Planning an event is not a job for only one person— it requires a team effort. Even so, some event planners may be tempted to take on the task on their own, thinking that nobody else can do the job better.
However, such mentality is a misconception. The truth is, planning a successful event relies on an event planner overseeing the actual accomplishment of tasks required for the project.
Why Event Planners Should Delegate
Aside from the fact that event planning involves a list of tasks that seem to continue to grow, there are several important reasons why professional event planners delegate.
First, one person simply can’t accomplish everything considering that events have too many moving parts to prepare and monitor throughout its execution.
Also, delegating allows event planners more time to act as a host. This way, they have more time to interact with important people in the occasion, like the sponsors and attendees.
Assigning tasks to members of the team will also make them feel more valuable, something that elevates an employee’s sense of responsibility. This means they would take it upon themselves to do their best to make the event the best they’ve done so far. Thus, the event itself will benefit from delegating.
Finally, the event planner would gain a lot from delegating. Aside from avoiding a significant amount of stress, he or she may also grow professionally and provide him or her with the right perspective on management and be more organized in event planning.
Tasks Event Planners Should Assign to Others
After understanding the importance of delegation, it is time to determine which tasks can and should be assigned to other people. Remember that most of these tasks are important and the people you are delegating them to should be capable in performing them well for the event to succeed.
- Event Scheduling
Event scheduling can easily be done by an assistant and liaison. In fact, even a remote assistance, a.k.a. virtual assistant (VA), can also accomplish the job. All you need to do is set a date range or provide three ideal dates, the demographics of expected attendees, budget, constraints (if any), and overall purpose of the event you’re organizing. After that, your VA should be able to handle things like reserving the venue you had in mind and inviting attendees.
- Talking to Vendors
Speaking to vendors can be handled other people too. After listing down qualifications, your event planning team should be able to look for companies or freelancers to provide security, catering, creative services, multimedia services, and others, you should let your team handle communications with them. This way, at least one person is focused on each aspect of the event which means there should be little problems to emerge along the way.
- Guest Registration and Accommodation
Registration and accommodation of guests can also be delegated to your team as it requires thorough monitoring. Of course, you can still play a part in this task by outlining the process, monitoring the progress, and even join the team in greeting the guests.
- Servicing Queries and Requests
During the event, someone is bound to have a question or request. Of course, not everything attendees, vendors, or freelancers would demand is your concern, so be sure to have someone assigned to handle customer service.
- Activities After the Event
Post-event clean-up, surveys, vendor compensation, and others should be also delegated to team members. These activities are important, but you may not have time to accomplish all these tasks at the same time, especially if you’re tied up to meeting with sponsors and VIPs in your event. With that said, be sure to assign these activities to someone reliable for your peace of mind.
