Picture this, you spend six months planning your biggest event of the year and the day comes and things start to go wrong. Sometimes, no matter how well organised or planned an event is, unforeseen problems can arise. How you respond to these issues directly influences how successful your event will be.
We all want everything to go perfectly. However, events have a lot of variables and with Murphy’s law, anything has the potential to go wrong. Odds are there will be a few bumps along the way, no matter how prepared you are. It could be something as small as the table centres arriving a bit late or forgetting to lay out the cutlery. It could be something worse like equipment or power failure.
Whatever happens, try not to worry. Use the below tips to know what to do if anything at your event goes wrong.
Have your plan B ready beforehand
Risk Assessments: a bit of a chore to pull together but if something doesn’t go to plan you’ll be more than happy you spent the time writing it! Analyse what the probability is that something will go wrong at your event and create a plan B in advance. Think about all elements – travel to/from the venue, power outage, catering, speakers don’t turn up, fire alarms go off and so on. This way you’ll be one step ahead before anything even happens.
Stay calm & composed
I can’t emphasise this enough. A panicked head will result in irrational behaviour and poor decision making, meaning you won’t manage the situation effectively. Moreover, everyone will see it written on your face and your worry will transfer among the attendees. Stay calm, think strategically and logically. Whilst instinct often makes you want to fix the situation immediately it is absolutely acceptable to take 30 seconds away, clear your mind, breathe and think. Remember; if you look in control then your attendees will feel good.
Take control
When you are in charge and the event goes wrong, all eyes are on you. Scary, right? Take charge of the situation. The faster you fix the problem, the quicker you can get on with your event. When a problem is brought to your attention, attack the problem. Focus on finding a solution or alternative.
Remember though, nobody has died (hopefully!) and it’s not the end of the world. Keep perspective. Do not let anyone else take control. Delegate jobs to your team, but all decisions must go through you.
Bring out the backup equipment
This is a must for all event suppliers. If you are an event professional (be it a DJ, audio technician, lighting engineer, photographer, florist, and beyond), you must bring backup equipment to your events. If you’re an organiser make sure you have asked your suppliers ahead of time.
This way if anything does go wrong you have backup on-site. If you have a backup many times a problem or malfunction will be completely unnoticeable to your guests or client because you can fix the problem immediately and seamlessly.
Communicate effectively
It’s very easy to be inside your own head and start running around trying to sort problems yourself. Chances are you won’t be able to sort the problem – it’ll be a supplier (e.g. AV didn’t work), venue (power outage, catering etc.) or someone else. Communicate with them politely. Aggressive behaviour gets you nowhere. Don’t worry about ‘why has this happened’ and concentrate on ‘what’s the solution?’. You have plenty of time after to ask the Whys.
Also, communicate to the attendees if needed and keep them informed. It’ll help them understand better and know it’s being taken care of. Moreover, communicate to your team and delegate as necessary.
Use an event management specialist if you can
I know, it may seem like a bit of a sales kick, but we really can’t emphasise enough the massive difference by having experienced personnel on-site. Event management agencies have been there, done it and got the t-shirt 100x over. We know how to forward plan, we think ahead and react if needed. You can’t teach experience.
(I hear Hippo Events are really good…!).
Hippo offer Event Project Management and Global Venue Finding services. Contact us today on 01372 460 100 or events@hippoevents.co.uk to see how we can assist.