Events are back! But do you have the bandwidth?
We see it all the time… A company wants to plan an event, but doesn’t have the capacity to do it as well as they would like. **
In this case, the client was bringing their team together for the first in person meeting post pandemic. The stakes felt high; people were excited to be traveling again, meeting in person and learning next to each other rather than through a screen. But there was also high anxiety around being back in groups; safety had to be a high priority. The client knew the event needed the highest level of execution, so they brought in a member of our team. The pain point was simple – with the company downsizing during the pandemic, it didn’t have anyone that could pause their daily responsibilities to fully plan and execute an in person event.
Step one: create awareness
We started by understanding the desired outcome, and making ourselves and the client aware of the steps required to achieve it. In this case, the client needed us to:
- Brainstorm content for working sessions, and create and distribute a schedule of events
- Coordinate travel logistics – flight, ground transportation, and hotel accommodations
- Facilitate all food and beverage needs (including allergy and dietary restrictions)
- Design swag bags and giveaways for attendees
With this client, we had a direct point of contact to ask questions and collaborate with in the planning process. Allowing this individual to advise, rather than get bogged down with the nitty gritty details gave them the space to focus on delivering valuable content for the meeting.
Step two: build structure and establish rituals
What became the most valuable element of this process for the client was introducing our team member as the main point of contact to all attendees early in the planning process. Instantly the mundane questions that guests are bound to have were being filtered through our team first. As the structure of the event began to take form, new needs popped up constantly. These needs could be met quickly and efficiently without taking away from other internal demands.
Over the 3 day meeting we delivered:
- Seamless guest arrivals, transportation to and from our offsite event, and guest departures, which allowed guests to arrive relaxed and ready to contribute
- A closing night offsite dinner and awards ceremony that boosted camaraderie and team morale
- A safe and healthy environment, creating comfort for all participating, and ensuring attendees felt heard and respected
- Swag that was utilized during the meeting, reducing waste
- A positive experience for all attendees which lead to booking a repeat event the following year
**As with any consulting company, the sum of our parts is made greater by the individual experiences of our people. This project was completed by our resident event management expert, prior to being at One TEAM.