Your event talent doesn’t just help your events run smoothly; they also represent you and your brand.
Exceptional talent is key to creating engagement and fostering human connections with attendees, making them feel more connected and loyal to your brand.
Inadequate staff, on the other hand, can lead to negative attendee experiences and will reflect poorly on your business.
How do you ensure you hire talent who will make a strong impression and elevate your event?
You can find the perfect talent fit for your event by reading on.
Align staff with your event goals
Before making any decisions about planning your event and recruiting the right talent, you must first define your event goals and objectives.
Defining your goals from the outset will help you determine the staff you’ll need for your event. It will also help you create an action plan for how you expect your talent to help achieve your goals.
Clearly and concisely communicate your event goals and your staff’s responsibilities for achieving them during their training to ensure they know what’s expected of them.
Characteristics of ideal event staff
Successful event staff aren’t just the people with tonnes of experience on their CVs; they’re also the people who bring the right attitude and attributes for a dynamic role.
While our list of talent characteristics to look out for isn’t exhaustive, it’s a good place to start when identifying the people who will perform best.
Proactive
Don’t rely on staff who get by doing the bare minimum. Choose people who are keen to get stuck in and are always looking for tasks to do or ways that they can help out.
Adaptable
In the world of events, things don’t always go to plan. Look for people who can adapt to unexpected situations or shift to different posts as needed.
Reliable
You don’t want unorganised or unreliable staff to let you down on the day of your event. Someone who arrives promptly and is prepared for the event and appears enthusiastic about the role is an indication that they are reliable.
Enthusiastic
You can usually tell the difference between the talent who welcomes the job with enthusiasm and those who are just there for the pay cheque.
One way to increase your chances of hiring enthusiastic talent is to hire people who have a genuine interest in your business or its offerings. Their enthusiasm will feel infectious and can boost engagement among your event’s attendees.
Team player
Working well with others is an essential quality for event staff, as they will need to function as a part of the wider team.
Excellent at communicating
Whether greeting attendees, promoting your product’s benefits, or engaging different audiences, your event staff should be confident communicators.
Staff interviews and the selection process
During the hiring process for your event staff, look for candidates with relevant experience. However, you should also strongly consider the characteristics mentioned above, as well as any other qualities you deem important for the role.
When interviewing candidates, ask scenario-based questions to assess how well they think on their feet and handle unexpected situations that may arise during the event. For example, you could ask how they might handle a technical issue or an attendee complaint.
It is also worthwhile to conduct group interviews, in which candidates can demonstrate their ability to work effectively with others to complete a task.
Case study: Staffing the Tutankhamun Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery London
Coalition was contracted to manage the Guest Experience in London as part of the prestigious Tutankhamun final world tour. This involved recruiting and training a large team of staff, including developing a training programme for the 6-month installation in London, with approximately 50 staff per day, 7 days a week.
We worked closely with our client to develop the required roles and the on-site staffing strategy for the 6-month exhibition. We were then responsible for recruiting, onboarding, training, scheduling and running the payroll for all staff.
We coined the term ‘King Tut Ambassador’ and recruited a workforce of some 250 staff who worked across the exhibition. We handled everything from queue management and ticket scanning to merchandise handling and VR experience operations, as well as the overall guest experience onsite at the Saatchi Gallery during this takeover.
Make finding, hiring and training your event staff easy with Coalition
We understand the importance of finding the best talent to represent your brand and ensuring they’re trained to fit your requirements.
Bring your next event to life with experienced and enthusiastic staff from our acclaimed event talent network!
Reach out to Coalition’s experiential event and staffing experts to get started.
