Event planning can be a long and gruelling process. Renting a venue, marketing the event, and inviting the attendees are just a few of the hundreds of responsibilities event planners have when preparing for their event. Considering all of the time that goes into planning, it is imperative that you have an incredible event staffing agency representing you at your event. With the staff being the first face your attendees see when they arrive and the last face they see when they leave, they will be what your attendees remember most about your event. Impressions last a lifetime, so it's very important to leave your attendees with a great one!
Choosing the Right Event Staffing Agency
Step 1- Event Staffing Agency Offerings
Each Event Staffing Agency has a different set of offerings. A number of agencies start working with clients during the program planning phase. Not all clients are immediately familiar with how many staff people they need for their event. In this case, it's important to work with an agency that offers program planning. In other cases, clients have executed the same event for years and simply need the staff team to show up and perform their work at a high level.
Step 2- Team Leads/Managers for Event Staff Team
All successful events have a team of Leads/Managers running the show. With that in mind, it's crucial to make sure that the event staffing agency you choose offers Leads/Managers. Before the event, Team Leads organize their team to utilize the strengths of each individual. By doing this, the team is able to be deployed quickly upon arrival. While on-site, Team Leads handle staff breaks, adjustments, help with training, and are the go-to contact for clients. With Team Leads handling everything related to the staff team, clients are able to watch over the other aspects of their event, knowing that the staff is in good hands.
Step 3- Event Staff Hiring Process
As mentioned previously, the event staff team is the face of your brand during your event. For this reason, the hiring process of the staff is very important when considering which event staffing agency to use. Many agencies function by simply filling the required numbers. While this can work for some brands, it isn't the preferred method for most. It's easy to fill out a form and show up to a job site. From our experience as event planners, staff hired this way typically perform at a low level. When looking for high quality event staff, it's important to thoroughly vet each applicant. When staff are interviewed in-person or via video, hiring managers are able to follow a set interview process and read the applicants' body language. It reveals if they are truly going to get the person who is listed on the resume or not. By truly knowing this staff person, event staffing agencies can feel confident that the team they send to each event will be of the highest quality.
Step 4- In-Office Support
There is nothing worse than having a problem and not being able to contact the right person to solve it. For this reason, it's crucial to work with an event staffing agency that provides in-office support around the clock. If an on-site team is too small to require a Team Lead, the in-office team becomes the team lead. They work directly with the on-site team and with the client to insure that everything goes off without a hitch. When a Team Lead is on-site, the in-office team supports the Team Lead. If the event ends up needing more staff, the Team Lead lets the in-office team know and they handle it accordingly. If a staff person calls in sick, the in-office team replaces them with the scheduled backup. Ultimately, event staffing agencies with in-office support allow the client and on-site team to focus on the event while they handle everything else.
Step 5- References
Any event staffing agency that claims to be the best in the business will have references to prove it. There are plenty of specific characteristics to consider when hiring the right event staffing agency, but why not ask brands who have already worked with them? By contacting references, you can hear the unfiltered truth about the agency. The good, the bad, and everything in between. If an event staffing agency receives rave reviews from a brand/event similar to yours, there's a good chance that they'll be a great staffing partner for you and your brand!