Understanding your strengths and weaknesses at work is the first step towards getting better at what you do. But do you know what it takes to be a brilliant event organiser? We’ve dissected the job role down to its integral parts and looked at the type of person who has the potential to excel at each of them. Want to find out how your skills measure up?
You need to be organised – the clue’s in the job title people! And that’s why it comes in at the number one spot. Lists, spreadsheets, timelines, processes – these are the life blood of any good event organiser. If you feel your organisational skills could do with a little bit of a polish, get more of these systems into the way you work.
Crossing the ‘t’s and dotting the ‘i’s is undoubtedly a pre-requisite for every event planner, but you also need to have a huge amount of flair. Making events memorable takes originality and ingenuity – these are largely innate talents, but thorough research will help those lacking in this area.
Event organising isn’t something you can do if you’ve lost your mojo. Of course, everyone is entitled to an off day, but the commitment required for the job means that you can’t squeeze too many of these in. The passion you need to make it in the industry is something you simply cannot fake.
However well you’ve organised your event, there will be certain things that will remain completely out of your control. The weather, traffic, unreliable suppliers, unwell members of staff… every event has something that goes wrong on the night and it takes a level-head and clear thinking to pull off a last-minute plan B. If you struggle with composure and stress, signing up for a mindfulness course or simply downloading an app could teach you how to better manage pressured situations.
Matching the right job with the person best-suited to do it isn’t as easy as it sounds. There are dozens of elements that come together to create a successful event and it’s without a doubt a team effort, but lots of managers find it hard to relinquish control of even the smallest of jobs. Being able to effectively delegate tasks to colleagues with clear goals and time frames is crucial in keeping on top of your workload as an event organiser. If you find yourself completely swamped, ask yourself if there’s anyone else who could ease your workload.
Having a can do, silver lining attitude is infectious if you’re managing a team and a really valuable asset for a planner. However, as we all know, things don’t always go to plan and it’s essential to plan for worst-case scenarios at every turn.
So, the networking games were your idea and you worked really hard sourcing all the props and setting the room up. But if everyone, including your guests, is telling you they didn’t go down well and nobody liked them, a good event organiser won’t insist on doing the same thing again next year. They will listen to the people around them, admit their mistake and move on. If you fear you struggle with letting go like this, creating an event feedback form will help you see – in black and white – which parts of your event worked and which ones didn’t. Hopefully removing any emotion (and pride) from the evaluation process.
At W12 Conferences, we know how much there is to do when you’re organising an event, which is why we run a comprehensive event management service. Give the team a call to discuss which parts of the planning process you need help with. You can reach us on +44 (0)20 3313 1606.