The event office can range from a site operations office at a festival complete with mud or dust, to the corner of a room in a air conditioned office block. It can be a virtual office with all the information residing on a computer in another country. Whatever form, geographic or cyber, the event office provides the information focal point and storage for the event. Into the office comes all the raw data necessary to plan and control the event. Out of the office goes the specific information, highly targeted to produce the desired results. This section of the CDROM describes the office set up so that the event management can plan and implement the plan effectively and efficiently. By examining the event office and the systems used in the office of both project management and event management, the manager can learn from the success and failures of the past.
Function
The purpose of the office is to provide centralised managerial and administration support to the event. For this reason the range of functions can change over the event project life cycle. Initially it will be a planning office with meetings of various sponsors and other stakeholders, collecting data, sourcing suppliers, costing and creating event scenarios. As the concept of the event becomes more realistic, the event office will concentrate on contracting, scheduling, more accurate task and resource allocation. Communication becomes vital as the event team expands and the various subcontractors come on board. Just prior to, and during, the event, the office becomes concerned with operation issues and responding to any sudden changes. Once the event finishes the office looks at the shutdown procedures, the hand-over, evaluation and reporting. All these functions must be considered when establishing the event office. The event office also gives a visibility to the planning and therefore, in some organisations, a credibility to the event. It is similar to the war rooms or campaign rooms and is sometimes called the nerve centre, command centre or CPU of the event.
Physical layout
Like all project based industries, events use graphs and diagrams to communicate aspects of the event. The event office is the place to display all this information. The walls of the event office may have any combination of the list in table** below and it will change over the life cycle:
The walls can also be used to assist brainstorming and scenario building. Sticky notes with ideas, resources, times can be moved around to create different scenarios. The right combination can then be transferred to paper or computer. This is particularly useful when working out a draft schedule in a session with a small group of people.
Filing System
The plan for the organisation of documents - both digital and paper - needs to be established before the event planning takes place. The characteristics of a good filing system are:
1. Easily accessible
and prioritised The documents that will be needed in a hurry should be the
easiest to find. The event management will have to decide on the initial division
into folders. For large events this may be by function such as operations, finance,
contract management or by program elements such as opening ceremony and award
night. Generally it will be a mixture of the two. Note the similarity to the
WBS.
2 . Scalable As the event draws near the amount paper/digital work increases.
The filing system needs to be able to accommodate this without being swamped
by paper or data. A tree structure is the most common as it can expand as the
organisation of the event progresses.
3. Similarly structured for the digital and paper . This does not mean
it has to he parallel in structure. However the information filing should have
a similar feel in both systems. In this way the staff will be able to file and
find information on the two systems.
Problems
The major problem in the event office is clutter. It can be a result of bad planning in file management, office layout or staff training. This all relates to the design of the office. The sudden growth in activity at the office is the main culprit and it should to be anticipated in the planning. However there will always be unforeseen changes and the event management needs to be able to respond to the change so that the event office can still function effectively. The risk of too much data is that the important information is swamped by the unimportant. Time is lost searching for the right information. The information needs to be kept up to date. Incorrect or out of date information will produce bad decisions and devalue the information as a whole and lead to the collapse of effective communication. The validity and integrity of all information is a high priority in event knowledge management. Organising the office can become a substitute for organising the event. It must be stressed that the office is to serve the objectives of the event
Data smog, clutter, too much information out of date information, too many people, times of opening, quiet areas staffing the office
Meetings, briefings and training
The event office is used for meetings. It provides a facility in which the meeting can make focussed well informed decisions. With the information around the walls, or in easily accessed files, meeting can be far more effective and produce results. The to-do list arising from the meeting can be immediately transferred to the event system. The various rules of meeting procedure should be followed if the meetings are to produce tangible results. Effective meetings require a chairman to keep the meeting on track, informed participants, written minutes and a deadline. An agenda, sent out prior to the meeting, is essential. Ignoring these simple rules is to court disaster. Briefing and debriefings can also be conducted in the event office. The media, staff , volunteer and supplier briefings can take place in the office. As time is the real master of event management , briefings should be give highly targeted information and be brief. If the office is large enough it provides an ideal place for training and at the same time familiarise the staff with the event project methodology as it will be visible on the walls.
Event Office Library
The purpose of the library is to store all the information pertinent to the event. This could include the event manual, operation manuals for the office and communication equipment, software manuals, supplier catalogues, work place safety rules and regulations, meeting procedures, past event reports and industry association publications. The importance of data storage and easy retrieval is apparent in the growth of the discipline of knowledge management. Knowledge is now viewed as major factor in creating a competitive edge. Ideally, the event office library would be an integrated system of information on paper and disc. It would be used to establish a baseline of knowledge for future events. These strategic aims must be considered when designing the form and structure of the event library.
Office requirements
Most of the office requirements are satisfied by standard issue furniture and equipment. However the nature of the event organisation as expanding and contracting with varying levels of activity mean that the initial office set up is critical. Over the event project life cycle the equipment and software will quickly go from a period of dormancy to intense use to virtual redundancy after the event. For this reason the decision to hire or lease is an important one.
Some of the more specific equipment and services will be:
Additional considerations are : spare quiet rooms for uninterrupted meetings and decision making, view of the event site and temporary equipment storage.
As events become more important in the strategic plans of companies and governments, the concept of a separate dedicated event office is gaining acceptance. For a corporation the event office supports their seminars, conferences ,exhibitions, parties, awards nights and their sponsorship. Larger companies realise that to get a maximum return on their sponsorship investment it is wise to be more than an observer of the event. They now help organise and direct the event. This can only be achieved with the expertise gained from a dedicated internal event office.
Copyright W.J. O'Toole