You’re a few months away from what you hope to be a show-stopping event for your association’s members. While you can hardly wait for the day to come, you know there’s still a lot to get done in the meantime—from locking down the perfect venue to developing attention-grabbing marketing materials that drive registrations. Effectively engaging your event team ensures they maintain the focus and motivation they need to excel in their roles.
In this guide, we’ll reveal some top tips for supporting your event team and paving the way for an unforgettable event. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Clearly outline roles and expectations.
- Promote wellness among your event team.
- Make sustainable decisions.
- Check in with your event team often.
- Practice gratitude.
By keeping your event team engaged to the finish line, you’ll set your next event (and future events to come) up for a resounding success.
1. Clearly outline roles and expectations.
Minimize confusion and maximize productivity by clarifying which people get assigned to which roles. Doing so empowers your staff and volunteers to confidently deliver on expectations without waiting for more specific guidance or conflicting with someone else’s responsibilities.
For instance, let’s say that you’re preparing to host a hybrid event, like a conference or networking session. Your event team will likely include the following roles:
- Event Manager. This individual oversees your event planning as a whole, coordinating with various team members to ensure that everything proceeds smoothly. They’ll create a timeline for your planning and managing the event budget.
- IT Specialist. This team member will leverage your event software to ensure that both in-person and virtual attendees have a pleasant experience at your event. They’ll help with setting up video and audio and, during the event itself, assist with any technical issues or questions.
- Digital Engagement Coordinator. Virtual attendees may find it more challenging to make connections when they can’t engage in face-to-face interactions. Therefore, it’s crucial to have dedicated strategies to keep them engaged. The digital engagement coordinator will send live polls, conduct Q&As, and manage the chat room during your event.
- Marketing and Communications Manager. Promoting your upcoming event is vital to securing as many event registrations as possible. The marketing and communications manager will craft eye-catching marketing materials like social media posts and video clips to drum up excitement leading up to your event. Additionally, they can cover follow-ups like thank-you messages and event recaps.
- Sponsorship Coordinator. Sponsorships can provide essential funding to cover your event expenses and enhance your event’s overall quality. This team member will be responsible for securing event sponsors and cultivating long-term, productive relationships with them by maintaining communication throughout and following the event.
Always opt for more communication than less—not just with your team but with the individual volunteers who will be helping out on the day of the event as well. Ensure they have clear roles tailored to their strengths and interests, whether checking guests in at a conference or collecting donated running shoes for a good cause.
2. Promote wellness among your event team.
Wellness is emerging as an increasing priority among both companies and associations. You want your team members to put in their best effort when preparing for your upcoming event, but this shouldn’t come at the cost of their health and well-being.
There are several widespread wellness benefits that you can offer to your event team and all your association employees, including:
- Flexible working arrangements
- Mental health services and resources
- Gym membership
- Wellness workshops
Demonstrate to your event team that you’re invested in them as individuals, not just for performance in their roles. It can go a long way toward building loyalty, reducing burnout, and retaining their skills and talent for years to come. Additionally, by ensuring your team is taking care of themselves, you can be confident they’ll feel their best and deliver when the event date rolls around.
3. Make sustainable decisions.
According to Gallup, 71% of Americans worry “a fair amount” to “a great deal” about the environment. Chances are, many of your event team members and future attendees fall into this category. Engaging in sustainable practices at your association is not only an essential aspect of good corporate citizenship. It can attract more socially conscious employees, volunteers, and members.
Encourage your team to make sustainable decisions during event planning, such as:
- Choosing a venue that uses renewable energy sources.
- Offering a virtual attendance option to reduce the carbon footprint.
- Providing event materials in a digital format.
- Adding recycling bins throughout your venue.
At the same time, there are plenty of sustainable initiatives that you can organize for your association as a whole. For instance, you could hold educational workshops for staff and members to attend or plan regular recycling events. Sneakers4Good suggests creatively boosting your environmental impact by collecting and donating gently used running shoes.
4. Check in with your event team often.
While each event team member has their tasks and responsibilities, they must be able to work cohesively to achieve your overarching event goals. 89% of HR leaders agree that ongoing peer feedback and check-ins are critical for successful outcomes.
Ensure that your event team feels supported at all times by:
- Opening up channels for daily communication, such as Slack.
- Scheduling weekly or bi-weekly meetings to share important updates.
- Sending out an annual or bi-annual survey to collect feedback.
Be on the lookout for ways that you can better support your event team moving forward. For instance, they may identify a need to update your event equipment or adjust your marketing strategy in a way that allows you to improve future results.
5. Practice gratitude.
Developing a culture of gratitude at your association is an excellent way to build a tight-knit community of employees, volunteers, and members around your mission. While you know it’s common practice to thank attendees after your event, don’t forget to recognize all the hard work done by your event team!
eCardWidget’s employee recognition guide recommends several engaging options for thanking your event team, including:
- Recognition awards or certificates
- Social media shoutouts
- Animated eCards
- A wall of fame
Provide your event team with opportunities to recognize their peers for exemplary performance. It can be as simple as an eCard that they can fill out or a bulletin board that they can post positive comments.
Even after a well-executed event, keep engaging your event team members to solidify their morale and strengthen their bonds. Host a post-event debrief and discuss relevant event metrics such as attendance or virtual versus in-person engagement.
Then, take the opportunity to brainstorm ways you can boost your results moving forward. Doing so allows your event team to celebrate successes and develop a mindset for improving from one event to the next.