‘You will need adequate staff to make the day run smoothly.’

STAFFING THE EVENT

At the absolute minimum you will need at least one extra pair of hands at the registration desk in case you are called away to trouble-shoot. The desk should be manned at all times throughout the registration period and afterwards in case of late comers.

A briefing to all staff members in advance of the first delegates arriving will ensure that they are aware of the location of toilets, cloakroom facilities and lunch room, and of time schedules and other important details.

Assessing staffing requirements

You will need adequate staff to make the day run smoothly. Before the event, ask yourself these questions:

• Who is going to switch the house lights on and off?
• Who is going to operate the projector?
• Who is going to pass around the roving mike?
• Who is going to deal with press enquiries?

If the conference is spread over a large campus, do you need directional staff at strategic points?

Meeting staff needs

If you do not have adequate staff readily available, you can often summon up help from various places. These could include:

• Local students if the venue is a university and the subject being discussed is appropriate to their area of study. Very often students, always on a tight budget, will appreciate free entry to the conference in exchange for tasks such as looking after the lights.
• Volunteers from your club/association.
• You can also hire professional conference staff from specialist agencies – obviously a costly option but worthwhile in terms of experience compared to the previous options.

Staff, whether voluntary or hired, must be smartly dressed in keeping with the image you wish to project. Badges or sashes will help delegates identify staff.

BEFORE THE DAY STARTS

Before anyone arrives walk the route from the car park or entrance to the registration desk and on to the conference room. Imagine you are arriving for the first time, as your delegates will be shortly. Is the route clearly signposted? Are there any recently-placed obstacles blocking the route? Is it clean and tidy? Sort out the problem immediately if necessary. This may mean doing it yourself or asking venue staff to take care of it.

Test (or witness) the audio visual equipment being used yourself to make sure all is working properly.

Briefing staff and delegates

Ensure that all key personnel are briefed in relation to evacuation procedures and any other related matters, and that the emergency exists are identified and kept clear. Their location and the congregation point outside the building should be clearly described to delegates during the chairperson’s opening remarks.

DEALING WITH REGISTRATION

The registration desk should be sited where it is going to be easily spotted as delegates arrive, and where delegates are not able to slip through without registering. The desk should be kept free of junk – remember this is the first impression that delegates will have of the event. First impressions should not be underestimated. If you have access to display boards, two or three placed behind the desk will look professional, provide an opportunity to display the event or your organisation logo, and also provide somewhere behind which to store things.

If delegates are required to register and collect conference bags someone should be free to deal with queries which may arise, such as late payments, so as to avoid holding up the rest of the queue.

Often on your arrival you will be met by the venue co-ordinator who will run through the day’s events with you. You should have the means to contact this person should a query or emergency arise during the event. This could be via walkie-talkie, phone or pager.

The purpose of badges

Badges are very useful for a number of reasons. As well as allowing immediate identification for security reasons they also encourage networking. For example, at an international conference very few people may know each other and placing the country of origin as well as the delegate’s name on the badge can help to break the ice.

There are various options available. You can choose from a variety of materials including stickers, rigid plastic or the more common PVC badge holder with a card inserted into it. These come in a wide assortment of styles, sizes and prices. You can have badges pre-printed by a specialist badge company or you can print the delegates’ names on labels and stick them onto a card printed with the event logo which can then be inserted into a badge holder.

Badge layouts

Depending on the type of conference, you can choose the layout that is most appropriate. At business events it is usual to include the delegate’s name, position and company, but there are no hard and fast rules for this. Other ideas follows:

name	name	name	name
	company	position	company
		Company	country

Badges can be attached to clothing by a pin or a clip. Ladies may prefer a pin as they typically do not have a breast pocket on suits. Tape lanyards are becoming increasingly popular allowing the delegates to hang the badge around their necks. The badges themselves and the neck cord offer another opportunity for sponsorship. The size of the font used on the badges must be large enough for the details to be read at a reasonable distance. This avoids delegates having to stand six inches away from the next delegate whilst staring at their bosom in order to read their name badge!

PREPARING DELEGATE PACKS

You may intend giving each delegate an information pack as they arrive. It may include a programme or itinerary, speaker biographies, abstracts of the presentations, a delegate list and any sponsored items such as pens, notebooks and advertising material. The pack may be a simple cardboard folder, a cloth bag, or even a small briefcase. The options are numerous and, of course, provide an excellent sponsorship opportunity. They should be packed in advance of the event as it can be a time-consuming and laborious job.

REMEMBERING DELEGATE CARE

You will want to create the best possible learning environment for your delegates, and that includes making them feel relaxed and welcome. Delegates who travel from some distance often over-estimate how long it will take to get there, so expect them early.

You and your staff should remain helpful, cheerful and understanding throughout the event – but not patronising, especially if delegates arrive stressed after a difficult journey.

Coping with grievances

If a delegate has a grievance for any reason, take them away from the main registration area to discuss it. The benefits of this are:

• 1.You can give them your full attention.
• 2.They will feel you are listening to them.
• 3.Other delegates need not be affected by it.

Whether or not the complaint is justified, keep calm. Keep your voice steady and listen fully to what the person has to say. Obtain the facts of the matter, empathise with the complainant and assure them that you have understood their complaint. Be sure that any action promised to resolve the situation is taken and followed up as necessary.

In any situation where a query or grievance is made that cannot be dealt with immediately, assure the delegate that you will get the information or explanation they need as soon as possible (and don’t forget to do it!)

Making registration smooth

Keep queues as short as possible. If the registration period is reasonably long you will find delegates arrive at varying times which makes the registration process much easier, as opposed to a 15-minute registration period for 200 people when they will all arrive at the same time. If delegate bags, papers, badges, etc are to be issued, work out a system in advance so that it runs as smoothly as possible.

Providing an appropriate atmosphere

Providing coffee and tea during registration helps delegates to settle down after their journey before the conference starts and also helps to create a networking environment. Many venues include coffee on arrival in the day-delegate price but do not take this for granted. Remember to check and order in advance if necessary.

Taking messages

It is useful to have a message board next to the registration desk. Telephone messages for delegates that come in during the day can be pinned on to it. You should be able to obtain the telephone number of the registration desk in advance of the event. If so, it can be useful to issue it to delegates in the confirmation letter, together with a reminder that mobile phones must be switched off or turned to silent/vibrate whilst the conference is in session.

Contacting other services

Keep contact details for the local doctor, hospital, taxi and railway enquiry office in an accessible place as you will be bound to be asked for at least one of them. Also take along a tool box full of useful items, such as scissors and sellotape, that may be required.

Giving notice of time

If the day is going to run to schedule, it is essential that it starts on time. Give the delegates notice when the event is due to start, first ten minutes, then five minutes, then when it starts – there are always stragglers! When the delegates are all safely stowed in their room, tidy up the registration area in preparation for the morning break. Check the toilets to see if they are clean and tidy, and adequately stocked and alert the venue staff if they are not.

Looking after everyone

During the refreshment breaks, don’t forget to look after those people who often get waylaid, such as the chairperson and the audio visual technicians. They will be as in need of refreshment as everyone else, but often find themselves tied up with delegates and other speakers.

Refreshment breaks

After the first refreshment break, assess how it went -were there long queues? Was there enough coffee? If there had been any problem alert the appropriate person (e.g. the venue staff) so that the later refreshment breaks can be trouble-free. Waiting time for tea and coffee can be reduced by ensuring that the number of serving points are adequate for the number of delegates. One serving point for 150 delegates is going to result in considerably longer queues than three or four serving points. A useful tip is to have the milk sugar and biscuits on a separate table so that delegates move away from the serving area as swiftly as possible.

Lunch provision

If providing lunch for exhibitors, they will appreciate being able to have it prior to the delegates breaking for lunch. This must be pre-arranged with caterers and will result in stands being fully manned during breaks. The menu for lunch will have been decided upon some time before. If tables and chairs are not available in the lunch room, order a fork, or more preferably, a finger buffet so that delegates will be able to eat it easily. Most venues have a range of menus to suit a variety of budgets and seating arrangements and will be able to give advice based on their experience.

REMEMBERING SPEAKER CARE

Even experienced speakers can suffer from nerves before presenting, and this is no bad thing as the resulting increase in adrenalin often helps to boost the speaker’s performance. There are certain steps, though, that can be taken to prevent the speakers becoming unnecessarily stressed. As mentioned in the chapter on choosing speakers, you should have provided the speakers with adequate directions to the venue and instructions as to what to do on arrival, such as whether they need to register with you and collect a badge, or whether they need to report to another person. If your budget and the facilities allow, it is useful to have a separate room for the speakers’ use, where they can prepare themselves, run through their slides and generally get away from the hustle and bustle of the main conference area.

Before their talk is not the time to discuss payments and other details. Wait until after the presentation so that the speakers can remain focused on the job in hand.

Checking arrangements

• By requesting each speaker’s estimated time of arrival and method of transport in advance you will be in a position to know whether there is any cause for concern if a speaker has not arrived at the start of the conference. Other commitments may prevent them from attending the whole event and you will expend much-needed energy and resources chasing missing speakers who may have had no intention of arriving until lunchtime for their afternoon talk.

• If visual aids are being used, introduce the speaker to the operator so that necessary information can be exchanged and time can be arranged for setting up their particular AV system.
• Don’t forget the chairperson when dealing with speaker issues. Ensure they have been introduced to the day’s speakers and that they have appropriate biographies to enable them to introduce them. They should also have a list of any ‘housekeeping’ notices they need to give, such as any health and safety instructions, lunch notices, etc.
• If you are in the luxurious position of having some or all of the speakers arriving for rehearsals prior to the event (perhaps whilst you are setting up the day before) allocate each of them a time slot so that they are aware that you will be working to a schedule. It is unfortunately not uncommon to set up a rehearsal afternoon and for all of the speakers to turn up expecting the technician’s undivided attention during the final half-hour.
• Bottled mineral water or a jug of fresh water and glasses should be available on or close to the lectern for the speakers and chairperson. One of the symptoms of nerves is a dry throat, so make sure that lubrication is within easy reach!

TROUBLE-SHOOTING

In the event of a disaster – the screen falls over, the sound system breaks down, a speaker fails to arrive – stay calm! Everyone will look to you for the answer; it is not the incident that will be remembered – it is how quickly you get things back together.

At the end of the day, don’t forget to have a look around for any belongings that have been left behind by delegates. You will often find a jumper, an umbrella and someone’s delegate bag containing their scrupulously taken notes. As the delegates are leaving all staff must be courteous and make the delegates feel that their presence has been appreciated.

Enjoying yourself

Above all, enjoy the event! Delegates, speakers and management will all take their cue from you as the key person. If you appear relaxed, cheerful but alert and ready to respond to any emergency, so will they. Conversely, if you appear nervous, anxious and look upon the whole event as a burden rather than a challenge, no one will enjoy it.