Any good event planner understands that planning an event is impossible without help. No matter how good you are at it, there is always something that would require other people’s skills and talents.
On top of that, every event is unique and require different sets of people. Often, it is like building an entirely new company every single time, which is especially true when working with freelancers.
Because of this, it is imperative that every event planner know the necessary steps in creating an event planning dream team.
Step #1: Define Job Descriptions
The first step in creating an event planning dream team is establishing each person’s responsibilities. This means you should provide a very detailed job description of the type of team members you need, including the work hours, primary responsibilities, decisions and limitations that can be made by each member, his or her immediate supervisor and subordinates, and the overall purpose of the position.
This way, the person you’re hiring for each part of the event planning process is crystal clear on what is expected of him or her and what should be attained by the end of the project. Below are 5 core members of an event planning team and their respective job description:
1. Team Lead – A team leader is responsible for overseeing every aspect of the event planning. He or she can delegate tasks and is usually responsible for choosing members of the team and in ensuring that they work towards achieving the overall goal of the event.
2. Program Administration – The job of program administrators is to organize more specific details of the event, including catering, venue, audience, and the schedule of events.
3. Creative Committee – As their title implies, members of the creative committee are in charge of the event coverage (photo and video), promotion or multimedia marketing (social media, website, AVPs). They are also the ones to come up with proposals for the event’s theme, branding, and other visuals.
4. Treasury – This job primarily involves handling everything about money. That means they oversee cash flow in and out of the event are the ones consulted during budgeting, payment disbursements, and others. Some events may also require grants and sponsors which fall under the Treasury Committee’s jurisdiction.
5. Operations Liaisons – People who are hired as operations liaisons are tasked to do the blue-collar labor, such as setting up the stage, organizing the tables and chairs, and cleaning up after the event is done. They are also the ones overseeing security and crowd management.
Step #2: Establish an Organizational Chart
After distributing and defining the work, it is time to establish the hierarchy in the event planning dream teams. Obviously, the team leader is at the top of the pyramid, with every head of each committee reporting directly to him or her. This serves as a map for who reports to who and the other way around.
Step #3: Create A Decision Matrix
Aside from the organizational chart, it is also important to establish a decision matrix to identify the scope of each team member’s decision-making capacity such as the finances (budget, purchasing, and costs), safety (employee and guests safety protocols), and design (event theme and any changes on the aesthetics of the program). This is also how event organizers can pinpoint the member of the team did well and which ones didn’t.
Step #4: Set Your Goals and KPIs
Before the event occurs, the team leader should be able to establish key performance indicators (KPI) based on the goal set before the planning began. KPIs can be set individually and would be based on the person’s responsibilities. This way, it would be easier to motivate team members, especially if reward awaits a job well done.
