When it comes to event planning, the talent you choose to represent you is your secret weapon.
From engaging visitors to ensuring your staff are knowledgeable about your product, the people you hire and how you train them will significantly impact the customer experience and overall perception of your brand.
But how do you find the right staff for your event, and what’s the best process for training them?
Let’s look at the key considerations when choosing and training talent to achieve your event objectives and broader business goals.
Key considerations when selecting event talent
1. Establish Your Event Goals and Objectives
Before selecting talent for your event, it’s crucial to define your event goals (typically specific and measurable) and objectives (the strategies to achieve those goals).
Knowing your event goals and objectives will not only inform decisions about planning your event but also help you define which objectives your talent can achieve and how they should achieve them.
2. Identify What Type of Talent You Require
Consider which talent type best aligns with your event’s objectives and fosters the most engagement between attendees and your brand.
- Want to make your brand feel more genuine or increase connections between attendees and your business? Consider hiring individuals who have a real interest in your product or are consumers in your industry. Genuine passion is infectious and hard to fake!
- Do you want your event to have a performative aspect? Consider hiring individuals with specific talents, such as actors, musicians, or dancers.
- Have you considered the benefits of staff diversity? Hiring teams that reflect the diversity of your attendees can promote inclusivity and foster connections between the public and your company.
3. Assess Experience and Qualifications
Selecting experienced talent increases the likelihood that they’ll achieve your objectives and may require less training.
Testimonials and reviews from previous clients or industry professionals are a good way to see an individual’s track record, while you can identify any relevant qualifications and overall experience in the industry from their CV.
Hiring your staff through an event staff specialist like Coalition gives you access to an extensive network of reputable and reliable talent, meaning you’ll save time sifting through applications and can quickly secure the right people for the job.
4. Review Contract
Once you’ve found the right talent for your event, ensure the contract between you and them covers all essential details, such as:
- Pay
- Dates and duration
- Technical requirements
- Special requests
Now that you’ve secured your talent, it’s time to start their training.
Read on to find out what you should cover during event talent training.
What to cover during event talent training
The points you should cover when training your staff will depend on your event’s specific requirements, but here are some of the basics to get you started.
1. Brand Overview
Introducing your brand is key to ensuring your talent understands who the brand is, what they do, and how they should present themselves to your event attendees. Key details to touch on include:
- The brand’s history
- Products and/or services offered
- Personality of the brand
Anything more than this may become an information overload, so keep it brief and focus on the most important details.
2. Relevant Event Objectives
While goals such as cost per ROI and number of attendees may not be relevant to your talent, clarify your expectations for your staff by communicating the goals they can achieve and how to achieve them.
3. Brand Messaging
Cover the key talking points that you want your talent to communicate to consumers, e.g. how they should introduce the brand to customers, and what frequently asked questions they should be aware of.
4. Technical Instructions
If you’re including technological aspects in your event, such as mobile apps, QR codes, or card readers, you’ll need to provide your team with the operational instructions.
5. Uniform Requirements
Ensuring your talent looks cohesive in their appearance boosts your brand awareness and allows attendees to see at a glance who represents you. Be specific when providing appearance and uniform requirements, including your policies on tattoos, piercings, and related items.
6. Health and Safety
Having health and safety procedures in place for your event is imperative. Whether it’s food hygiene training, fire safety, first aid or something else, ensure your staff are trained in the relevant health and safety procedures and know what to do in an emergency.
7. Logistics
Make your event staff aware of where to meet on the day, how to get to the location, where to park, check-in/check-out procedures, break schedules, contact information and anything else you deem relevant.
Hire an event staffing agency to do the work for you!
Planning and executing an event takes significant time and hard work, which is why many event planners rely on event staffing agencies for talent procurement and training.
Leave talent ROI and training to our expert team at Coalition, and you’ll free yourself up for other demanding event-planning tasks!
By working to understand your brand and event requirements, we’ll connect you with the top talent to represent your business, achieve your event objectives and leave a lasting impression.
