Hiring?
Your Guide to choosing the right staff and brand ambassadors for your event
Hiring event staff or brand ambassadors tends to be overwhelming for many reasons. It can be hard to know where to start, it’s time-consuming, and there are always liabilities to consider. However, it can turn into a smooth process with the right preparations done. As such, there are a few key factors to keep in mind when starting this journey.
Recruiting the right people
The first step to successful event staffing is recruiting the right people. This process will depend on several factors, including budget, bandwidth, time available, and expectations.
Moreover, knowing where to start the recruiting search can be overwhelming at first, but pursuing common paths helps. Common recruiting strategies include asking for recommendations from clients or colleagues, finding recruiting pages or groups on Facebook, posting to job boards, and listing job opportunities on local city sites.
Alternatively, many companies choose to work with event staffing agencies, as they usually have databases with thousands of suitable candidates.
Conducting interviews
Conducting thorough interviews is the next course of action. Companies must establish their expectations and come up with key requirements to ensure only the most qualified candidates apply. Moreover, recruitment staff should consider blocking out full days to perform interviews, offering proper availability. Lastly, every candidate needs to undergo a background check to ensure candidates won’t pose any legal risks to the company.
If performing interviews individually, the hiring manager should ask about experience, goals, and how the candidate deals with unexpected situations. Candidates should also provide at least one reference so employers can get a feel for their prior work performance.
Conducting multiple interviews gives companies many options.
Hiring and filing paperwork
Once a company has found the perfect candidates, the next task is ensuring that the proper paperwork is completed. There are several key components to highlight in each contract:
- Expectations of services to be provided by the employee
- Compensation
- Length of employment
- Work schedule
- Termination conditions
- Policy on time off
- Employee classification for tax purposes
Seeking out legal advice or human resource support on contracts can help ensure all requirements are met.
Completing event training
Completing in-depth event training can save companies from a lot of trouble during the event. While training may seem like a beast, developing the right training tools and procedures doesn’t have to be a complex process thanks to the wide variety of options.
Some of the best possibilities for event training include online courses, video presentations, role-playing, question-and-answer sessions, lectures, or providing printed hand-outs. Any of these will help employees arrive fully knowledgeable and prepared.
Pre-event
One of the most overlooked aspects of event staffing is establishing a proper check-in, like the GPS check-in provided by Brand Activate. With this technology, you can see when employees have checked in, with photos, and know their location.
Ensuring event compliance
If a company plans to host events in different locations, it must follow local regulations and restrictions to avoid legal issues. This is especially true in the COVID-19 era, where each location must follow a specific set of safety procedures. Consulting a lawyer before hosting an event is advantageous, though event staffing agencies are also well-versed in legal matters and can offer guidance.
During the event
Many key players are involved in managing events, including the lead planner, the catering manager, the logistics coordinator, the head of security — and the list goes on. As such, each manager will be in charge of ensuring their respective staff has the necessary materials throughout the event.
Mentoring event staff
Mentoring is another huge component of successful training. Companies benefit from guiding their employees in every step of the event process.
A good way to begin the mentoring journey is to instill key values that represent a company. For instance, a company can encourage staff to showcase integrity, commitment, accountability, and passion. Promoting these values will shape the company culture and inspire staff to behave in a way that follows a company’s expectations.
Keeping the budget on track
The key to keeping a budget on track is wiggle room. Even if a company has spent countless hours painstakingly calculating a budget, there is a high chance that unexpected costs will arise. When it comes to staff, unforeseen costs could mean an employee having to work overtime or needing extra products.
Checking payroll accuracy
Fortunately, there is an abundance of payroll software and technologies that make tracking payroll and payroll accuracy simple. Many of these technologies allow employees to submit their hours directly from their phones, where employers can easily double-check time sheets for hours completed and money earned.
There’s no need for old-school pen and paper, thanks to modern-day data and analytic technology.
Post-event
Lastly, companies need to consider how they will recap and report the event both as it occurs and afterward. This will consist of taking photos and making notes of what transpired during the event. Luckily, many staffing businesses have technology that can capture real-time photos.
Capturing the event in real-time will make for easier recapping and reporting.
Event staffing or brand ambassador takeaway
Whether using experiential marketing or field marketing, both are key components to keep in mind while recruiting the optimal candidates. An event staffing agency has all the latest tools, technologies, and know-how for developing, conducting, and concluding any event. Our staffing and marketing agency, Brand Activate, is excited to help you every step of the way.