf, P. & Wolf, J., 2005. Event planning made easy. New York: McGraw-Hill.