Meeting and Event Administration Advice and Guidance for Practitioners

Event and meeting administration Purpose of this guidance This advice and guidance aims to support practitioners in the delivery of the meeting and event administration elements of the new National Qualifications in Administration and IT courses at National 4 and National 5. The advice and guidance will support practitioners understanding of the role administrators have in supporting meetings and events and the skills which may be required by administrators. It will give a flavour of the wide range of meetings and events an administrator may be required to support. This advice and guidance should provide exemplification of learning and teaching approaches to practitioners to encourage experiential learning within possible real life event administration contexts. Additional guidance on active learning approaches to meeting and event administration can be found. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT

Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration & IT

Meeting and event administration Content of this guidance The advice and guidance incorporates video case studies offering practitioners – and indeed learners – an unprecedented insight into the role of administrators in supporting meetings and events. There is an evaluation template which helps to support a deeper investigation of the video case studies and to help practitioners capture a key understanding of the duties of administrators in supporting meetings and events, and the skills utilised by administrators which are essential to the success of the meeting/event. The advice and guidance recognises the value of learners of experiential, active learning strategies for meeting and event administration. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT

Why meeting/event administration? Supporting the planning, implementation and review of a diverse range of events and meetings is an increasingly pivotal role and duty of administrators within the contemporary workplace. Supporting meetings/events may be part of a general administrators role, but many organisations have a dedicated event administrator with specialist skills and knowledge to support events required by the organisation. The new National Qualifications in Administration and IT reflects the role administrators play in supporting meetings and events. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT

Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration & IT

The differences between event administration and event management? For many organisations, event administration and event management are one in the same, with both terms being used interchangeably to define the work undertaken to manage and facilitate events required by the organisation. However, to deepen understanding of the contribution administrators make to successful events it is worth attempting to make distinctions between the blurred roles of event manager and event administrator. The event manager has overall decision-making authority and responsibility for the event. They will set the objectives for the event and decide how resources will be used to facilitate an event that meets the set objectives. Resources the event manager will rely on may include staff, finance, accommodation, equipment and time. The event administrator will be allocated responsibility and tasks from the event manager to help support the event. The event administrator will rely on a combination of administration and IT skills to successfully complete these tasks and contribute to the successful event. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT

The differences between event administration and event management? Simple examples of the differing role of the event manager and event administrator may include: The event manager will determine the budget for the event and how the budget will be utilised. The event administrator will maintain a spreadsheet of the agreed budget, updating the spreadsheet with actual spend versus budget. The event administrator will communicate any issues to the event manager. The event manager will make decisions on the requirements for a venue to hold the event. The event administrator will use this information to research, identify and book an appropriate venue. The event manager will decide on the attendees to invite to the event. The event administrator will communicate with these potential attendees, notifying them of the event details. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration & IT

What events do administrators support? Administrators may support a diverse range of events and meetings. The events and meetings will vary from organisation to organisation and will depend on the nature, purpose, size and structure of the organisation. Common events and meeting held by contemporary organisations and supported by administrators may include: Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Meetings Interviews, department, project team, functional team, whole staff, video/web conference Events Award ceremonies, fundraising event, charitable event, teambuilding conferences, sales event, customer open day, focus groups, press conference, exhibition, new premises opening, new product launches, training sessions.

Administration & IT: Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5

The role of the administrator in supporting events? Event administrators could provide a range of support activities before, during and after the event. The actual nature of this support will depend on the event. The administrator could complete a range of tasks and produce an array of documents to support the event. The administrator could use skills in the use of information technology to produce, amend, present and communicate information before, during and after the event. The administrator may often have to complete the tasks to an agreed schedule and adhere to the organisations house-style guidance for document creation. The administrator may also have to provide solutions to problems that may arise during the meeting/event eg the use of information technology by colleagues or unforeseen issues with the location, external suppliers or attendees to the meeting or event. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT

Administration & IT: Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5

What administrative skills are essential to event success? Despite the variety of potential events an administrator may be required to support, essential skills commonly used will include: Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Event Administration Skills TeamworkingCommunicationProblem solving Working under own initiative Creativity Planning and time management Attention to detail Working with numbers Literacy Information Technology Use of non-IT equipment (laminator, binder, etc)

Administration & IT: Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5

What administrative ICT skills are essential to event success? Administrators would be expected to harness the benefits of information technologies and should be skilled in the use of available hardware, software and networks. Administrators should also keep abreast of emerging technologies that may be beneficial in supporting an event.emerging technologies Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Hardware Hardware used by an administrator before, during and after the event may include – photocopiers, printers, projectors, smart phones, audio speakers, monitors/screens, PCs, laptops, web cameras, etc Software Software used by an administrator before, during and after the event may include - word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation, desk-top-publishing, , e- diary, scheduling and social networking applications. Networks Administrators would also be expected to use internal networks (intranet) and external networks (including the internet) to access, extract and share information.

Administration & IT: Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5

Introduction to video case studies Three specially commissioned video case studies have been produced to offer access to administrators actively involved in supporting a range of events/meetings. The video clips provide an insight into the work of administrators before, during and after events and illustrates the range of skills used. A template that can be used to extract relevant details on the role of the administrator in each case study can be downloaded here.here This template may be used by practitioners in the first instance, but may also be used by learners viewing the video clips within a centre. Completed video analysis templates may be used as a discussion tool to further investigate event administration

Introduction to event/meeting administration video case studies Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Campbell Dallas. An insight in the work of an administrator supporting a managers meeting at the Glasgow headquarters of the chartered accountants. Education Scotland. An exploration of the work of an administrator supporting a launch event at the public sector body. Material UK. A discussion with an event specialist who supports Scotlands largest outdoor music festival.

Before the event Click on each link below to view an introduction to each case scenario and details on the work of administrators before the event/meeting. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Education Scotland Material UK Campbell Dallas

During the event Click on each link below to view the role of the administrator on the day of the event/meeting. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Education Scotland Material UK Campbell Dallas

After the event Click on each link below to view clips on the work of the administrator once the event/meeting has finished. Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration and IT Education Scotland Material UK Campbell Dallas

Advice and Guidance for National 4 and National 5 Administration & IT