Fadwa Dourmane

Introduction:
For an event to succeed in event management, it’s important to have the correct skillset and
abilities as there is a highly competitive environment and if you don’t have the certain skills
and abilities then you will not be able to beat the environment. I will go into detail about the
best skills and mind set to have to aid you in becoming successful at organising an event.
Time management:
Time management skill is really important as there are always deadlines no matter where
you work so businesses always expect employees to complete work before a deadline. It is
also important to complete that work to the best of your ability and the highest efficiency
possible before the deadline. Becoming a successful event organiser entails good time
management. If you skip deadlines and keep missing them, you will most likely slow down the
whole process of the organisation or you could be fired.
Organisational skills:
Having organisational skills is one of the most important skills to have as it takes a lot of
organising and planning to carry out an event. If the event organiser makes sure to check
everything and is organised well with backup plans then it’s likely that the event will run
smoothly with no unfortunate events. However, if the event organiser does not make sure that
even the smallest detail is perfected, it could lead to something unfortunate happening and
that may be unmanageable. Organising an event also entails working as part of a team, this
includes communicating with hundreds of people and making sure there are no
miscommunications. A well organised team is more likely to work efficiently and run through
the event smoothly without any problems.
Communication with good interpersonal skills:
To be a good event organiser you must be friendly and approachable and good at written
and verbal communication. This role consists or assigning everyone tasks and making sure
that everyone is performing their tasks well and efficiently. As explained, this is a big
leadership role as any miscommunication will be on your behalf as you must make sure that
everyone is informed and knows what they are doing at all times and they carry out their
tasks perfectly. If there are any conflicts within the team, it would be your job to make sure
everything is sorted out and things are running smoothly.
Budget control
This is very important for an event organiser as it helps them to plan ahead of the event and
have leftover money for any extra expenses. It also affects the profit made from running the
event as you will be getting less than you would if you stuck to the budget. If the event
organiser does not manage to stick to the budget, it can also result in a loss for the
organiser.
Problem solving
This is important as any issues could arise last minute and the event organiser must know
how to solve them quickly in order for the event to run smoothly. The event organiser also
needs to handle conflicts between members of staff in a way in which no more problems arise
between them. The event organiser can never know what to expect so they should be ready to
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tackle any problem with a solution. If there is a problem and they are not sure how to tackle
it, they will most likely set a bad reputation for themselves.

Working under pressure

When running an event, there is no guarantee that everything will go exactly as planned.
This means that every event organiser must have a plan B in case anything goes wrong.
Problems can get very stressful and frustrating when under pressure. However, the event
organiser should have the skills to let people know there is something wrong but without
causing panic or stressing out other people. The event organiser should still be able to get
through the problem and continue working efficiently while sorting out the problem despite
the fact that they are under so much pressure and stress.
Negotiation skills:
A negotiation is a strategic discussion that resolves an issue in a way that both parties find
acceptable. In a negotiation, each party tries to persuade the other to agree with his or her
point of view. By negotiating, all involved parties try to avoid arguing but agree to reach
some form of compromise. When negotiating, event organisers should be able to get what
they are asking for but make it fair to both parties or they could meet somewhere in the
middle which ensure that both sides get what they want. So it’s a win-win situation.
Planning skills
It is vital for event organisers to have a detailed plan that involves a plan B in any case of
last-minute problems. It should consist of all the things that plan A consisted of but a safer
option with a little more planning so there is no risk of it failing. I you think there is a risk of
it failing, you could create a plan c for your plan b for extra precautionary measures. All this
can be considered and used to make sure that absolutely nothing is missing from the plan.
Planning does not focus solely on the event; it also includes external factors (factors you
cannot control) such as the weather conditions or traffic. They must make sure they have a
backup in case of unexpected weather or unexpected traffic.

Attention to every detail:

Paying attention to detail is very crucial as even missing out the smallest detail such as an
exposed wire could jeopardise the whole event and put your position as an event organiser at
risk by damaging your reputation due to missing out a small detail.
Role of event organiser:
The main role of an event organiser is to plan, organise and produce an event and to aim to
deliver it in the highest standard you possibly can and as smoothly as you possibly can. The
event must also be held in an efficient and cost-effective way. The role of the event organiser
also consists of time management, health and safety and team members aiming to deliver
their tasks before the set deadline that they are given in the highest quality.
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Planning
After hiring an event
organiser, it is important to
then find a venue and book it
which is
suitable for the type of event
and negotiating after on the
venue. Therefore, it is then
followed by a detailed plan of
what the event would have to
go through with every
small detail in order to run
smoothly. There will be
deadlines and a lot of tasks for
to
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get everything in place and in

time.
Planning:
After hiring an event organiser, it is important to find a suitable venue for your event and
book it. You must then follow it by writing up a detailed plan of what the event entails step by
step including every small detail in order for the event to run smoothly without any problems.
You will have to meet deadlines and you will have a lot of tasks to complete in order for the
event to take place on the desired day and at the desired time.

Management
Event organiser makes all the
important decision by making
decisions on how many
people attend and what sort of
marketing techniques is
required in order to drive
customers in for the event.
They also make sure to
provide the best leadership
skills
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which is important to motivate

the staff members and support
them and solve any
4
Management

An Event organiser is in charge of all the important decisions such as how many people
attend, the marketing techniques that will be used to draw customers in for the event. They
must also make sure to provide good leadership skills as they need to be able to motivate the
staff members and show them support. They also need to be able to solve any conflicts that
arise. Without an organiser it is very hard for an event to be successful as there are a lot of
risks and a lot of things are likely to go wrong.

conflicts which arise. Without

an organiser it is unlikely for
an event to be successful as
it can risk ending up in a chaos
Communication
The event organiser is meant
to be constantly in need of
communicating with its staff
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members and to make sure

every task is done before
deadline and all the
misunderstandings or conflicts
have been solved.
Communication is also vital
with
clients and negotiation with
suppliers and owners as this is
helpful to build a
relationship. This is useful for
the business to acquire
materials and products for
cheaper price.
Communication
The event organiser should constantly be communicating with staff members and ensuring
that everyone has completed their allocated tasks before the deadline and there are no
miscommunications or conflicts between them. Communication is also important when it
comes to clients and negotiating with a supplier or owner as it helps build a stronger
relationship with them. This is useful for the business so they can receive materials and
products for a lower price.
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Research
Research is important as it prepares you in advance to planning the event. It is important
that your research is not basic as that could be missing vital pieces of information. The
research should be in depth and detailed. Usually, the research can be done several different
ways. Usually after the research is carried out, trial and error takes place in order to see
what the best and worst options are. Therefore, the event manager usually has face to face
meetings or makes phone calls with people who have run a similar event that has been
successful. Furthermore, in some cases, surveys and questionnaires are done as forms of
primary research to find information which can further help make the event successful.

Marketing
Marketing process is very
important especially for the
event organiser. He or she will
have to come up with the best
marketing tactics to the
suitable target audience for the
event. However, there is
marketing experts that will
help the organiser which can
help
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in many ways of promotions.

Regulatory of the marketing
process is vital for the event
organiser to take control of and
to keep in track of.
Marketing
Marketing is a very important process for the event organiser as they will be required to
think of the best suitable marketing tactics for the target audience at the event. However, the
organiser can hire a marketing team which can help to promote the event as they are
professionals, and they are most likely going to do it better than the event organiser. Keeping
track of the marketing process is important for the event organiser so they can be up to date
with everything and entice more customers.
Budgeting
Organisers are also in charge of tracking costs and controlling the costs. They will have to
decide the maximum amount of money they can spend to run the whole event while making
sure to keep the costs at a budget and to maximize their profit. If they miscalculate anything
then they will most likely make a loss and reduce their profit. This shows how important it is
for an event organiser to have accounting and finance skills.

Skills Audit:
This includes all of your current skills against all of the skills you need at the moment and for
the future. It helps you find out what skills you currently have and what skills you will need to
acquire in order for you to carry out your role effectively and it helps ensure that everything
goes to plan.
Methods of Skills Audits are:
o Observation
o Semantic differential scale
o Appraisal
o Likert scale
o Questionnaires

Observation:
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An observation is when a researcher takes notes on someone’s (usually a consumer)

behaviour and interactions in a natural environment. An advantage of observations is it gives
reliable data as you’re watching the consumer in a natural environment, so they are less
likely to change their behaviour if they aren’t aware that they are being observed. A
disadvantage of observations is they are really time consuming, and it is also a qualitative
method so you will not get any statistics or numerical data which you would get if you had
carried out a quantitative method such as surveys or interviews. Carrying out an observation
would help the event organiser as they will be able to assess everyone’s preferences without
some people giving false answers because they could feel as though they are in an
uncomfortable environment if an interview or focus group was carried out. Therefore, in
order for them not to be judged, they may give you a false answer. Whereas, with an
observation, they would be in a natural environment and they wouldn’t know that they are
being watched so they wouldn’t feel the need to change the way they do things as there is no
pressure on them.
Semantic differential scale:
A semantic differential scale is a rating scale that asks customers to rate a specific thing.
This could be the company, the brand or a product. It usually has two opposing adjectives on
either end of the scale and some multi-point rating options in the middle. An advantage of a
semantic differential scale is that it’s very commonly used so it’s a popular method of
collecting research. It’s also very easy to understand so it means it has a high response rate
which makes the information that is collected, reliable. A disadvantage of Semantic
differential scales is it can’t be hard to identify the right number of points needed on the
scale. This is because too many points might require information that isn’t there. Whereas
not having enough points means you are less likely to capture the participant’s emotional
range. This could be very beneficial for an event organiser as they would be able to create a
survey using a semantic differential scale for the questions as it wouldn’t take long to
complete so it would get a higher response rate and it would help the event organiser know
how people feel about certain things which would mean they can make the event better suited
for everyone who will be attending it.
Appraisal:
An appraisal is a process in which an employee discusses their development needs and
training with their employer. It’s beneficial because it assesses the strong and weak points of
an employee. An advantage of appraisals is they help make sure that the right jobs are
assigned to the correct people according to their skillset. It also means employees can focus
on improving their weaknesses. A disadvantage of Appraisals is they are a very time-
consuming process as managers or supervisors are responsible for preparing performance
reports for their team. This means that they must create an appraisal form for each and every
team member. This means they will be required to gather every individuals’ weaknesses,
strengths, achievements and any other observations that were made of their employees. I
think an appraisal would help an event organiser in making sure that they’re on track with
everything and that they know their strengths and weaknesses and what they would need to
work on in order to improve the event.
Likert scale:
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A Likert scale is a scale where respondents have to tick a box that they believe describes
their response to the statement. A Likert scale is typically found on questionnaires or surveys.
A Likert scale asks measures the respondents’ feelings about something. An advantage of
using a Likert scale is they are easy to understand as it’s a universal method of collecting
data. It is a quantitative method of collecting data so it’s easy to create graphs and reports
from the data collected. A disadvantage of Likert scale is it’s hard to determine neutral
opinions as “neither disagree nor agree”. This means that the results taken from this will be
unreliable. I think this won’t benefit an event organiser very much as there’s no way they can
benefit from unreliable data.
Questionnaires:
A questionnaire is a set of questions that is sent either by post, online or given by hand to
collect data and opinions about a specific topic. An advantage of a questionnaire is that it’s
wide coverage so there’s a large sample size compared to other methods such as interview or
observation and you are more likely to get replies back very quickly if you send out online. A
disadvantage of using questionnaires is there’s a low response rate for questionnaires that
are sent by post. This would mean that an event organiser would have to send the
questionnaires online. A questionnaire would benefit an event organiser greatly as it can be
done after the event to ask for feedback and what they could have done differently or what
they liked about the event.

I believe that the best method of data collection for an event planner is online Questionnaires
as they have a high response rate, and they aren’t very time consuming. They will also help
the event planner get feedback so they know what they could have done differently so they
can work on their weaknesses. I feel as though a questionnaire would also help to gather
both qualitative and quantitative data based on the questions asked which would benefit the
event planner as they will have enough information without having to carry out two separate
research methods in order to have both quantitative and qualitative data. Whereas the other
methods only collected one or the other. For example, a Likert scale is a quantitative method
of collecting data, which means, it’s not as effective as the questionnaire since the
information you receive will all be statistical, but you won’t get that much information.
However, the observation method is a qualitative method which means that all the
information obtained will be written which means its very time consuming not to mention the
fact that you have to observe specific people for a specific time period which is also time
consuming. The event planner will most likely have to carry out another method of research
if they want both quantitative and qualitative data.