Skift Take
To maintain a professional experience at any event, it’s important to abide by several codes of conduct as an event planner to ensure you’re not only being professional, but also creating an organized and unique experience for event attendees.
The best event planners strive to be the best planners they can be for any event. They find it imperative to go above and beyond no matter what issue or obstacle they may face during the event. There should be no question as to how an event planner should act around his or her team, or event attendees. Below are a few codes of conduct all event planners should keep in mind while working on any event.
Maintain Professionalism at ALL Times
One thing attendees will never forget from any event experience is the level of professionalism the event staff provides. Event planners should walk their teams through a list of do’s and don’ts during the planning process. This will help ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to interacting with sponsors, speakers, attendees, or anyone else they may work with.
Planners should have an overall high-level of knowledge concerning any event. As the go-to person, it’s important to know everything from names and numbers of venue staff, to third party vendors you may need as a backup to help out at the last minute. No matter what, the most important thing an event planner should do is always keep your cool, and stay level-headed. You ever know what may pop up, so reinforce the code of professionalism over and over again as your event mantra.
Provide Customer Service 24/7
Event planners should also abide by the code of compassion. Just like any other job, customer service always goes a long way in the minds and hearts of recipients. Be fair and show respect to everyone you work with on an event. The relationships you build from event to event will continue to grow as you progress in your event planning career. These relationships sometimes turn into more than just work contacts, but will end up becoming your close friends and family as you lean on one another to help pull off amazing events time and time again.
Remember to not take things too personally, and to not discriminate against any ideas, concerns or suggestions brought to you. Stay true to the values you are working to uphold for your event, and not fall under persuasion. Everyone seems to have an opinion when it comes to event planning, but as the leader of your team you must refrain from letting others pull the reins from you. Stay positive, listen, and be respectful to your team, even if you have to turn down ideas from time to time. Compensate your team when it makes the most sense, and show them you care. Be a responsible and compassionate event planner at all times.
Avoid Professional Risks at All Times
There are several areas that can become a risk for event planners. Some of these areas include accepting gifts when not appropriate, showing a poor attitude when overwhelmed, providing bad answers to colleagues, or giving away confidential information when not acceptable. At the end of the day it’s very important for planners to communicate, listen and stay professional at all times. The last thing you want is to become known as the planner who never keeps his cool, or will add a speaker to the agenda because of a bribe.
Make sure you review event ethics with your team, and help them to understand how to handle unethical behavior. Finding the right matches to do business with is crucial as an event planner. You should never put your professional or personal life at risk no matter what the situation may be. Uphold top etiquette and protocol at all times during an event. An example here may be evening events where attendees network and mingle after a long day of sessions. Remember you are still on the job, and should not get too personal with attendees – always maintain a high level of integrity in these situations. Be the role model you want your staff to look up to – think about how you want to be seen as the planner of an event at all times.
In Conclusion
These are just a few codes of conduct you can begin to establish with your team, and for yourself as an event planner. Create a list of ethics and conduct, and start by using them in your day-to-day role planning events. You are the leader of your team, and your staff looks up to you and the manner in which you act around them. Always be professional, have a good attitude and be respectful of everyone. Remember, it’s not always about you – let others shine and step away from the spotlight from time to time in order to let others help where needed.
