The title of Event Organiser comes with a lot of very important responsibilities. As an event organiser, you want to make sure that you have covered all these bases to guarantee your event is safe, legal, and the best that it can be.
When organising your event, there are several fundamental issues that you need to make sure you cover effectively in order to ensure that everyone at your event has the safest and best time possible!
Venue:
One highly important element to think about is the location of the event. You do not only need a place to host, but you need a place that is suitable, convenient, and safe for both the guests and the staff at your event.
- What risks are present at your event site?
- How will you layout your event so it the as safe and convenient as possible?
- Where will your emergency routes be in case the worst should happen?
- Do you have all the permits and permissions and insurance you need to make your event legal?
The above points on how to set up and prepare your venue are not quite enough, you also need to consider how you will leave the location after your event is over. Have you set up the appropriate waste management? Have you considered the impact of any noise on those near the venue? Have you made efforts to make your event environmentally friendly? Ultimately, you need to think about how you can prevent your event having a negative impact of the community and the nature surrounding it.
Audience
You also need to think about who will be attending your event. By being aware of the particular characteristics of your event’s demographic of participants, you can prepare for any specific needs or safety concerns.
- What can you expect from attendees?
- What is the demographic of your event?
- Who will be attending?
- Families with children? Young people? Older people?
Think about what different needs and risks will be present for different audience demographics, and then consider how you can cater to these needs and minimise these risks at your event.
Staff
Bear in mind that the people attending your event will not only be your audience, you also need to think about your staff.
It is vital that you make sure you have collected all the necessary qualifications, training and information from those who will be working for you, and to ensure they are appropriate for the role they will be fulfilling. You must make sure the staff you hire are suitable to be working your event and as well as ensuring that their own safety and wellbeing is considered in your planning.
Medical
In terms of the level of risk at you event, you need to think beyond just the venue and your attendees. Consider what wider risks will be present at you event, and how you can mitigate these.
- What activities will be taking place?
- What potential injuries may occur?
- And how you are going to deal with these and make sure everyone at your event is safe?
You should consider what medical cover may be required to deal with any issues may arise and keep everyone at your event safe and healthy. As an event organiser you have a responsibility to make sure you have the appropriate skill grade for you medical cover. If the activities at your event are likely to result in serious injury a few first aiders won’t be sufficient, you will need to consider getting a higher skill grade medical professional, like a paramedic, to provide first aid cover.
It is a really key responsibility for the event organiser to make sure that everyone attending will be safe and protected, and that you are prepared for any potential issues and set up plans so these can be dealt with effectively. Make sure that you research the health and safety legislation applicable to your event and ensure that you understand your duty to adhere to the law.
Feedback
Essentially the final thing you need to consider comes after your event is over: how will you collect feedback and how will you learn from that feedback? It is vital that you find out from your attendees and your staff what went well and want went less well at your event so you can learn from it.
You can then consider what to take forward to any future events you might organise, as well as being aware of any areas that did not work so well and need improvement.
