Due to the ad hoc nature of the event industry, it faces staffing challenges unlike any other sector. While event staffing software cannot eradicate every challenge, it can take some of the uncertainties out of working events, leading to successful events and satisfied customers. In this article, we will show you how software tools can improve your performance as an event staffing agency.
We will be looking at the following problems and how they can be alleviated with staffing software:
The pandemic had a huge impact on the event industry, with thousands of jobs seemingly eradicated overnight. This led to a record number of people looking for work in other sectors, leaving event organisers understaffed once their work resumed. To alleviate these shortages, there needs to be a shift in event organisers' expectations. Rather than thinking that more skilled roles will attract the right talent, training available staff to take on those roles should be the way forward.
If you think training schemes are too costly or time-intensive, event staffing software can help you. It can free up time by reducing admin for staff members, who will be much happier to attend or give training sessions when they do not feel bogged down by other tasks.
In addition, having training schemes likely takes just as much or less time and effort as recruiting skilled individuals, and staff members who are being trained feel that they get a perk by being skilled up - one of the most important factors for increased employee satisfaction. This in turn will create an environment in which employees stick with you, thereby reducing the need to find new staff.
Events, whether they be concerts, football matches or dinner galas, are hectic for everyone involved, particularly the staff on the ground. A good deal of self-reliance is required, as tight management is not always possible on a large-scale operation. This means that event managers might rely on manual time slips or simply put down an agreed upon amount of hours. However, this creates inaccuracies: while overpayment - on the scale of hundreds of employees - can translate to huge financial losses, not accounting for the full hours worked leads to disgruntled employees who might look elsewhere for work.
Digital time tracking is the obvious solution here, but how do you do it without staff having a fixed place of work? The answer is event staffing software which offers the option of having employees check in and out with their smartphone. This can be done via having a QR code at entrances and exits for staff members to scan when they enter or leave an event location, or by asking them to submit a timestamp (including location data) when they start and finish work.
Much of the stress of event organisation stems from the unpredictable and on-demand nature of the industry. Since everything has to be perfect on the big day, staff planning errors, as well as employees falling ill at the last minute, can jeopardize the event itself and will reflect badly on the organiser.
To avoid mistakes, digitising your staff pool and incorporating it into a comprehensive system is key. Event staffing software offers just such a system. It gives you not only an overview of who is available and qualified to work, it also enables you to act as quickly as possible in case something does go wrong - for example if a staff member has fallen ill and needs replacing, or if you need to make an ad-hoc change to the rota just before the event. Event staffing software also ensures that all affected staff members are informed automatically.
Event staffing software can help you to improve many processes within your organisation, leading to smoother events and clients that will want to book you time and again. It does this by:
Want to know more about event staffing software? We are happy to help you discover what these software tools can do for you.
Image by Jordan Stimpson from Pixabay