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Almost Showtime: The Life of an Event Planner One Week Out
It’s a very good idea to take at least two full days off before the last week prior to
your event opening. You’ll need to be rested and refreshed because this week will be very
hectic and demanding, and it is followed immediately by the demands of the event itself. During
this week, make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothing, stay hydrated, get eight
hours of sleep each night, and eat healthy and nutritious foods with very little salt
or process sugars in them, avoid tobacco products and distilled spirits. That’s how you’ll
take care of yourself so you can take care of everything and everyone else associated
with your event. In this video module we’ll look at many
of the tasks and responsibilities you’ll have to fit into that last five days before
your attendees arrive. This discussion assumes that you are planning and managing a very
large event and that you’ll arrive at your venue about five days before the event opens.
You may only need a couple days or even one at most events; if this is the case, many
of the items on this list will be completed at your office before you travel to the venue.
This list is not in order of priority as you’ll need to determine what comes first and next
for each event’s final week, but it does cover almost all of the last-week projects
and priorities. Tour the venue or venues—As soon as you
can, get together with your venue point person and take a tour of the entire venue, including
the behind-the-scenes areas like kitchens, bathrooms and sample guest accommodations.
The earlier you do this, the more time you have to make any last minute alterations to
your venue spaces or have the venue staff correct any problems.
Manage any necessary rehearsals—From audio visual to communications, lighting to security,
your service providers and staff need to schedule and perform any rehearsals these suppliers
require. If you have dedicated certain staff members to specific suppliers, you may not
need to participate in the rehearsals; however, make sure at least two members of your management
team participate in each so every key player has, in effect, and understudy who can take
over their responsibilities if necessary. Meet with your key point people—Have a pre-conference
with your staff and all your venue, supplier, and vendor point people. This ensures everyone
knows who all the players and their responsibilities are and how to readily communicate with them.
At this time, encourage each person to voice any concerns, potential problems, and new
additions that relate to the event’s success. Give everyone their final marching orders
and make sure they are all clear about them and ready to make the event a great success.
Set up the on-site office—You may even have to run out any buy a few forgotten supplies
when setting up the office. Give yourself as much time as you can to get the network
up and running, work spaces organized, etc. Then test all of the equipment used to make
sure your office is fully functional and good to go.
Set up registration and check-in—Set this area up as early as the venue allows and test
its functionality. It’s a good idea to put signs at registration notifying passers-by
what the setup is for and when registration will open.
Complete welcome packages and gifts—If you haven’t already done so, make sure all of
the materials and packages the presenters and attendees need and are gifted with are
complete, organized and ready to disseminate. If some of these will be in guest rooms, create
a checklist by guest and room so you can verify that all items have been delivered to the
appropriate rooms. Complete name badges—You should have been
making name badges as attendees registered so there shouldn’t be too many to make at
this point. Remember to make badges for you staff and volunteers as well, and complete
any required for late registrants. Centrally locate all essential documents—Your
contracts, permits, insurance papers, etc. should all be located in a central and accessible
area of the office. Make sure you have a backup copy of all of these items secured in another
location in case any important documentation gets lost or damaged. If it does, make copies
from your securely stored master file and replace them.
Complete your management binder—You should have a master planner “bible” that you
keep with you at all time. Among other things, it should include contact information for
all your team and point people, backup services contacts, and room setup lists. Give some
thought as to what you’ll need to reference while you’re on the run, and create this
essential binder for the day the event starts. Verify your staffing—Now that you’ve toured
the facility, finalized attendee numbers and performed all the essential rehearsals, make
sure you have all the staff you need. If you think you’re short a person or two, add
them to your personnel by bringing in more of your employees or hiring temporary help.
Do this as soon as possible so all newbies can attend your pre-conference.
Contact “No Replies” on the RSVP list to avoid unexpected attendees—If the event
is a by-invitation affair, make sure you know exactly who is and isn’t coming. This will
help ensure you have accommodations, seating and food and beverage, as well as handouts
and gifts for everyone. Provide detailed advance packet to VIPs—One
of your services to VIPs should be early notification. Try to dispatch their welcome and information
packets to them before they arrive at the destination, and keep a duplicate of it on
file in case they forget to bring the pre-packet with them.
Collect plaques, awards and other presentation materials—Make sure all of these items are
on the premises and ready to be given out. Store them securely so they don’t get misplaced
or damaged before they are needed. Send electronic version of schedule to each
presenter for final review—Check in with all your presenters and make sure that a.
they are coming to the event and b. they have the most current schedule and know when they
have to be where. Do a courtesy check with them as well to verify that their a/v requirements
have been fulfilled and any special requirements met.
Confirm security arrangements—Make sure any security measures are fully operable and
in place. If you have any doubts, double-check everything with your point people and insist
on a rehearsal. Develop master timeline for event day(s)—As
you planned the event, you should have been developing a who does what, when and where
timeline that coincides with the agenda of the event. Finalize this document now and
make sure that everyone receives a copy at the event pre-conference.
Give final instructions to staff and volunteers—a couple hours before the event opens, have
a quick meeting with your key players. Confirm they all know their roles and responsibilities
and give them inspiration to keep their energy up and focus sharp throughout the event. It’s
a good idea to have a quick briefing with them each morning a a debrief at day-end before
the evening activities. A big part of being a great event manager is having a great team
and caring about and for them. Confirm guest count for food and beverage
services—as close to event opening as possible, make sure you have the most accurate head
count you can. Get this information to your food and beverage suppliers, and be sure to
tell them how these numbers might change if at all, and when you’ll know for sure.
Set up venue with signage, favors, awards, etc.—As close to event grand opening as
feasible, make sure all the final touches are in place. This includes signs, information
packets or kiosks, courtesy beverages and snacks, etc.
Perform sound, video and lighting checks—Give yourself enough time to have each event space
checked before the doors open. Make sure that the décor is in place, the lights and equipment
are functional, and that each first session in each space will come off without a hitch.
Now you’re ready to greet your attendees. It’s show time!