With never-ending lists of tasks to oversee, event managers certainly earn their titles as event professionals. Between keeping an eye on event teams, ensuring the viability of the business, and coordinating with clients, it takes a hero to keep their ducks in a row.
Of course, software plays a part in ultimate success. Event management software that sports features such as automatic document generation, team tasks, and calendar views is a no-brainer for on-the-ball event management teams.
In this guide, we'll give you an entry point view of the responsibilities of an event manager during the event management process. We'll also look at how software can make all the difference in productivity and elevate your workflow.
Responsibilities of the Event Venue Manager
Broadly speaking, as an event manager, you’re responsible for organizing, managing, and executing events at your venue. You head up the event management team and coordinate event tasks internally and with clients. Your responsibilities may include:
1. Setting Event Goals and Objectives
Booking an event at your venue is great news for business. But, sales alone don’t equal success. You also need to determine whether your approach is profitable and sustainable. Once the event has taken place, how will you know if it was a success?
So, the first stage in the event management process is to set measurable goals and objectives for every event booked at your venue. With ideal outcomes mapped out, you can check at any given time whether everything is on track and your strategy is working.
Get started by considering the following:
- What is the purpose of the event?
- What would make the event a success for your client?
- What would you like the attendees to get out of the event?
- What would you like your business to get out of the event?
Be specific and quantifiable in your responses. For example, pinpoint the profit margin or revenue you’d like to generate. It’s not enough to say you want to achieve a positive rating from your client, as many factors can influence that. Having precise goals will help you measure event success.
2. Creating an Event Budget
Setting up a budget is crucial to the event management process. With a checklist or budget sheet, you can better manage expenses and avoid overspending.
Take a look at the costs of previous events to get an estimate for your budget allocations. Start with the bigger components that cost the most, for example, staffing, catering, bar, and technology. From there, move into smaller specifics that might vary from one event to the next.
Don’t forget to track your actual costs versus your budget as you go. This will give you a good idea of whether you’re on target to meet your goals.
3. Designing and Planning the Event
Now it’s time to get into the operational nitty gritty. This stage is relatively intensive, where the event manager must account for all the details involved in executing the master plan.
Some of the major tasks during this phase might include:
- Coordinating with clients: you know what your client wants to achieve with the event. Create action points around this to ensure every detail is covered.
- Line up event tech: your event management software provides a central point to create, allocate, and oversee event tasks with your team and clients.
- Assemble a team: a carefully selected team ensures every task is executed seamlessly.
- Prepare equipment: plan ahead and arrange for any extra equipment you need onsite. This can include AV equipment, tech staff, furniture, etc.
- Plan menus and bar stock: schedule orders for food and beverage items ahead of the day. Line up reserve suppliers to account for potential last-minute stock shortages.
- Schedule every event task: using your event software, allocate all tasks related to setup, operations on the day, and take down to relevant team members. Allow extra time to answer and resolve questions.
- Keep stakeholders informed and happy: everyone from your clients to your team and your boss needs to be updated on event planning and progress.
4. Manage and Coordinate on the Event Day
While most of the planning and organizational work happens leading up to the event day, it doesn’t mean you can take it easy when the day arrives. Experienced managers know that things don’t always go according to plan. They’re ready for this and can step in and make a plan on short notice.
On the day, keep a close eye on operations. Do your client and the event attendees look happy with the service and have everything they need?
Creating an internal agenda and checklist that serves as an itemized walkthrough for your team to follow on the event day can help ensure nothing slips through the cracks. The agenda should explain individual responsibilities, event details, assignments, and schedules.
5. Measure the Event's Success
The final stage of the event management process is to gather and analyze data from the entire event to determine whether it was a success. Some of the ways to do this include:
- Measuring against the goals and objectives
- Feedback from guests and clients
- Feedback from vendors
- Post-event surveys
Once you've gathered all necessary data and feedback, assemble your staff to discuss the findings. Together you can come up with ways to improve service delivery for your next event.
How Does Software Support the Event Management Process?
Earlier, we mentioned the need to line up your event tech. Event management software, like Perfect Venue, can amplify your ability to get work done quickly, improve collaboration, and remove busy work from your plate. Here are a few ways it can streamline the event management process:
Event Management in One Space
Your software typically offers a central dashboard with built-in event management tools designed to help your team work together. Being centralized helps everyone stay updated with the event plan at any moment. You can assign tasks, check their status, share documents, and communicate from a single point in any location.
Automate Tasks
Use software automations to take care of repetitive tasks that eat up your time. For example, automatically create and update necessary PDFs, such as BEOs and proposals for clients and leads who have submitted information via your website. In the latter's case, a faster turnaround gives you a better opportunity to win contracts.
Plus, you can automate email reminders for events, payments, and tasks to carry out.
Track Finances
Want to run a successful event every time and grow your business? One of the critical factors affecting business viability is finances. Optimizing your cash flow to ensure you’re getting paid and paying out money at the right time can help ease a lot of stress.
Most event management systems give you better visibility over your finances. This includes an overview of the money you have received, the money you’re still owed, the money you’ve paid out, and the money still to pay out. In other words, you’ll always know where you stand with your cash flow.
On top of that, the software will also likely send automated reminders to you and your clients when payments are due. It’s one less detail for you to worry about monitoring manually.
Access Professional Industry Templates
No need to redesign the wheel; your event management software will provide you with access to event industry document templates, such as BEOs, that you can customize to suit your brand. Never miss a detail, and respond quicker with professional-looking documents that put your brand first.
Monitor and Measure Performance
Instead of pulling data from multiple spreadsheets and manually compiling reports to analyze event success, use your software to do it for you. The analytics you access will give you a real-time view of where you’re at with your event. It’s easy to report to management and monitor your business growth.
Conclusion
Now that you know how the general event management process pans out and how software helps you produce high quality events, you’re better set for success. Next up, we recommend reading our guide on how to organize an event. This contains details that will support you on the ground once you’ve booked an event at your venue.
Perfect Venue is the perfect platform to help you take control of the entire management process. Grab your 14-day free trial to see if our software is a fit for your unique venue.
