4 Pitfalls Of An Event

Organizing a successful event often boils down to a handful of skills: Being attentive to details, being imaginative/creative, and proper management. However, there are a variety of things that can cause huge disruptions to your event. The truth is that it doesn’t matter how well prepared you are for your event, there will always be things that will go wrong.

As an event manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that the event is running as smoothly as possible. That essentially means actively solving the issues that surface while maintaining the ambience of the place. Here are the 4 most common mistakes that often jeopardizes an event:

Communication breakdowns

The bigger your events are, the harder it will be for you to keep track of every single update and what’s even harder is to get everyone on the same page. However, this must be done. Before the event starts, all team members ought to be aware of what is expected from them and their specific roles.

You never want a situation where the roles clash with each other. A clash would mean two members working on the same task, or even worse, ending up with tasks that weren’t executed because everyone on the team thought “someone else is responsible for it”. These types of scenarios only happen because communication between these two parties wasn’t established.

To avoid such situations, plan ahead how your team aims to communicate, formulate the tasks, and delegate them to the best-suited employee. You can use team communication and productivity software such as Asana, Microsoft Teams, and Slack to help your team communicate in an organized manner.

Booking an unsuitable venue (location)

The venue you choose says a lot about how you approach the event. Ideally, choose a venue that will add another layer of value to your event. Here are a few things to think about when choosing your event venue:

Accessibility:

• You always want your event to be accessible. Having an event in an isolated stadium will definitely affect attendance even if that stadium is the most prestigious place in your town.
• Consider accessibility for the disabled. Though they might not be needed, it is always good to be prepared. Not having them when you need them poses a giant risk to your event.
• Transportation is a huge consideration for your participants as well. Ensuring that your venue is accessible will make it much easier to find and get to as opposed to having them spend hours trying to find the place.

Accommodations:

• An event such as a conference will often attract guests from out of town or even overseas. Well, in that case, they will need somewhere to stay and they would really appreciate it if you are arranging the accommodations altogether.

Attendees estimation:

• Overestimating and underestimating the number of attendees for your event is catastrophic. If you have a venue that is big enough for 200 people while only actually having 50 attendees, it will look awkward; if you have a venue that’s for 50 people while 200 people showed up, it will be very congested.

Last-minute sourcing of equipment

There are so many pieces of equipment involved in an event. From the microphones, speakers, screens, to the props that are used to decorate and set the ambiance of the place. If you have something very specific that only one vendor can provide, you have to be prepared if they aren’t able to provide that in such a short time. Ask yourself if you have a backup plan or will the event be put on hold until you acquire this equipment.

Even then, your team/crew needs time to set the equipment up. In our experience, rushing a task at the very last minute while not allowing any room for failure generally leads to a drop in quality. In short, the assumption that your team will perform perfectly is a very dangerous place to be.

Ignoring the event’s catering and amenities

We’ve seen this way too often with companies that are working on a tight budget. Having good catering services and sophisticated amenities tells your audience that you actually care about their experience and are trying to provide them with the best they can get.

Food and beverage:

• Food and beverage are like the fuel for your attendees’ energy. Without this energy in the venue, your event will look slow and sleepy. It is human nature to be well fed as suffering from hunger is not comfortable. The last thing you want is to have attendees leave due to not having refreshments.
• When you’re sourcing for your food and beverage, take note of dietary requirements as well. It might be due to health or religious reasons solely because of the diversity of attendees for your event.

Amenities and maintenance

• Cleanliness is the top priority you should pay attention to in this section. Nobody likes to go to a party, only to have a restroom that hasn’t been cleaned in weeks and a stench that could kill. Cleanliness is not something that you can skimp on. In fact, it is a necessity.

WiFi

• Well, as much as I don’t want to include this point. It is undeniable that millennials are very particular about their WiFi connection. There is nothing more aggravating to them than a poor or even the lack of a WiFi connection. Not just that, but ensuring a good connection also helps boost your social media awareness as your attendees post about the event.

Annaba Resources will help guide you through every step of your event planning. Our professional project managers will oversee the entire logistical management with you. Contact us below now to set up a casual meeting at your convenience and let us help you with your upcoming project! 

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