Event Planning for Dummies
January 25, 2018 1:47 PM Subscribe
I have inherited a number of events on my job where I need to be the point-person for all of the planning. I'm not good at this really. I realize that the things that I have a hard time with are working out the calendaring in my head for good advanced planning, organizing all the details that need to be done, and feeling good about all the moving parts the day-of. Is there a specialized piece of software that helps with event planning — or anything that you have come up with personally — to make it a breeze?
I realize that on some level, this would simply fall under a project planning rubric that breaks the whole down into its discrete parts, but I think I'm looking for a little more hand-holding under this particular genre of project planning that might be a bit more specialized, if such a thing exists. I would like something that is separate from my regular calendaring of events, as if it has a special, organized space in my life. I know event planners who simply have a head for keep track of everything, but I'm so far from that end of the spectrum, it causes me quite a bit of anxiety. The idea of doing this multiple times a year compounds this feeling — a lot. One final thing is that I'm not interested in one of those "10-in-1" programs that helps with registration, tables, etc., under one software package. We have help with those services in-house, although I need to get the initiative to get those requests on the calendar. So, I guess question is how best to think "big picture planning" that doesn't lose any of the details on something like this, coupled with the wisdom of how to be a good director the day-of. Thanks for any thoughts you might have.
I realize that on some level, this would simply fall under a project planning rubric that breaks the whole down into its discrete parts, but I think I'm looking for a little more hand-holding under this particular genre of project planning that might be a bit more specialized, if such a thing exists. I would like something that is separate from my regular calendaring of events, as if it has a special, organized space in my life. I know event planners who simply have a head for keep track of everything, but I'm so far from that end of the spectrum, it causes me quite a bit of anxiety. The idea of doing this multiple times a year compounds this feeling — a lot. One final thing is that I'm not interested in one of those "10-in-1" programs that helps with registration, tables, etc., under one software package. We have help with those services in-house, although I need to get the initiative to get those requests on the calendar. So, I guess question is how best to think "big picture planning" that doesn't lose any of the details on something like this, coupled with the wisdom of how to be a good director the day-of. Thanks for any thoughts you might have.
If there is such a piece of software, I haven't seen it, and I could really use it.
The canonical project-planning answer to this would be Gantt-chart software. That isn't "easy," but it does let you map out all your dependencies and critical paths. I don't use a Gantt chart myself, because A) my event involves a lot of fuzzy deadlines, and B) I would need something collaborative, which gets expensive.
So instead, I've basically got a list that shows major milestones by month. Some of these have known dates, some have approximate dates. Very early in the event-planning cycle, the senior leads in my organization get together and agree on hard dates, and then those go on a calendar. We use four different Google calendars for different layers of the organization. We use Trello for managing action items.
It sounds like you need to sit down and brainstorm with someone who understands how these particular events work. Talk about the major topics you need to cover—registration, security, food, sanitation, programming (whatever applies), and then start working backwards for each one. "If we need this by date Z, we need this other thing by date Y." The more time you spend on this, the more you'll think of, and the more it will all be top-of-mind for you.
And I agree with singinginmychains—you do get the hang of it.
posted by adamrice at 2:43 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
The canonical project-planning answer to this would be Gantt-chart software. That isn't "easy," but it does let you map out all your dependencies and critical paths. I don't use a Gantt chart myself, because A) my event involves a lot of fuzzy deadlines, and B) I would need something collaborative, which gets expensive.
So instead, I've basically got a list that shows major milestones by month. Some of these have known dates, some have approximate dates. Very early in the event-planning cycle, the senior leads in my organization get together and agree on hard dates, and then those go on a calendar. We use four different Google calendars for different layers of the organization. We use Trello for managing action items.
It sounds like you need to sit down and brainstorm with someone who understands how these particular events work. Talk about the major topics you need to cover—registration, security, food, sanitation, programming (whatever applies), and then start working backwards for each one. "If we need this by date Z, we need this other thing by date Y." The more time you spend on this, the more you'll think of, and the more it will all be top-of-mind for you.
And I agree with singinginmychains—you do get the hang of it.
posted by adamrice at 2:43 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I too use multiple Google calendars, all separate from my main one, plus a shareable spreadsheet ("keep it simple") listing the same information where the "done? yes/no" has conditional formatting so that "no" is bright red and bold, or the equivalent thereof. Also, make it so "by whom?" and "check-in date" are mandatory. (No "work in progress" option! Everyone decides someone else is doing the thing. Lock it out if you have to.) I absolutely agree that the first step is to work backwards from your vision, and be willing to accommodate if something just isn't possible. Picking specific deadlines for you or a colleague always feels a little arbitrary to me, especially the first time, but it needs to happen. I'd choose big, big backup windows for anything mission-critical like funding and donor recognition plans, event space, any permits, food, insurance, rentals and any headline speakers/performers.
Hopefully someone already knows these things, though they may need prompting to think of them in these terms. Simultaneously, someone can be making flyers/invitations and drafting things like facebook events so that once the big parts are in place, they're essentially ready and (again, hopefully!) only need minor tweaking. Then you need to address the details like a basic setup and day-of schedule. You'll want a core group who 100% knows the plan plenty early, but not so early they forget. General volunteers/staff can be briefed more like a week out, or less if it's obvious. Do those trainings in-person if at all possible. Don't let them ask a bazillion what-if questions about extraordinarily unlikely circumstances, or you risk "what if someone lights my cash drawer on fire??" being the biggest thing they remember. Distributing instructions again in writing after the training can also be helpful, as well as posting them on-site as a reminder/reference. Distributing your setup and day-of schedules also really seems to help ground everyone.
Without more details, I feel like getting any more into this will probably miss the mark badly. But absolutely, yes, you get into the swing of things eventually and then the proper time for deadlines is much, much more obvious, as are the best ways to communicate with your specific team and shareholders.
posted by teremala at 4:10 PM on January 25, 2018
Hopefully someone already knows these things, though they may need prompting to think of them in these terms. Simultaneously, someone can be making flyers/invitations and drafting things like facebook events so that once the big parts are in place, they're essentially ready and (again, hopefully!) only need minor tweaking. Then you need to address the details like a basic setup and day-of schedule. You'll want a core group who 100% knows the plan plenty early, but not so early they forget. General volunteers/staff can be briefed more like a week out, or less if it's obvious. Do those trainings in-person if at all possible. Don't let them ask a bazillion what-if questions about extraordinarily unlikely circumstances, or you risk "what if someone lights my cash drawer on fire??" being the biggest thing they remember. Distributing instructions again in writing after the training can also be helpful, as well as posting them on-site as a reminder/reference. Distributing your setup and day-of schedules also really seems to help ground everyone.
Without more details, I feel like getting any more into this will probably miss the mark badly. But absolutely, yes, you get into the swing of things eventually and then the proper time for deadlines is much, much more obvious, as are the best ways to communicate with your specific team and shareholders.
posted by teremala at 4:10 PM on January 25, 2018
Oh, and question everything. Does the beverage vender really know what to bring? Is there actually a dumpster on-site? Does it require a separate permit? Does the band know not to do that one song of theirs (true story)? And so on. If you're worried and don't find an answer in your notes, you need to ask until you get one.
posted by teremala at 4:15 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by teremala at 4:15 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Airtable! Spreadsheet and relational database in one, and you can view your data as a Kanban board or a calendar. It’s great for organizing events.
posted by suedehead at 5:00 PM on January 25, 2018
posted by suedehead at 5:00 PM on January 25, 2018
I use Asana, specifically project templates. I have a project all set up with every single task set up - "select venue" "hire talent" "hire photographer" etc - and when I have a new event I just copy it and assign every task a person who is responsible and a date.
No matter what software solution you go with, building some sort of checklist of every task that goes into planning your certain type of event is the way to go.
My other tip is - start building your budget as early as possible with rough numbers - fill in actual numbers as you go along - save these spreadsheets and use to estimate costs for future events. You will totally forget this information later, and having it organized and ready to reference helps a lot.
posted by Juliet Banana at 6:18 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
No matter what software solution you go with, building some sort of checklist of every task that goes into planning your certain type of event is the way to go.
My other tip is - start building your budget as early as possible with rough numbers - fill in actual numbers as you go along - save these spreadsheets and use to estimate costs for future events. You will totally forget this information later, and having it organized and ready to reference helps a lot.
posted by Juliet Banana at 6:18 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
As you can see, advice totally varies based on type of events and attendees etc.
When I event-planned I personally felt that having fewer "infodump" sheets worked best to keep everything together. I started my own templates in Google Docs and built them out over time, but I'm sure there are a ton of examples online to start with.
I always tried to keep to two planning docs:
The Itinerary: this has everyone's contact info and time/place details. Everyone involved gets a copy. Think of this as those old text-based adventure games. You have to tell them exactly where to walk, fly, or get into a car when. If there are 4 events in the day, you lay out exactly how they are getting from each to each and then back to hotel. This doc is mostly for the guests and/or people going to events, but don't need to know every detail of who's catering and all that. They just need to know where to go and how to get there.
Everything Else: this is your doc, and anyone else involved in detail work. You have sections for everything: room rentals, catering, AV, all that stuff. Every section starts with contact and time/place info as relevant. Each section may start out as just a jumble of notes and questions to yourself. That's fine. The key to me was that it was all in one place and I could easily see which areas were mostly fleshed out and which still needed a lot of work. The other beauty is that as you get a feel for it and keep adding sections, you will feel more secure that there's nothing you will suddenly be like "Oh shit, I forgot about X!" because you have sections for everything, even if you just mark N/A for some events.
You may want a separate section to list all your deadlines in order, or you may want a separate doc entirely for that.
posted by nakedmolerats at 10:39 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
When I event-planned I personally felt that having fewer "infodump" sheets worked best to keep everything together. I started my own templates in Google Docs and built them out over time, but I'm sure there are a ton of examples online to start with.
I always tried to keep to two planning docs:
The Itinerary: this has everyone's contact info and time/place details. Everyone involved gets a copy. Think of this as those old text-based adventure games. You have to tell them exactly where to walk, fly, or get into a car when. If there are 4 events in the day, you lay out exactly how they are getting from each to each and then back to hotel. This doc is mostly for the guests and/or people going to events, but don't need to know every detail of who's catering and all that. They just need to know where to go and how to get there.
Everything Else: this is your doc, and anyone else involved in detail work. You have sections for everything: room rentals, catering, AV, all that stuff. Every section starts with contact and time/place info as relevant. Each section may start out as just a jumble of notes and questions to yourself. That's fine. The key to me was that it was all in one place and I could easily see which areas were mostly fleshed out and which still needed a lot of work. The other beauty is that as you get a feel for it and keep adding sections, you will feel more secure that there's nothing you will suddenly be like "Oh shit, I forgot about X!" because you have sections for everything, even if you just mark N/A for some events.
You may want a separate section to list all your deadlines in order, or you may want a separate doc entirely for that.
posted by nakedmolerats at 10:39 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
my planning methods have evolved and changed over thelast 15 years in event management, but what all methods have in common is to list in various ways everything, truly everything, and as nakedmolerats says just mark N/A what you don't need for this particular event.
In the very beginning I used a system of putting each tasks on post its as it came to mind, and then sorted them on a flipchart. It was useful to actually write it out by hand, and sort by hand and think about the schedule as I go (eg lunch at different location than conference sessions? so how tdo they get from A to B?) Writing it all out helps, ad the post its help you to rearrange d the order. Walk away from it and look again next day with a fresh eye - what is missing?
Look at it from the perspective of the guest and the basic needs: bed, food, meeting room, fun / relaxation. From the perspective of the budget: what can we afford?
Nowadays mostly it is routine I mostly use Excel or sometimes google doc if it is shared with some, and just recycle task lists. to list , I start by creating he basic budget / cost estimate and work my way from there, just typing up the taks and then sorting them into categories.
My experience is, it is crucial to work out a timeline for yourself you make your own targets, and set targets for those (hopefully) working with you, your guests and your suppliers.
I do this in my excel sheet and also by setting reminders for myself in outlook.
Start working backwards from the event date. Ask your providers (hotel, caterer, tech, venue etc) how much in advance when you need to reserve an option with them and when you need to confirm. This will vary of course depending on were you work, but just as an example I make an option for hotel rooms 8-6 months in advance, or sometimes longer, and ask the hotel to give me their deadlines when I need to set the final number we commit to, and negotiate with them a cancellation policy.
Consider the event itself - who will come? are these academics who must present a paper and read each others 25 page papers before the conferenc? Then they will need at least 9 months notice, better more.
Or is this a more discussion based? Are these high demand people whose schedules are often done literally years in advance? COnsider the target group to be invited and again work your way backwards.
I assume your organisation already has certain suppliers they work with, as you say you have inherited those events. YOu may wish to just work with those suppliers if you can for the first one and see how it goes. For example caterers who know your venue are worth a lot and save you many worries. If your org does not already have a network of suppliers, and you need to identify suitable suppliers or service provider, take the time to contact at least three better five in each area, meet with the sales manager and visit them, ask them to show you rooms, sample menues, explain their price policies, cancellation schedules etc.
I learned and learn about the industry a lot simply by comparing offers and talking to sales people. I don't mean you need to believe everything they say but after a while you find out so much about the indistriy. Chat with service staff, chefs, etc .
I started out as a total novice some 15 years ago and the single most valuable thing I feel was meeting and contacting as many suppliers as possible and listen to their sales pitch, which might sometimes include free meals, hotel nights etc which is useful so you know more about the product you buy. I sued to feel bad about accepting the perks and feel beholden - I don't anymore because I need to know what our guests will experience and the vendor has calcualted this into the overall price.
Equally important, know your numbers. make estimates, draw up a rough budget, and if you are already given a premade budget look closely at it - it is so useful to know what is the average hotel room night, in our location and in the price range we can afford for the event, how much are typical dinners per person (don't forget to calculate in service charges, beverages, local taxes etc), how much is airport transfer, airline prices, etc etc. I agree with the person above who suggested to constantly maintain the planned expenses and refer back to them. o when you are asked hwo much will the sit down dinner for 350 people cost, you have a point of reference. Make a draft, see how it compares. So if someone throws a huge figure at you, you know immediately (after a few events) if this works or not. I know pretty much to the Euro how much our typical event costs per participants. if the boss says we have 50 000 for this event with 350 people I can assess it and negotiate an adjustment if needed. of course I don't know your situation - my bosses do not want the details, simply the ball park figure from me, but expect me to keep a tally and check it is not overspent, so for me it useful to know each detail, how much the note pads cost, the pens, the tea bags, folders, flower arrangements, student helpers, and portions of coffee).
Also I agree with nakedmolerats in that you need to differentiate between info YOU need, and info particpants need. I have my excel sheet with everything (although on various tabs) and make briefing sheets for participants with the info they need.
Anyway this is way to long and maybe not event what you need. So enough procrastinating and back on the job feel free to memail if you like.
posted by 15L06 at 7:45 AM on January 30, 2018
In the very beginning I used a system of putting each tasks on post its as it came to mind, and then sorted them on a flipchart. It was useful to actually write it out by hand, and sort by hand and think about the schedule as I go (eg lunch at different location than conference sessions? so how tdo they get from A to B?) Writing it all out helps, ad the post its help you to rearrange d the order. Walk away from it and look again next day with a fresh eye - what is missing?
Look at it from the perspective of the guest and the basic needs: bed, food, meeting room, fun / relaxation. From the perspective of the budget: what can we afford?
Nowadays mostly it is routine I mostly use Excel or sometimes google doc if it is shared with some, and just recycle task lists. to list , I start by creating he basic budget / cost estimate and work my way from there, just typing up the taks and then sorting them into categories.
My experience is, it is crucial to work out a timeline for yourself you make your own targets, and set targets for those (hopefully) working with you, your guests and your suppliers.
I do this in my excel sheet and also by setting reminders for myself in outlook.
Start working backwards from the event date. Ask your providers (hotel, caterer, tech, venue etc) how much in advance when you need to reserve an option with them and when you need to confirm. This will vary of course depending on were you work, but just as an example I make an option for hotel rooms 8-6 months in advance, or sometimes longer, and ask the hotel to give me their deadlines when I need to set the final number we commit to, and negotiate with them a cancellation policy.
Consider the event itself - who will come? are these academics who must present a paper and read each others 25 page papers before the conferenc? Then they will need at least 9 months notice, better more.
Or is this a more discussion based? Are these high demand people whose schedules are often done literally years in advance? COnsider the target group to be invited and again work your way backwards.
I assume your organisation already has certain suppliers they work with, as you say you have inherited those events. YOu may wish to just work with those suppliers if you can for the first one and see how it goes. For example caterers who know your venue are worth a lot and save you many worries. If your org does not already have a network of suppliers, and you need to identify suitable suppliers or service provider, take the time to contact at least three better five in each area, meet with the sales manager and visit them, ask them to show you rooms, sample menues, explain their price policies, cancellation schedules etc.
I learned and learn about the industry a lot simply by comparing offers and talking to sales people. I don't mean you need to believe everything they say but after a while you find out so much about the indistriy. Chat with service staff, chefs, etc .
I started out as a total novice some 15 years ago and the single most valuable thing I feel was meeting and contacting as many suppliers as possible and listen to their sales pitch, which might sometimes include free meals, hotel nights etc which is useful so you know more about the product you buy. I sued to feel bad about accepting the perks and feel beholden - I don't anymore because I need to know what our guests will experience and the vendor has calcualted this into the overall price.
Equally important, know your numbers. make estimates, draw up a rough budget, and if you are already given a premade budget look closely at it - it is so useful to know what is the average hotel room night, in our location and in the price range we can afford for the event, how much are typical dinners per person (don't forget to calculate in service charges, beverages, local taxes etc), how much is airport transfer, airline prices, etc etc. I agree with the person above who suggested to constantly maintain the planned expenses and refer back to them. o when you are asked hwo much will the sit down dinner for 350 people cost, you have a point of reference. Make a draft, see how it compares. So if someone throws a huge figure at you, you know immediately (after a few events) if this works or not. I know pretty much to the Euro how much our typical event costs per participants. if the boss says we have 50 000 for this event with 350 people I can assess it and negotiate an adjustment if needed. of course I don't know your situation - my bosses do not want the details, simply the ball park figure from me, but expect me to keep a tally and check it is not overspent, so for me it useful to know each detail, how much the note pads cost, the pens, the tea bags, folders, flower arrangements, student helpers, and portions of coffee).
Also I agree with nakedmolerats in that you need to differentiate between info YOU need, and info particpants need. I have my excel sheet with everything (although on various tabs) and make briefing sheets for participants with the info they need.
Anyway this is way to long and maybe not event what you need. So enough procrastinating and back on the job feel free to memail if you like.
posted by 15L06 at 7:45 AM on January 30, 2018
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For me, SmartSheet has been a helpful tool for this sort of planning and execution. I use it to list and organize tasks and their associated deadlines. There is an option to schedule reminders for yourself to follow up on things.
I also start VERY early. Planning for most of our events begins 6-8 months in advance. This gives me plenty of time to meet with the stakeholders involved to get a feel for what they want an event to accomplish/who they want to be present and then get started on nailing down the big items (like venue reservations, catering, rentals, external and internal vendors, and marketing).
In terms of day of execution, I always try to think through each aspect of the day and have a reasonable contingency plan in place for if/when that aspect falls through. Also, it's like a performance: you want to practice as though you are going through the performance itself. In the weeks leading up to an event, I will "practice" the motions of the day in my mind.
At the end of the day, putting on a successful event means that you control what you can, plan for what you can't, and have flexibility day-of to handle whatever comes your way.
And I'll just add this: I never thought I'd be good at what I do, but after trial and error and going through several events, you do get the hang of things and find that a lot of the planning is cyclical in nature. If I can do it, anyone can.
posted by singinginmychains at 2:32 PM on January 25, 2018 [5 favorites]