Event Management Role & Responsibilities

06 Jun

Why Is an Experienced Event Manager Crucial?

If an event is to be a success, no matter its size, a lot of work needs to occur ahead of time. Attention to detail is crucial as goals are defined, and you plan each part of the event with meticulous attention to detail. Given that you complete these early steps with care, you can then turn to an event staffing agency who will line up the perfect event staff to make sure that all goes well on the big day, and each will have a crucial role to play if you are to reach your goals and everyone is to be happy.

Yet someone will need to be at the helm while all of this is taking place, and the event agency will need to take responsibility for delivery. So, why is the event manager one of the most crucial members of any event or exhibition staff line-up, and what do they have to do to shine?

Crafting the Goals

Executives or managers in a big corporation are often responsible for coming up with concepts and drawing up ideas for events. This work can vary from product roadshows to experiential activations or may involve large exhibitions or well-attended conferences. Those executives may have specific goals and ambitions and know what they want to achieve, but when it comes down to rolling things out, they’ll typically turn that over to the experts.

Working with an Agency

When the client chooses an experienced agency to oversee their event or activation, the agency will appoint an experienced event manager based on the given brief. They’ll ensure that the manager has the requisite experience in the specific industry, as well as the event’s style and scale. The agency will then liaise with the manager throughout the operation and ensure that they meet the overall goals without any issues.

Introducing the Event Manager

An experienced event manager will now step into the frame and take on the multitude of tasks necessary to convert those event ideas into reality.

The manager will be responsible for a range of duties depending on the event or activation. For example, conference planning roles & responsibilities may differ from an experiential campaign, but the event manager’s duties can include:

  • Delivering event assets from various locations to the site
  • Rigging and de-rigging, which will have different degrees of complexity depending on the nature and size of the event
  • Managing stock for those sampling roadshows
  • Selecting, approving, and dealing with various contractors
  • Managing and supervising a large team of staff
  • Ensuring that health and safety are front and centre
  • Dealing with media
  • Generating reports and photography
  • Liaising with the client along the way.

Defining the Skill Set

An event manager needs a particular skill set to do all this work and the myriad of other support tasks. They must know how to plan an event from start to finish, of course, but they may also be responsible for generating some ideas to make it even more successful. They must be a master logistician, dealing with third-party venues with their own site managers and specific requirements.

Further, they must have a broad understanding of how the audio-visual industry works and how they can get the best result for the attendees. While they will defer to AV technicians and artists, they’ll still need to steer their efforts so that they always meet the key event goals.

The best event managers will advise the client if they think they can help improve original plans. They’ll be very adept when it comes to analysing data to provide a post-event report and give feedback as and when needed.

Fundamentally, the event manager will also clearly understand the event goals and appreciate the audience demographic. They’ll ensure that all other event staff are on the same page even though they don’t have the same level of responsibility. The event manager must have the ability to choose staff members along the way and make sure that they place individuals in the key roles best suited to their talent and capacity. This work will help create a structural hierarchy akin to a military operation.

Is the Event Manager the Same as a Team Leader?

Some people may confuse an event manager with a team leader, but they are not quite the same. To continue the theme of a military operation, the event manager is the colonel, while the team leader might be the lieutenant. For example, several different team leaders could be at larger events, and each one would be a senior brand ambassador. They may supervise a small team of perhaps four people who, in turn, have the responsibility associated with lesser roles. Their team may conduct small-scale sampling during a roadshow, take on leafleting, capture data or perform office drops.

In turn, the team leader makes sure that they fulfil all their tasks as needed and may have a certain amount of leeway when it comes to decision making in the field.

Understanding the Team Leader’s Responsibility

Primarily, the team leader supervises the staff under their watch and manages their overall workload. They will report back at the end of the activity with written feedback, photos, and any other collateral that they may need to back up their work. They’ll undoubtedly report to the event manager as the event unfolds and may also need to liaise with the agency.

Making the Necessary Delegation

Most executives in the client organisation understand how difficult it may be to run a successful event without previous experience and they may not fully understand the entire role of an event planner. They may feel that they do not have people on staff or have the knowledge or the capability to run an event when the pressure is on. This situation is not unusual, as it does take a specific type of person to be an event manager. After all, they must function under pressure while retaining complete control and be very adept at managing teams of people. They should also have the experience of doing this type of work before, which can prove invaluable when any challenges arise.

Working with the Experts

If you want to make your upcoming event or activation a resounding success, make sure to work with an experienced agency. Talk with the knowledgeable and friendly staff at eventeem — we’ll make sure that we appoint a first-class event manager to lead your event troops into battle.