How to Find the Perfect Event Staff

Hiring the right event staff is a major step toward making your next trade show event effective. Finding the right people for a job is never easy, but being methodical about hiring is always worth it. Your team should be in harmony with the trade show’s location, atmosphere and audience, not to mention your brand.

Here are some tips for finding the perfect event staff.

How should I plan my event?

Set goals for the event

Decide if you want your staff to be sales-focused or if you want them to entertain your guests. These goals will be partly influenced by the type of event you’re participating in or hosting. For example, an engagement or sampling event is often more experience-focused, while a trade show tends to be sales-focused. Your brand and the actual product you’re pushing will also affect your goals.

Estimate the audience size

The number of people at the event will help determine how staff will be able to engage the audience. Limited audiences mean more one-on-one interactions and small groups. Large audiences mean that you’ll need team members who can entertain a lot of people at once. It’s important to note that most staff members won’t be able to do both well.

To help determine who’s a good fit for the event, ask about their prior experience. Someone who’s worked in the front-of-the-house at a restaurant may be great with smaller groups while someone who loves performing may be better with large groups.

Decide how experienced and skilled your staff should be

Each team member will have lots of different experiences and skills. Maybe they understand your specific product from working with similar brands or at previous events and shows. Chances are you’ll need to provide the agency or staff a full brief in some way or other, but if you can find people who are already familiar with the knowledge you need, that’s even better.

What staff should I be using?

Select candidates well ahead of time

Depending on your goals, you’ll need to find out if potential staff members are suitable for your event.. Having a selection process will mean you secure the best staff, as the best candidates get booked fast. 

Keep a checklist of your requirements to make sure you ask all of the questions you want to and the staff tick all the correct boxes. This will also make it easy to compare candidates when you’re ready to make hiring decisions. Ask questions that determine if the candidate is right for the client, brand and location. Find out details such as:

• The candidate’s work background.
• Their knowledge about the product, brand or industry.
• How willing they are to become a brand advocate for your company.
• Their comfort level when it comes to interacting with different-sized audiences.
• The flexibility of their schedule.

Pay attention to appearance

Expectations for the event should be partly based on your brand’s values and style. The look of your staff should match the company’s branding. For example, clean cut staff members in white shirts and khakis will clash with an edgy brand.

Be honest about your requirements

Always be honest and forthcoming with your staff about the requirements and expectations of the event. Will your team need to be on their feet for 12 hours, cheery and energetic the entire time? Tell them that. Certain workers may know immediately that they’re not right for the job and it’s better for both of you to find out ahead of time rather than midway through the event.

Keep note of the best staff you hire

Keep a information on reliable staff members, the events they’ve worked for you and their strengths. When you need staff for a future event, you’ll have dependable people who you can call first and know your brand. As you come across staff who you like but who don’t fit the event, hang on to their information, too. They may be a perfect match for a future event.

Let Envisage take the strain

If you need event staff for an up-coming event then let Envisage Promotions take the strain. We have a wealth of experience in all aspects of event staff recruitment. Contact our recruitment team today to discuss your requirements.