Event Planning for Administrative Professionals, Pt 4: When the Plans Change
Welcome back to this blog series on Event Planning for Administrative Professionals. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the first 3 parts, and thank you for joining me for our final part!
So, you're in the midst of planning all the wonderful aspects of your event when you are thrown a curveball. Perhaps your event is primarily presentations, and suddenly there's a round-table group discussion added to the agenda. Maybe you are 5 days out and the weather report doesn’t look good for your outdoor luncheon. Or maybe your featured speaker lets you know that they missed their flight and aren’t going to make it. When faced with the challenge of unexpected changes, there are several steps you can take to ensure your event flows seamlessly.
If you know in advance that there is something being added to the agenda that doesn’t match the rest, assess the space requirements for this change and compare them to the rest of your event. Are significant changes needed (or possible) in the room setup to accommodate this change? If so, consider whether adjustments to the overall event setup could ease the transition. For instance, in the big event I coordinated last year, we transitioned mid-day from front-of-the-room presentations to round-robin style meetings, where each of the 16 groups met with one another. Initially, we planned to arrange the room in a giant U shape, but the effort and cost required to schedule a planned switch from the U-shape to round tables over the 1-hour break between session was substantial. Instead, we opted for round tables throughout the event, eliminating the need for any mid-event changes. During presentations, we placed only five chairs per table to ensure everyone had a clear view of the front. When it was time for the round-robin meetings, each group could easily rearrange chairs to have enough for their discussions. Think both strategically and creatively to try and make the least amount of work possible for all involved.
It’s important to be prepared for as many contingencies as possible. If you are planning an outdoor event…don’t. Only half kidding. I’ve been to so many outdoor events that are unenjoyable because it’s too hot, too cold, raining, humid, no shade, etc., so my first thought is always to have the event indoors. Of course, there are situations where there is no way around it. When I worked at the university, the only place on campus large enough to host Spring Commencement was the main lawn. Hosting a private dinner for 60+ people at a home generally means that it must be outdoors. If your event must be outdoors, have the conversation early and often about weather contingencies. Build out that Plan B, with a clearly outlined document of the changes that will need to be made to the plan, and who is responsible for the execution of each item. This is something that my executive and I didn’t do with our last big event, and ended up last minute having to add on a tent to our event rentals order due to rain randomly showing up in the forecast the day before. The tent ended up making the event even more beautiful, and we decided to just go ahead and get it every year, no matter what. Of course, contingencies don’t always have to do with weather. At the beginning of your planning process, make note of the types of things that could go wrong, and make a contingency list, such as:
Venue problems: What other venues are in the area that you could connect with?
Hotel has insufficient rooms: What are the closest hotels that you could call on?
AV equipment failure: Can you have a professional AV tech onsite, and ensure that they have backup equipment on site? Even so, plan ahead by having the AV tech teach you how to change the batteries in the microphones, adjust the sound board levels, etc.
When a key person participating in the meeting can no longer attend, what do you do? After a quick cry, it’s time to collaborate! Bring in the appropriate leaders to have a group discussion about it. Is there anyone on the leadership team who can/should step in? If not, is there someone else participating in the meeting who can step in? Is there anything that you can do to fill in the gap? I am reminded of the EA Ignite Fall 2024 event in Miami, and how the amazing ASAP team handled a difficult situation. The conference emcee got sick the day before the event and was no longer able to come. The ASAP team was able to ask one of the other presenters, Monica Brooks, if she would be willing to step in and take that emcee role on in addition to her presentations. She graciously agreed, and did an absolutely fantastic job with it…so good, in fact, that she is the official emcee for the next EA Ignite in Spring 2025!
When you are hit with an emergent change in the moment, take a deep breath, a sip of water, and step into a secluded area to begin working through it. Start by considering the additional technology, supplies, or support needed for these changes or unique situations. A crucial question to ask is what you can manage internally and what might be better outsourced. What you do not want to do is start freaking out in front of your event attendees. If you need to bring others into the decision making process, do so discreetly and in a secluded area. It is important that, when faced with this stress, you are the voice of calm and reason in dealing with it. This isn’t always easy…heaven knows I’ve always been a very emotional and stress-influenced person. But this is an important skill to develop and exercise as you become the best administrative professional you can be.
Listen to the feedback from your attendees, and do everything in your power to improve the situation as quickly and seamlessly as possible. If you hear a few people complain about the temperature, immediately take action to rectify it. If the buffet is getting low on food, you should be going to the staff to get it replenished, not waiting for it to be empty. A real-life example from my last event, we had arranged for all of the small group conversations to happen in the main room. However, we got feedback at the end of the afternoon that the sound levels got too loud, making the conversations extremely difficult. So, the next morning I spread out the table assignments to be between both the meeting room and the meal room, ensuring that the groups had more space and quiet for their conversations. I had multiple people express their gratitude that we had immediately taken action on their feedback.
It is a given that, no matter what contingencies you plan on or what preparations you make, something at some point will not go according to your plan. Something I am always reminded of is that the majority of your event attendees won’t remember if something went poorly if you calmly, discreetly, and immediately handle it. The majority of the time, the attendees won’t even know it happened. It takes a lot of maturity, both emotionally and professionally, to handle these kinds of situations. It’s not easy, but it is something that, if you set your mind to it, you can grow into.
I hope that this blog series on Event Planning for Administrative Professionals has been helpful for you! What events are you planning, and what principles are you going to implement for them? Leave a comment below to join the discussion!
