Everything You Need to Know About Working with an Event Staffing Agency

Great Staff = Great Events

We all know the importance of having the right staff onboard – they can make or break your event!

If you’re a busy event planner chances are you’ll have your hands full juggling everything leading up to your big event and simply don’t have the time (or willingness) to get stuck into the recruitment process too – this is where a staffing agency can step in to help.

But before you select one you need to be clear in your intentions and fully understand what your staffing needs are and why you need their help.

Why do event staff need managing?

Pre-event briefing, checking-in and delegation – Staff will need pre-event briefing, checking in and monitoring for punctuality as well as ensuring they are correctly attired. If you’re running a large scale event, its best that each temp is assigned specific tasks and duties so everyone knows what they’re doing on the day.

Health & safety/food regulations – This only really applies to catering and bartending staff, but when preparing or handling food it is important that only staff with the correct food hygiene certification are selected in the first instance, and that while your event runs they are fully up to date and aware of the hygiene standards and that they are followed strictly.

Ensure you only have experienced staff – You may not have time to train temps before your event – an agency can ensure you have only experienced staff on your team to save your time!

They can provide you with back up staff – Event staff also fall ill, have accidents or unplanned circumstances that mean they have to cancel at the last minute. Although this occurs less frequently than you may think, a staffing agency will have hundreds of alternative staff on their books so they can replace staff promptly.

Cut down on paperwork – If you were to hire all your own staff (temp or permanent) imagine all the paperwork you would have to fill in! An agency will have done that already so again it saves you time and effort.

So, you can see there would be lots to consider if you were to hire and manage your event staff yourself.  Which is why a staffing agency can be such a valuable resource. In addition, event planners themselves can benefit in the following ways:

Staffing agencies are expert and reliable event partners

Agencies can place the best staff with unique talents and experience that will help your event run like clockwork. You’ll get enthusiastic, dedicated personnel to work with you! With tonnes of experience the agency will be best placed to advise you on your team size and requirements.

They can save you time – As mentioned above, the process of hiring staff takes time. Advertising, selecting, interviewing, vetting, onboarding and training take an incredible amount of time, money and effort – can you really afford to do it yourself?

They can give you lots of flexibility – Staffing agencies can also provide specialized staff who can help your event run smoother. You may need a post event clean-up team for example, or even onsite event managers to oversee the team and supervise breaks and duties.
Many agencies (like ours) have a network of staff all over the country and in major cities. This is ideal if you have a national campaign and need a team far from where you are located.

So, having understood what agencies can do for event planners, let’s have a quick look at what their temps can actually do for you.

What event staff can (and should) do?

To avoid confusion and ensure your event is a success, it’s important to decide what your own staff are responsible for and what the temp staff’s tasks will be. When everyone knows what is expected of them your event will run smoothly!

If you’ve never worked with agency staff, here are some pointers and examples of what they should be doing:

• Prepare their stand to help fulfil their duties
• Registration staff should confirm receipt of the guest list. If working at an events dinner or black-tie function they should familiarise themselves with the names of any VIP guests and what they require.
• Any security staff should have a quick briefing with the entire security team before going to their designated areas.
• Show initiative with jobs that require special skills
• If you’re using audio equipment at your event, your temp staff should be fully trained and be able to help you and your speakers when required.
• Sports arena or roadshow staff should be able to manually handle any equipment required for transforming the venue from one event to another with minimal supervision.
• Provide excellent customer service
• Hospitality staff should know how to check IDs discreetly when serving alcohol while ensuring guests feel welcome.
• Marshals should remain calm and professional while observing fire, health and safety regulations and while directing the public to their allocated areas.

Above all, your event staff should always be professional, polite, and enthusiastic about your event.

How to select an event staffing agency

Apart from choosing an agency that’s been trading for at least 1-2 years, here are some other factors to consider:

Online reviews – such as Google are a good starting point, but you should also look at industry specific review sites or the Staffing section of Best Company.

Trial a few agencies – Where possible, if you have some small scale events coming up why not use these to try out some different agencies? As there will be less pressure than a huge main event, you will have more opportunity to assess your experiences and then come to an informed decision when selecting the main agency you want to entrust with your big event.

Be open and discuss your event goals and expectations – Your event staffing agency should be as keen as you are and rooting for your event to be a total success. With their level of expertise they should be able to discuss and give you suggestions to improve your campaign or event – ultimately you need to find a strong event partner!

Book, confirm details and brief – Once you’ve decided what agency to go for its imperative you go through the fine details and communicate clearly what your staffing requirements and expectations are. This will help to prevent any issues down the line. Provide a briefing document, event contact names and numbers so everyone know what they’re doing on the day of the event. Listen to any suggestions your agency may make – remember they have lots of experience of listening to staff feedback!

Have a de-brief or after event catch up with your agency – After your successful event, it’s important to reflect and give feedback (both positive and negative) to your agency. They can also provide you with unbiased feedback from the staff on the ground. All of this information can be used to plan your next event too.

To Summarise

You’ve now read all about how and why you should be using an events staffing agency. Key points to remember:

• Agencies can undertake the numerous steps and tasks required for managing a team of professional event staff so you don’t have to.
• Establish clear expectations and tasks for your temp event staff to ensure they work successfully with your in house team.
• Choosing an agency should be viewed as a strategic partnership – you will both need to share a clear vision and goal for your event to be a total success.
• Ultimately, event staffing agencies are simply another resource that event planners can utilise when they need to impress! You should now feel fully armed with new knowledge and confidence that you’ll pick the best partner for your upcoming event. Good luck!

By Rita Moorthy – Office Manager – Envisage Agency