ECCs — Manage Your Attendees, Queues, Staff, and Other Important Aspects Efficiently
An Event Command Center (ECC) is an essential part of the event management space, while setting up, on-site, and tearing down your event. Allowing you to keep track of volunteers, manage lines + queues, dispatch staff, and control the audio/lighting grids for your show, it’s important that it’s designed with as much care as you would design something that your attendees would see.
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So what exactly is an ECC? Well, it’s where the most of the logistics and operations take place for an event, from allowing you to track the inflow of attendees, to being able to monitor the social media feeds for your show. It is where the bits and pieces of all of the loose ends of the event get tied together. But how exactly would you go about building one?
Well, the first thing you need is a space for it. Try and get a dedicated room, and if that can’t be worked into the venue floor-plan, work with pipe and drape/hard shell walls and block off an area in a place that attendees shouldn’t be going anyway. Make sure there are plenty of power outlets available, and make sure the internet in this location works fine. This is important.
Depending on the size and scale of your event, you may want different stations. These should be hosted on different tables within the rooms, with clear signs hanging on the walls/ceilings so people know exactly where they’re going. If possible, try and dedicate 3 to 5 monitors for each station, as well as one computer to run the programs. Let’s walk through the different stations:
- Social Media Interaction Station
Depending on the size of your event, you may want to publish an official show hashtag, and interact with your guests based on the content they use the hashtag in. Others may ask event questions by tagging your social media account, so it’s best to have a station dedicated to monitoring all of the social media feeds. - Feedback + Communication Station
The feedback and communication station is where you can receive all formal feedback about the show. Whether it’s a survey being conducted after a panel, or someone texts the official show number saying that a bathroom is out of order, the Feedback + Communication Station is responsible for dispatching event volunteers and maintenance to different locations to alter specific items to make the experience as best as possible for the attendees. - Attendee Logistics Station
Here is the station where you should be able to monitor where and how attendees are moving. Depending on the size of your event, you may have different options, like self check-in stations, RFID tap points, RFID mats, or other items that will be able to track where the majority of attendees are. From here, if you notice that the queue for a panel is getting too large, you may dispatch an event volunteer to tell people that the queue is full, and then dispatch another item, like a food cart, to distract the attendees from the wait time. Attendee Logistics can also place beacons to track the speeds of event transportation, to advise attendees when the next shuttle to their hotel is leaving, or to see if they need to dispatch additional services. - Guest Relations Station
The Guest Relations station is responsible for resolving all attendee mishaps. If an attendee didn’t get their ticket, if a child is lost, or if a panelist is checking in, there should be a way for them to contact a number to be answered by a guest relations specialist. Think of it like your event’s support hotline number! - Vendor + Volunteers
The Vendor + Volunteer station should be in charge of ensuring that all vendors and show volunteers are checked-in, and provide a safe space for on-site contracts, payments, etc. This should NOT be a vendor/volunteer hang-out spot or lounge — this is aimed to be a business environment. That should be in a separate room if you choose to have one!
Well, there you are! Like everything else, this is a framework of something greater you can build and edit and apply to your own event.
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