A business event, a convention, and exhibition, a trade show – all of these alternatives, similar as they are, can be truly significant for the life of your brand. Just getting involved shows you care about networking, being seen as an influential presence in that industry space, and that you’re willing to focus on long-term thinking.
You may also find that just attending the event and hosting one, or giving a talk and running a booth, can themselves be various milestones in the life of your company. Not all manage to achieve the best possible results.
This means that preparing your staff to host a successful business event in another city, as often you will need to travel (specifically if your company is involved in a niche industry), is essential. We tend to think we can just snap our fingers and demand the best presentation, hosting, networking and attentive performance from those we employ. But that’s not always the case. We have to prepare the ground for them, ensure their needs are met, and have them more than willing to act as ambassadors for your brand in this environment.
So, in this post we intend to help you prepare your staff to host a successful business event in another city. Without further ado, please consider:
Pre-Event Briefings
Many teams fall into the trap of having just one quick meeting before a big event, but the truth si that that rarely works out well, because an event is a big responsibility. A few strong catch-ups and pre-briefings, together and individually, help everyone feel more comfortable about what they need to do.
So, the first meeting might cover the basic plans, but then later ones go into the details that really matter, like who handles problems if they come up, or what success actually means for different team members, or even going over the security plan and who to report an issue to. You might even do practice runs of their presentations, which sounds a bit much but tends to pay off when the real event arrives.
The Travel Admin
Getting the travel arrangements right makes a huge difference to how well staff perform and how refreshed they feel that morning.
Nobody does their best work after a two-hour commute each morning, so booking hotels near the venue makes sense. Booking train tickets early saves money too. For events in major places, sorting out luggage storage Edinburgh helps teams make the most of their time, which is much better than staff dragging heavy bags around while trying to set up.
Arriving a day early lets everyone settle in properly and means no panic if trains run late, but if you can get there in a little while, you can store luggage before checking in, or welcome any staff who are arriving but might not have been there the night before.
Scheduling & Itineraries
It’s smart to remember that a good schedule is one that accounts for real-world timing, not just the ideal situation, which almost never takes place in real life. This is because staff need proper breaks to eat and rest between busy periods as a baseline, for example, but they also need time to set up equipment and run a quick test.
Digital calendars work well because everyone can check them on their phones, but paper backups come in handy when batteries die or wifi drops out, especially if the event space is having an issue with connectivity or the 5G isn’t working. Administration efforts are wise here, like making sure everyone has phone numbers for the whole team and knows who to call if something goes wrong.
Splitting Responsibilities
Now, no matter how your team is comprised, how much training they have in different areas, how long they’ve bene with your company, there’s one simply truth – different people are good at different things. This means that some in your company might prefer to give the presentation because they’re strong public speakers and know how to charm. Some others prefer handling the technical side of things or coordinating with venue staff, and that’s necessary tie.
If you can focus on matching people to jobs they feel comfortable with while keeping enough flexibility to cover busy areas, then you’re cooking with gas. Splitting responsibilities means being very, very clear about who is responsible for what and how far those duties extend. Having a few team members who can fill in wherever needed helps tremendously too, so don’t ignore those who may not be super-specialists but still wish to help as an assistant. Even better if everyone knows exactly what they’re meant to do but stays willing to help others when needed.
Business Expenses
Money worries can really distract staff from doing their best work at events, and so it’ best to try and clear that from their minds entirely. For the most part, clear expense policies help you to limit those awkward situations or staff feeling out of pocket.
A good way to solve this is through apps that make tracking receipts much easier than keeping paper ones, though having a backup plan for when technology fails always helps. Some companies find giving staff corporate cards works best. We’d also recommend booking big expenses directly and letting staff claim smaller costs back, so they don’t have to pay out of pocket for everything. For instance, travel hotels and even food are worth your own payment.
Team-Building Opportunities
If your business is large enough, events often put people together who might email each other regularly but rarely meet face-to-face, so it’s a nice opportunity to connect for the most part. Taking advantage of that opportunity makes sense.
This isn’t a social club of course, but sharing meals or exploring the local area during quiet times, perhaps even after all is said and done, can help build real connections between team members. Those relationships often show their value long after the event ends, especially when projects need cooperation between different departments or when you come back to do it all next year.
Comforts & Recreation
Looking after staff during events matters more than many companies realize, because while you might be having fun, traveling anywhere for work purposes can feel long and arduous, and your staff will miss home. That’s not to say you’ll attend an event more than a few days, but the point stands, especially because long days standing at exhibitions take their toll on everyone.
So, making sure people can take proper breaks, wear comfortable shoes, and stay hydrated might sound simple but it makes a real difference to performance. You might also organize team dinners or social activities too, as it gives everyone a chance to relax together away from the pressure of the event.
Learning From The Event
Every event teaches certain lessons about what works well and what needs changing next time, because don’t worry, no firm gets it perfect immediately. If you have time to do so, keeping notes throughout helps you remember those thoughts before they get forgotten in the rush to pack up and head home. Then when you arrive back, you can encourage everyone to share their observations about customer reactions, competitor activities, and practical arrangements that could work better in the future.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily plan for, host, and return from a business event, no matter how extensive your attendance or contribution was. Your firm and team will come back richer for the experience, and perhaps contribute to your efforts next year.
