Co-ordination is the Key to Successful Event Management

The key to successful event management is coordination, getting your team to think as one joined-up unit. Without coordination, people aren't pulling in the same direction and things are easily overlooked, which can lead to chaos in the build-up to an event.

Communication is critical. If you're the person in charge of planning an event then you need to make sure everyone is assigned their tasks, knows their role and knows where they fit in the grand scheme of things. Everything should put in an individual email, so people can keep track of what they're doing and can be held to account if something is missed.

As well as speaking to you about how they're getting on, team members need to be talking to one another on a regular basis. Some tasks assigned to different people will overlap, so they have to understand what other people are doing and how far along they are in the process.

A weekly team catch-up can help on that score. Once a week, you should schedule a meeting and give everyone time to bring an update on their individual progress. By collating those updates, you can work out how prepared you are and what more needs doing.

For an event to be a success, your department has to be operating as a well-oiled machine. Everyone has a role to play in the planning, and your job is to bring them together harmoniously. To do that, you need to focus on both the details and the bigger picture, to keep an eye on how things are coming together from everyone's perspective.