1. Production Role Research
The Events Manager
PLANNING
AND KEY SKILLS
One of the most important aspects of the planning
stages is weekly meetings. The Events Manager will chair each meeting and will
use these as an opportunity to be kept up to date with every department’s
progress. It is in these meetings that they will also set deadlines for the
following week/months and ask any relevant questions regarding the team’s
advancement to the next stage of managing an event. Minutes will be taken
during these meetings and issued to the group so that all deadlines set are
agreed to.
It is important during the meetings that the Events
Manager has confidence and speaks aloud with aplomb as they are directing a
large team of people through the event. He/she must also listen attentively to
all members of the group so that they not only be kept up to speed with the
progress of the group, but also that the team is kept happy, and have
confidence that their opinions and involvement is appreciated. During meetings
with large groups this may become difficult; therefore it is vital that the
Events Manager have an assertive attitude and command of the room throughout
the meeting. This can be a difficult task as assertion can often be mistook for
tyranny and so it is crucial that when managing meeting, or in fact the whole
event that a balance be kept to keep the respect and confidence of one’s team.
Another skill for this aspect of the process is the
ability to negotiate and be willing to compromise. The Events Manager will want
all tasks to be completed as soon as possible, however due to restrictions
within each team; deadlines must be set so that the team has enough time to
complete the task effectively. There may be occasions when the Events Manager
sets a deadline that the team do not believe they can meet. In these instances
the events manager must be able to negotiate so that the task is completed to a
high standard, but not so late that if effects other aspects of the event.
Negotiation is a trait that must be carried throughout the event when liaising
with talent, budget managers, catering and venue etc. to ensure practicality
and perhaps to reduce cost.
The Ability to Communicate is a vital and this true
in all aspects of the management of the event. The Events Manager must not only
communicate well with their team to ensure that everyone is aware of the
group’s progress but must be able to communicate with external persons or
companies. As the Events Manager is most commonly the point of contact with
external members e.g. The Venue, The Caterer, The talent etc. These people must
be made aware of the progress too and should they have any problems or issues
they should be able to raise them with the Events Manager with ease and this is
only possible with sufficient communication skills.
The Events Manager will also have overall budget
control. They will assign so much of the overall budget to each departments to
spend during the management of the event. It is with this task that the Events
Manager must also be able to negotiate as it will be inevitable that each
department will want to spend a lot of money to produce the best possible
event. However as is often the case, each department will have to work within
the constraints of the budget, so the Events Manager must be able to negotiate
with the department heads to try and reduce the amount of money being spent,
without effecting the overall quality.
Resourcefulness is also key during the allocation of
the budget, as most events aim to make a profit, the Events Manager must use
any means necessary to ensure that no money is being spent unnecessarily.
The Events Manager will keep track of the event’s
progress through the planning stages and will deal with any issues accordingly.
The most important being the completion of deadlines. Should any deadline not
be met, the Events Manager is responsible for dealing with this and ensuring
the deadline be complete without upsetting or effecting any other members of
the team.
Interpersonal skills are key when managing an event.
As difficult decision must be made throughout the process. Members of the team
may not be best pleased with a course of action that is being taken so it is
imperative that the team feel as though they can approach the Events Manager and
question decisions that are being made, however it is also important that each
decision be made with reason and careful consideration in order to prevent
this.
SOURCING
During this stage of the event, managing the budget
becomes crucial. Should the event require a bigger budget than has been given
by the client, the Events Management Team will often ask for sponsorship. The Events Manager will liaise with companies
and people that would be willing to donate money, and they will negotiate what
they will gain in return. Be it free passes to the event of advertising space
at the venue or in a programme. Negotiation skills are vital here to as the
team will want as much money as possible but must be careful in the instance
that the sponsors want more than can be provided.
Should fund raising events need to be organised, the
Events Manager will be responsible for organising this, and the entire process
must begin again, just on a smaller scale.
The Events Manager must constantly be liaising with
his/her team and any external persons throughout this process to ensure that
everyone is aware and on task. This could be regarding the completion of
deadlines with department heads or this could be confirming with the venue and
caterers times etc.
The Events Manager will also be in charge of
staffing the event. Should any additional staff be required e.g. waiting on
staff they will hire these or delegate this task to a Front of House manager.
It is important that competent staff be hired, but also it be cost effective.
Once the
venue has been decided and the event established, there will be a certain
amount of legal implications that will have to be researched and combated. For
example: Health and Safety. The team must ensure that the venue in which the
event is taking place adheres to all health and safety regulations. They must
also ensure all relevant staff are health and safety trained. If copyrighted
material is being used, they must ensure that all royalties have been paid and
they are legally allowed to perform/play them. If alcohol is being served, the
correct licence must be acquired and ensure that those serving the alcohol are
of legal age. Any other legal documentation that must be required for the event
to take place will be the responsibility of the Events Manager.
MANAGING
Throughout
the process there will be problems that hinder the completion of the event. The
Events Manager must be able to stay calm and collected when these arise and
sole the problem as quickly as possible so that the managing of the event can
continue
Also, the client will often want to be updated on the progress of
the event. And more often than not their expectations may not necessarily be
met, so it is the Events Manager’s responsibility to negotiate around their expectations
so that they are not left feeling unhappy or dissatisfied.
As the
performance date nears, the Events Manager will have to organise a ‘Get In’ for
venue. They must therefore stay in close contact with the venue should any
changes be made. However, if no such problem arises they must communicate with
the team responsible for technical and Front of House so that they can order
transport for equipment and so this can be set up. The same process must be
followed when organising the ‘get out’.
MEASURING
After
any event, the Events Manager must reflect on his/her success and what went
wrong. As the success of the event lies on the Events Manager’s shoulders,
he/she must be able to accept faults that were made throughout the process and
implement this understanding so that they may improve for the next event. It is
also important to thank and appreciate the team that was managed to create a
feeling that throughout the process they were worked with and not for.
2. Presentation/Application for the Production Job Role
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