Meetings

By Ross Woods (2nd ed. 2013)

Meetings are one of the simplest of all events, and are a good place to start learning learn how to manage events.

Start by meeting the prospective client, who will usually be the representative of the organization running the meeting. Show him/her around the venue, and explain the different kinds of meeting rooms available and the different ways of setting them up. Your basic questions are:

1. What is the purpose of meeting?
2. What is the theme or tone of the meeting?
3. How many people do they expect?
4. How do they want the room set up?
5. What kind of services do they want? Are they only hiring a venue or are they asking you to run the meeting too? For example:
• Guest registrations, info packs
• Welcome drinks, coffee/tea, light foods, full meal, after-event drinks, etc. (Hint: if you don't have beverages, at least provide water.)
• Digital projector, Internet access, sound technician.
6. Set a date, and start and end times.
7. When do they want access to the venue beforehand?
8. Who will invite people? How?
9. Is the meeting confidential to any extent? (This is quite common for discussion meetings.) Will you need a fairly soundproof room with a door that shuts tight?
10. What data needs to be returned to the client afterwards? (e.g. guest registation lists)
11. Decide how you will keep in contact. Is there anyone else you will need to liaise with?
12. The conditions: Breakages, damage, cancellations, late notification of changes, etc.

If you work for the venue, it is ideal if you can show the prospective client the shedule of fees, confirm the booking and the terms of payment in writing, and get a holding deposit. If the calculation of fees is not straightforward, you might have to get back to them with a quote.

If you work for the organization holding the meeting, the shedule of fees should give you an accurate enough picture of costs to decide whether or not to make a booking.

 

Planning

Write a draft plan for the meeting. You may need to include the following:

1. Plan a full schedule and running sheet
2. Plan for any breaks, food and beverage, free time
3. Will you do registrations? If so, how will you do it?
4. What records do you need to keep?
5. What special needs might people have?
6. Who will you need to communicate with, and about what?
7. What tasks need to be done and who will you delegate them to?
8. Write a budget.
9. What will you give to attenders:
• Documents such as meeting agenda, copies of previous minutes
• Name badges
10. Make any contingency arrangements, e.g.:
• additional administration staff available
• indoor venue pre-arranged in case of wet weather
• additional kits available
• timetable modified to accommodate late arrivals,

You now need to get your plan and budget approved. Check the draft with a colleague that there is nothing that you have missed out or needs changing. Revise your plan if necessary. Then write your event-specific checklists. (This might be quite simple if your organization already has a template or form.)

Check: Are your notes good enough for someone else to use? (There is a risk that key people might drop out.)

Present the detailed plan to your supervisor or the client and get their approval.

 

Setting up

Contact colleagues, contractors, and suppliers and reconfirm all arrangements. Make and agree to any necessary adjustments.

Brief your on-site staff on the details of the event, how you will communicate with them, and any particular procedures.

Check the whole set up and fix anything wrong straight away:

1. Does it fit the plan and the client's wishes?
2. Room set up and seating:
1. It must allow for easy access and safe evacuation, especially for those with disabilities
2. It must avoid risk of injury to participants and staff
3. Arrangement of furniture, flowers, literature, etc.
4. Availability of any required materials and equipment,
5. Staging,
6. Technical equipment (e.g. sound desk): Test it, and check that the person using it is familiar with it,
7. Food and beverage arrangements, including the cleanliness of culture, crockery, and glassware
8. Registration area,
9. Signage,
10. Displays and merchandising
11. Drug testing procedures (for sports)
12. The whole venue (including corridors, inside and outside entry areas, toilets and washrooms) is clean and neat and in good repair and supplies are replenished.
13. Is the overall impression positive, neat, professional, and inviting?

 

Coordinate the meeting

During the meeting, your role is to monitor the whole operation. If you have delegated all tasks and everybody knows how to to them, you should be able to walk around and check with your staff and colleagues that it's all going okay. Trust the people to whom you delegated tasks. Some of them will not want you to look over their shoulders all the time.

Check with the client that the meeting is progressing to their satisfaction. You can observe meeting sessions occasionally to see that all is going well. You can also ask people how their sessions went.

In practice, you will probably be busy solving any unanticipated problems that only you can solve, or doing any tasks that fell between the cracks in your planning. As you go, you should notice any additional requirements and promptly organize them. This includes providing any extra incidental services such as adding a personal touch, paying attention to details, being thoughtful and considerate, and doing the little bit extra.

Don't panic. If you've prepared well, you'll probably enjoy it.

 

Closure

1. Plan how you will pack it all up. If necessary, make a diagram and timeline, and decide how you will roster staff.
2. Check the venue to ensure that no items and belongings are left behind.
3. Pack and remove materials and equipment.
4. Organize the clearance and cleaning of the venue, including security, storage and disposal.
5. Check whether any repairs or maintenance are needed and delegate it.
6. Dispose of rubbish.
7. Replenish stocks of consumables.

 

Evaluation and reporting

Quality management and continual improvement are now standard industry requirements. To do so, you will need feedback from all stakeholders. You have several main ways of getting it:

• Your observations of what happened
• Informal interviews with staff and clients
• Feedback forms from attenders.

Based on your feedback:

1. Did the event achieve its purpose and goals effectively and efficiently?
2. Did you define the objectives accurately?
3. Were the original needs met well?
4. Did the budget work? What improvements would you suggest?
5. What changes do you need to make to your master checklist?
6. What other changes do you suggest?

Prepare the financial report and your evaluation containing recommendations for improvement, and submit them to your supervisor.

 

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