23 Oct

Corporate event staffing – although a large part of the agency at Eventeem, it is an area of our staffing that is perhaps neglected in our case studies, blog articles and social media channels. The reason for this is that we simply don’t receive the plethora of event photos compared with what we receive from our experiential teams; it is just not part of their brief.

Our corporate event staff are often a more reserved bunch, that arrive to work cool, calm and collected, and get the job done to an impeccable standard, with minimal fuss and attention. They are the competent stalwarts of your corporate event; the experienced hand that ensures things run smoothly on the day which is why, despite their clear differences, we value them just as much as we do our outgoing, vocal and bold promotional staff.

Awards ceremony at the FD Arena in Leeds

What corporate events do we staff?

The large majority of the work at Eventeem is project based, which means we never quite know what is just around the corner in terms of staffing requirements. This means that planning workloads and allocating shifts can sometimes be challenging, but it also means that we learn to expect the unexpected, and never balk at an ambitious brief.

However there are a number of common roles that crop up on a regular basis;

• Conference Staff; We staff conferences on behalf of a number of clients on a weekly basis. These could be internal conferences for large organisations like Starbucks, member conferences organised by industry associations, or conferences centred around education. The role of our staff at such conferences can vary significantly but will usually involve some form of meet & greet, manning information points, the management of roving microphones and the distribution of welcome packs or event bags.
• Registration Staff; Event registration staff are specifically employed to manage the registration process and the arrival of delegates to a corporate event. This could include the manning of registration desks, or in recent years self registration kiosks, and the printing and scanning of name badges, often distributed with a branded lanyard.
• Exhibition Staff; As with conference staff, exhibition staff can take on a number of roles, and actually are not limited to corporate events. Whilst we do staff a number of corporate exhibitions and trade shows, we also provide staff for consumer exhibitions like the Ideal Home Show and Grand Designs Live to name a couple. Our staff will usually take on “here to help” roles, being the friendly face for public enquiries on behalf of the event organiser, or sometimes the event venue.
• Event Hosts & Hostesses; Often requested for corporate parties and awards ceremonies, our event hosts and hostesses are well presented, eloquent personnel that will usually be the first faces that guests see when they arrive to an event. Whilst roles can vary, they will generally take on a meet and greet role, sometimes being required to manage a drinks reception or serve canapés.
• Bilingual Event Staff; It is quite common that a client will request their corporate event staff speak more than one language. Whilst English is usually a must, we are regularly asked to provide teams that are fluent in other languages in addition. As our HQ is based in Cardiff, we work with a number of locally based businesses, and of course the Welsh Government and we are therefore regularly asked for fluent Welsh speakers for events throughout Wales. European languages are also a common request, and we’re regularly asked for bilingual speakers from further afield. The most challenging request to date was for a team of Mandarin speakers, for an internal conference with MINI!

Conference Staff working in Manchester

Where do we staff corporate events?

In short, throughout the UK! Of course we have some areas in which our team is more highly populated than in others, but on the whole we can cover events anywhere on the mainland.

We have around 1,000 corporate event staff on our team, located close to every major UK conference and exhibition centre, and where required our client services team includes travel and accommodation costs in our quotes, if they feel they will need to search further afield to secure the right people for a particular event.

What attributes do we look for in our event staff candidates?

As with all recruitment, it’s key that the staff we bring onto our team are able to demonstrate reliability and commitment early on in our relationship with them. Whilst it’s not always possible to prove these attributes until the new recruits are put to the test, we value the candidates that talk about their love for the job and the desire to impress during the initial stages of the interview process.

But specific to corporate event staff, we especially look out for candidates that we feel will be able to adapt their approach to engage appropriately with stakeholders at all levels. Our corporate event staff regularly find themselves working in environments in front of senior management, investors and global leaders, so it is vital that we hand pick staff that will present themselves professionally, are able to demonstrate experience in similar roles, and that communicate appropriately, confidently and politely at all times.

Presentation is also a key consideration in our hunt for the perfect corporate event staff. We look for a cross section of demographics when adding to our team, but whatever their gender, age or ethnicity, the one thing our corporate event staff must have in common is that they will be well presented and groomed to perfection on the day. This is so important to our clients that we even send out style guidelines when briefing our teams, to ensure that all staff appear in line with our clients’ brand values.

Exhibition staff working at the Nisa Tradeshow near Birmingham

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To talk to us about corporate event staffing, call us on 02921 676 500 or email hello@eventeem.co.uk for a call back.
Alternatively find out more here >> Corporate Event Staff