Basics and Best Practices EVENT PLANNING Basics and Best Practices

TODAY’S TOPICS KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS NYC LABOR ENVIRONMENT PRICING VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS My goal is to finish our discussion in 45 minutes so let’s begin!

KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS What is the most important task in the Event Planning process? “Be stubborn about your goals, and flexible about your methods.” Identify the Goal/Purpose of the event WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS EVENT? What message do we want to send to our guests/community through this event? Make a list of 3-5 goals Ensure your Goals are SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based Communicate your goals to all stakeholders Keep Goals front-of-mind throughout the planning and execution of your event.

KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery Create event concept Who/What/Where/When/Why? Who is our audience/# of guests? Honoree? Guest speaker? Entertainment? What kind of event will we host? What has already been done? Where is the ideal location? When should we host the event? Seek and share best practices (and mistakes) Brainstorm!.

KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS “It’s all in the numbers.” Identify budget Have you produced other comparable events in the past to give you a baseline starting point? What is your bottom-line goal? Identify and research major cost centers to validate budget Get approvals from authorized personnel (never assume) Monitor budget continuously throughout the process and track variances Secure venue and vendors Read your contract If you don’t understand something, ask questions Expedite revisions by sharing any must-haves up front Include pricing in your contract and understand minimums.

KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS “Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.” -Winston Churchill Identify event management tools and staffing resources Learn about and choose from the latest/best collaborative event planning tools Eventbrite Social Tables Check-in Tech (Registration only service provider) Google Sheets, smartsheet, Bizzabo, Asana, Basecamp, Gather, Splash, Intuit QuickBase, and so many more WeChat caveat Keep it simple Ensure that everyone is trained and using the tool(s) of choice (including vendors) Identify your event team and begin to delegate task ownership.

KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS “Timing is everything.” Establish timeline of key tasks/deadlines Start with a draft very early in the process and update continuously Assign ownership to every task Schedule time once a week to review the current version of the Timeline Start the Draft of the day-of timeline/ROS Build in time for the unexpected...

KEY STEPS IN THE EVENT PLANNING PROCESS Invitation Save-The-Date (5-6 months in advance) Date and venue confirmed/contracted Invitation (6-8 weeks in advance) RSVP date timed to allow for vendor deadlines (2-3 weeks in advance) Reminder (1 week in advance) Event Let the games begin! Have a pre-game round-up Ensure you have a plan for a common line of communication throughout the day of the event and TEST it Post-event feedback/lessons learned and Final budget review Often forgotten critical step in the process Invaluable lessons to be captured while fresh Assess and share results with team -- great opportunity for growth and team-building/recognition.

RELATED TOPICS OF INTEREST NYC LABOR ENVIRONMENT PRICING VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS

NYC LABOR ENVIRONMENT History of labor unions 1850’s - Efforts to organize labor begin during the Industrial Revolution 1930’s - Great Depression and political factors increase labor union popularity 1935 - Federal legislation passed that require business to allow unions and allow Collective Bargaining (Wagner and NLR Acts) 1947 - Federal legislation passed limiting unions by prohibiting political contributions and strikes (Taft-Hartley Act) 2013 - 7% of private sector workforce are union members (down from 17% in 1983) as global economy continues to evolve Tips for navigating the landscape Know what kind of environment in which you are working Hold venue/vendor partners responsible for explaining rules/boundaries in advance to allow you to plan/budget accordingly Ensure that rules are not in conflict with any of your objectives or goals Accept reasonable limitations but always expect quality service, respect and professionalism.

PRICING Secure multiple proposals when selecting a venue/vendor Compare apples to apples Be transparent Know your Budget Ask for detailed and comprehensive estimated pricing at point of contract Ensure all ancillary costs are outlined clearly upfront Expect vendors to stay within budget and ask them to clearly identify any add-ons along the way (before they are confirmed) Ask Vendors for suggestions to help reduce costs Piggybacking, eliminating unnecessary items, etc Trust but verify Compare all final arrangements with original contract and challenge variances.

VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS Set clear and achievable expectations together with Vendor partners Ask for a list of key deliverable items/dates in a clear outline to allow you to set calendar reminders Ask your vendors for their Top 3 Meet/exceed payment requirements COMMUNICATE - efficiently and effectively Be mindful of your vendor partner’s overleveraged schedules Try to limit revision requests Meet/exceed information deadlines (menus, floor plan, timeline, etc) Make efforts to prevent last-minute and/or completely unexpected changes and requests If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands!.

A few final thoughts... Consider the benefits of hiring a good event professional Planners are available for full and limited service assistance Hourly consulting services for specific items may offer very good value if full-service assistance is not in the budget contract review and negotiation timeline/run of show design registration/day-of management assistance Always expect the best but have a solid plan for the rest!