How do I choose the right staff for my event?

Consider your promotional staff to be customer service representatives for your brand. Consumers who receive subpar service from your staff will be dissatisfied and distrusting of your company. Brands are only as good as their customer service. With such an important role to fill, your event staff should be thoughtfully curated and well-trained. The following tips will help you choose the right staff for your next event.

Define your event goals.

Understanding the event is the only way that you’ll be able to staff it correctly. Find out how many people are expected to attend, as well as their demographics (gender, age, interests). By knowing who the attendees will be, you’ll be better able to hire complementary event staff. Also determine if your event staff needs to be sales- or entertainment-focused. Your brand, the product or service your promoting, the type of event (engagement, sampling, trade show), and the number of guests will dictate what you need your staff to do. Note that most team members will have one strength, either sales or entertainment, but that they won’t necessarily be able to do both exceptionally well.

Start the process early.

Waiting until the last minute to hire staff doesn’t afford you the time needed to choose the right team members. There will be less availability than if you started earlier because many of the agency’s staff members will already be slated for other jobs. Event staff should be booked a minimum of three months before your event. Bear in mind that the best staff members will be booked six to twelve months in advance, which may limit your options. Also, don’t just look for staff early – make final hiring decisions within one to two weeks after narrowing down your choices. Your event staff needs to be hired at least three months in advance and prepped at least four weeks before the event.

Work with an agency that has their own insurance.

Quality staffing companies have their own insurance. Should something happen to one of the staff members while working at your event, your company will (hopefully) not be held liable. While you’re still responsible for public liability insurance for the event site, staff insurance should be covered by the staffing agency.

Pay attention to the agency’s professionalism.

Before meeting potential event staff members, the agency itself should pass a professionalism test. Aside from having reliable availability, the agency should be easy to work with and patient as you ask important questions. Staffing agencies should take the time to understand your needs. Take note of how the agency treats you as a customer – this will give you a good indication as to their expectations for their employees.

Discover their background knowledge.

There are all different ways for a staff member to bring their knowledge to your event. They may have technical knowledge about your product or a specific field. They may have one-on-one experience with your product and know it thoroughly. While they may not be too familiar with your brand, they could be well-versed in the industry. It’s likely that you’ll need to educate and train your event staff in some way, but if you can hire team members who already have some level of related knowledge, that’s a good place to start.

Interview candidates in person.

Photographs and resumes can only go so far. Interviewing potential staff members will give you a feel for their personality and help you determine how well they will fit your event. Ask the candidate about their professional background; industry and brand knowledge; willingness to be a brand advocate; comfort level with large and small audiences; and their schedule. Also pay attention to personality features that you think will either fit or mesh with the rest of your team.

When you hire event staff through an agency, you can rest assured that they’ve already been screened. Staffing agencies are able to recommend the highest quality promotional team members because they’ve already been vetted for professionalism and experience. By working with a reliable staffing agency, you’ll be able to put together a dependable, efficient and knowledgeable.