Learning aim, A: Explore the role of an event organiser
P1: Explain the role and skills required to be an effective event organiser.
An event organiser is someone who organises an event that matches a client’s brief. They would be
asked to organise an event that would match up to a client’s expectation when they are at the event.
If the event organiser does not meet the client’s expectations of what has been told to the
organises, they would consequently be sacked as they are take full accountability in taking up for
this job with full control in organising the event with a given a budget. Moreover, they would need
to ensure that the tasks given by the client must be fulfilled within the given budget from start to
finish whilst simultaneously taking considerations with the amount of costs that comes along with
setting up with this budget to prevent themselves from being budget deficit from minimising the
costs as much as possible. The event organiser would work on would include the location of the
event that will take place. For example, making sure that the location is big enough for the event to
take place that aligns with the expectations from the client. The organiser would go over the list they
were told to include in the event to browse the costs of including the list, researching on alternative
options for lower costs, the durability of the items in the list, the width of the items to fit the
location, etc.
Furthermore, the event organiser would have to do a risk assessment about the items purchased
and possible events that may occur to ensure that no one is injured. Moreover, they should take
everyone’s health into considerations that are attending the event to prevent any potential allergic
reaction or health risks to occur. On the day of the event, foods and drinks must be provided enough
for everyone and it aligns with everyone’s health, matching everyone’s needs and wants that they
can be satisfied from which will demonstrate a good customer service. For example, providing a
hygiene facility for people that have a weak bladder with provided clean toilets will increase their
satisfaction because cleaner toilets will contribute to better health as there will be less germs and
bacterias. The skills required to have as an event organiser can be organisational, problem-solving,
time management.
Venue
The event organiser must make sure that the event that will happen will be take place at a perfect
venue to create an experience that the audience can enjoy from, making it memorable. Selecting a
venue will be a challenge as the event organiser is required to choose sets of locations that the event
should take place, which makes the duration to choose a venue vary as it requires a huge amount of
research to decide the best possible outcome for the client’s requests, taking each and every task set
by the organiser in consideration such as the theme the client wants (e.g., peaceful environment
would mean having the venue take place in an area that is located at a quiet forest nearby a lake)
and if it's within the budget and the availability for the place. Moreover, event organiser should
consider the type of venue. For example, the size of the venue and the capacity, whether or not it
can include everyone while simultaneously deliver a good experience that the audience can enjoy,
from an environment that is perfect such as having the venue being not too cramped and not too
spacious depending on the audience’s preference. Therefore, event organiser would be required to
choose the right type of venue and decide where it would take place; indoors or outdoors depending
on the amount of people attending. By doing this, it would allow the event to proceed smoothly,
reducing the likelihood of any occurrences that may leave a bitter experience for the audience. In
addition to this, event organiser should do a risk assessment to ensure that everyone will be safe
from encountering any potential hazards such as following health and safety act 1974. This will
require communication skills as the event organiser will be in contact with venue owners and during
,the communication, the event organiser may be required to ask for the full details of the venue, the
size of it, the quality of the venue, etc so that the event planner will be able to get the best possible
venue for the client/clientele to ensure that the people attending to the event will be satisfied.
Location
Secondly, the event organiser should ensure that the venue that will be taken place must be at a
location that the client wants and the accessibility of the location. For example, to provide an
enjoyable experience for client and its audience, event organiser must search for a location that is
accessible for them to enter with convenience to prevent any delays and the convenience and time
taken needed to travel there such as having the location taking place near a public transport
provided for the audience to travel by that matches their preferences (train station, bus stops, taxis,
etc). Furthermore, event organiser should be able to choose a location that fits the client’s
expectations. For example, if the client wants a location that is not cramped, is quiet, etc; he/she
should be able to find a location that fits within the expectations. Additionally, event organiser must
be required to do a risk assessment for the venue to take place at by considering factors associate
with the location beforehand. For example, the security of the location it has (any recent crimes),
and the capacity of the location, whether or not if it can be accessible by everyone without any sort
of discomfort. Therefore, this would be associated with research skills as conducting a risk
assessment would require a lot of research of each and every location to assess the quality of the
location, the size of the location, the benefits and downsides of the location, whilst taking into
account if it's fit for purpose in relation with the client/clientele’s request.
Catering
The event organiser must be required to have an effective planning on catering section of the event
as it is vital for the people that are attending is enough for everyone to eat, has cuisines that
matches their preferences that satisfies them. For catering section to process smoothly, there should
be a clear line of instructions within the cooking team by using a hierarchical structure (e.g., head
chef, assistance chef, chef, etc). Moreover, event organiser is required to have the money to buy the
right ingredients align with the audience’s preferences and quantity of the dishes whilst remaining
within budget. This is to ensure that there will be enough money that can be allocated towards other
areas besides catering and making sure the quality of food is high quality to maintain satisfaction
amongst people. In addition, the event organiser must need to know every individual that is
attending the event collectively to know whether or not they have any allergies. For example, to
have dishes prepared for the people that have allergies that they are allowed to eat will satisfy and
as well as respecting their well-being, preventing them from experience from hazard. Moreover,
event organiser needs to consider whether the food adheres to some people’s religion such as the
Islamic law were Islamic people are only allowed to eat food that is permissible known as “halal”
otherwise it will go against their religion if they have eaten food that are not halal. Therefore, that
must be a menu prepared that shows the description of each and every dishes by using symbols
placed next to the dishes on the menu, signifying what the dish contains (chilli, vegan, halal
symbols). In addition, legislation must be adhered during the catering process such as health and
safety act by keeping the environment clean and organised to make sure hazards are less likely to
occur with workers and the audience. The skill required for catering would be communication
because the event organiser must need to know what the ingredients are contained in the cuisines
and dishes to prevent any potential allergic reaction from attendees that have allergies that would
then have a significant impact on the event such as delays from having to contact an ambulance to
,come over and as well as preparing dishes that are halal to maintain satisfaction amongst attendees
specifically individuals that are Muslim.
Planning and reserving facilities (car parks, toilets, Wi-Fi, market stalls)
The event organiser must be required to provide the essential facilities for the event that the client
has asked for and the mandatory facilities for the audience such as toilets for people that are in need
for urination, defecation and to wash their hands for hygienic purposes, whilst having the right
amount of toilets that will be enough for everyone to use. An example of a facility that the client
may request can be Wi-Fi which enables people the ability to access to the internet within the signal
area. Therefore, to satisfy the client and audience, event organiser may have to take the internet
speed into account for better experience for the audience to enjoy from without having to wait for
an application or website to load at a slower of pace that can cause frustration. Factors associated
with Wi-Fi would be the mbps download and upload rate and as well as estimating the amount of
people that will attend the event to get the most suitable router for everyone can use without being
frustrated by the speed of the internet. If the router is only suitable for a small amount of people
and the event being held has a large amount of people, they will be frustrated by the slowness of the
speed as there are too many users accessing to the internet. For example, an event that might
require good Wi-Fi connection would be a video game tournament. This is because for the esports
players to perform at their best and to ensure that the tournament is fair with everyone having the
same amount of connectivity. By having a good internet speed it will reduce the likelihood for
players to experience lag which can significantly affect a player’s performance due to stutters and
with good internet speed it will help reduce latency, allowing players to enjoy a responsive gaming
experience. As a result of having a good internet speed, it will prevent the event’s reputation to be in
tatters and maintain the fans’ satisfaction, seeing their favourite esports player competing with
others in good condition.
Hence, it important to consider the amount of people that will be attending. Additionally, event
organiser may be required to have the event take place at a location that has a nearby parking lot for
people to park their vehicles at when travelling to the event whilst considering the amount of people
that will arrive by vehicles to make sure the car park is enough for all drivers. This is so that it will be
convenient especially for people that have a preference of drinking cars than other transportation
methods and can comfortably enjoy the event without having to worry about a parking ticket
knowing that their vehicle is safely parked at the car park. The skill required for this would be
problem solving skill, this is because as an event organiser you would be required to think of many
ways to increase facilities or improving facilities whether if it’s the cleanliness or the quantity based
on the amount of attendees that will be attending. This is to allow the event to be carried out
smoothly and to ensure that attendees will be have a memorable experience.
Setting up programme
It is important for the event organiser is to have a perfectly laid out plan with a clear line of schedule
to make event to be carried out successfully and efficiently. For example, event organiser may want
to speak to every individual employee collectively or have a group discussion to gather ideas that
can help potentially improve the event more from asking questions on what the attendees may
enjoy for fun, their preferences in foods and drinks for better experience. During the plan it is
important to regularly to check the list of things the client wants and what is needed to make the
, event fit for client’s request such as getting a photo shoot for someone’s birthday party to create
and preserve memories that they can go back to. Therefore, by having a well-constructed plan that
the event organiser can regularly check on, not only does it makes the event to be carried out more
effectively and smoothly, but it will also ensure everything is in place to prevent any complaints. The
skill required to setting up programme would time management because you must need to know
the amount of time needed to set up activities in relation to theme that a client as requested on
time.
Provide an example of a programme/itinerary
An example of a programme will have every schedule times that will happen during an event
including breaks. When making a programme the event organiser can make the most interesting
event to happen last (e.g., famous music band performing) to encourage attendants to stay behind
as an incentive for them to be able to see this big event to unfold making this event memorable.
Therefore, by making the biggest event to proceed at the end, retention in attendance will likely be
higher which gives the event an opportunity to receive feedbacks from attendees on what they’ve
like about the event and as well as being able to sell more products; contributing to higher
profitability which makes the event more successful.
Preparing and distributing documents
Before the event happens, event organiser must be able to prepare documents and distribute the
documents. When preparing documents, the event organiser must agree with documents given by
the venue contractor regarding the amount of time the event organiser is obliged to borrow before
they must guide it back whether it is borrowing the location, venue, Furnitures, etc, these are legal
documents and comes with a cost in borrowing. Moreover, it is important for the event organiser to
receive approval from clients that allows the event to take actions necessary to make the event
successful and it is also essential for the client updated on what’s happening with the process of
carrying out the event. This is so that the event organiser will be able to receive feedbacks on certain
areas of the event that the event organiser may have missed out by accident which further increases
the success rate of the event to be done in client’s favour. In addition to this, event organiser will
also be able to establish a strong healthy relationship with the client(s). Additionally, event organiser
may be required to include insurance documents to prevent any damage occur in terms of
financially, physically, mentally to ensure there is protection during the event that has taken place.
For an event to be successful, it would require public liability insurance. This is very important for an
event to require because not only does it protect legal costs for the event itself but also the
claimants and covers any injuries imposed against an event of an injury. Therefore, using this
insurance method, the event is more likely to be successful as it is transferring the risk to insurance
provider as it acts as a safeguard for the event itself and its surroundings against the risk of loss and
damage. Another type of document required to be distributed would be leaflets, this is used for
spreading awareness of the event that will take place with a given time showing when it will take
place, the location that the event will take place, the entry fee, description of the event, etc and sent
to the right people. These documents are needed to be distributed before the event in order to have
a successful event because without it, no one would be aware of the event and as well as having an
inability of having locations, venues, facilities, etc in place. Preparing and distributing documents
would require organisation because to send out documents to attendees before, during and after,
you need to be organised to fully distribute the documents by separating them into sections in order
to ease the distribution process when there's a clear line of management and prioritising. The