Why is Studying Event Management so Stigmatised?
Breaking down the reasons why not anyone can plan and run events.
Anyone can plan an event…
I often get asked what my MSc in International Event Management entails, and what studying event management (E.M.) actually means. A common misconception about designing and running events is that anyone can do it, which is why when I tell people what I study, they can’t quite get their heads around it.
The truth is that not anyone can plan events. Now, seeing as we’re not here for a whole dissertation, we’re going to define events as being gatherings of 100 or more people for business or pleasure — not your bestie’s birthday party.
Let’s take a corporate event for example, say an office party for 500 employees with a meal, entertainment, alcohol, speakers and awards.
Now, let me tell you why you need experience and knowledge to be able to pull that off, in 3 main points:
1. The Company
Firstly, you need to understand what the company throwing the party needs. This requires you to be able to do research in the first place: you need to know everything about the company that you possibly can. Then, the next stage is meeting with a representative and asking the right questions (of which there are many) such as seating arrangements, schedule, theme, VIP guests, expectations and more.
If you’re dealing with someone who does not have much experience, they may not offer you all the information you require. For example, what do you do on the day if you forgot to ask if the 500 people eating had any dietary requirements? What do you do if you you did not book a venue with wheelchair access and a guest in one turns up? How much are you spending? Did you ask what their budget was? Did you book a celebrity speaker who does not fit the crowd or the company’s image?
Those questions should be asked in the first meeting with the client along with a plethora of others. If you ask later you risk looking unprofessional and asking too late to do anything about the answer.
2. The Law
Let’s say you’ve passed the first steps with ease: you have all the required information. You even have an appropriate theme and you get the green light from the client to go ahead. At this stage, you will be thinking of how to bring all the elements of your event together: food, speakers, music, entertainment, décor, etc. Let’s say your theme is ‘The Circus’ and you have some fun activities and decorations in mind.
As you come up with ideas, you also need to be aware of the laws surrounding events in the country the event is being held in — these obviously change around the world and you need to be aware of this. Here are just a few U.K. laws that can get in your creative path:
The timing of your event will need to reflect the licensing hours of the venue you are hiring — you are breaking the law if you go beyond the venue’s license (if it ends at 12am and you go on to 12:15 that is illegal).
Animals: You walk a snake for guests to pose with? Maybe some puppies for puppy therapy? You’ll also need a venue with a license to have animals in it or that is also illegal.
And you may have guessed already but music and film showing also require licensing within the venue to be able to present them legally.
You also need to be aware of the fire exits on your venue layout: if you block access to even one and it causes harm to someone during an emergency, you can be held legally liable as an event planner/manager. There have been many cases like this in the history of events, have a Google if you want to know more.
I’ve only listed a few here, but there are so many that you won’t be aware of without experience or the relevant knowledge and you could end up accidentally breaking the law even if you only had the best intentions.
3. Post Event Work
Let’s say that despite all odds, with no experience or much knowledge of events, you managed to pull off your Circus event and it went very well.
If you then go about your business as usual after the event and don’t do any further work on it, you’re wasting valuable information and opportunities to learn. How will you get better at delivering events to clients if you don’t grow from each event?
It is crucial that you ask the client for feedback and if possible, attendees. You can ask them on the night, as they leave or talk to your client about anything attendees mentioned to them directly.
Your aim here is to find out what did and didn’t work, which ideas to reuse and which ones to retire or adapt. You may even get some great ideas presented to you by the client that you didn’t think of.
Not only is this time well spent for you to grow and improve as an event planner, but it also shows your client that you genuinely care about their experience working with you. That way, you’re more likely to get booked again and to develop a working relationship with them.
To Conclude
While you may have some qualities that event planners and managers require, without proper experience and industry knowledge, you run the risk of running an unsuccessful and potentially dangerous event.
You wouldn’t hire someone to run your business for you with no qualifications or experience, so why would you hire someone to run an event for you in the same circumstances or try doing it yourself?
