Having an event team that functions well is just as important as the event itself.
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
– Booker T. Washington
According to Career Cast, event planners have the 6th most stressful job. One way to alleviate stress for event and meeting planners is to have a team environment that is collaborative, cohesive, and supportive.
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How does better teamwork affect my organization and event?
The Harvard Business Review published a survey on “Meeting The Challenges Of Developing Collaborative Teams For Future Success” which outlines the benefits organizations see when teamwork and collaboration work well:
- greater employee morale (80%)
- improved product and service quality (78%)
- increased innovation (77%)
- faster speed and greater agility (60%)
- More than half (59%) of organizations also anticipate an overall increase in worker efficiency.
Now, let’s get to the meat.
How to build and maintain a strong, supportive, and efficient event team: Top 3 ways
Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Many conflicts within the workplace can be attributed to one common issue: a lack of communication. You can’t expect your team to work together smoothly and effectively if the people on your team don’t talk to each other. While team meetings don’t have to be hour-long gab sessions, communicating with your team members through instant messages, emails, or small check-ins throughout the day can help your team members know you’re there for them. Here are some tools we recommend to help keep your team communicating.
Best for: Instant messaging, Group Chat
WhatsApp Messenger, or WhatsApp, is an instant messaging service that is available internationally. Users can send text and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, and other content. It can run both on mobile devices and desktop computers.
Price: Free
Trello
Best for: Task/To-Do Lists, Group Chat
Trello is a web-based, Kanban-style list-making and management application. Users can create task boards with different columns and move the tasks between them.
Price: Their standard plan is Free, but additional paid plans come with extra features
Asana
Best for: File sharing, to-do lists, assignments, task tracker, project management
Asana is a software-as-service platform designed to improve team collaboration and work management by helping teams manage projects and tasks in one tool. Teams can create projects, and assign tasks, and Asana includes tools such as file attachments and calendars.
Price: Free
Slack
Best for: Instant messaging, Group Chat
While originally created for the workplace, Slack’s many features such as public messaging channels, direct messages, and joinable “workspaces” make it an invaluable tool for both professional and personal collaboration and communication.
Price: Their standard plan is Free, but additional paid plans come with extra features
Microsoft Teams
Best for: Instant messaging, Group Chat, File sharing, to-do lists, assignments, task tracker, and project management
Built into the Microsoft Suite, Teams is best used in workplaces that are synchronized with Office 365. Much like Zoom, Microsoft Teams can be used for workspace/group chats and videoconferencing.
Price: Their standard plan is Free, but additional paid plans come with extra features
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Foster personal relationships
Another way to foster rapport in your team through communication is by discussing life outside of work. Learning a little about your team members’ hobbies, pets, and families can go a long way toward bringing your team together, teammates that are comfortable talking to each other are comfortable asking each other for help and advice.
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70 Fun (Not Cheesy) Ice Breaker Games & Activities Your Employees Will Enjoy in 2022
10 Ways to Make Personal Connections at Work
- Celebrate workplace milestones such as anniversaries and personal milestones such as birthdays.
- Respect the work-life balance: while coworkers often will communicate with one another, try to keep it to work hours.
- Establish multiple lines of communication such as email, work phone, and a work group chat/channel so that coworkers have different options for communication.
- Create opportunities for employees to connect such as sponsored lunches, or other meetings. This works well with tip #1.
- Ensure that all voices are heard and that every coworker has a chance to voice their opinions, share their successes, and ask for help when needed.
- Create communities of interest based on common interests such as pets, books, or television shows.
- Establish (and maintain) an employee directory: how can coworkers communicate with each other if they don’t know each other’s email addresses?
- Take breaks with your coworkers; whether it’s just for fifteen minutes or a lunch break, it enables you to spend more time with the people you work with.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your coworkers, they’re on the same team as you.
- Make it easy to spend time with coworkers.
- Set SMART goals.
SMART is an acronym that stands for “Specific”, “Measurable”, “Attainable”, “Realistic”, and “Time-Based”. By setting specific goals that are measurable, with realistic and attainable outcomes with a deadline, you’re setting your team up for success with clear communication and transparent expectations.
George T. Doran published a paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives” in 1981. SMART has become a globally-accepted best practice for goal setting and success.
| SMART: What does it mean? |
| Specific: the more clear and detailed your goal is, the easier it will be to achieve |
| Measurable: goals that can be tracked and measured allow you to see your progress |
| Attainable-reduce frustration by being realistic with your goals and expectations. |
| Relevant: make sure your goals align with your values and long-term objectives |
| Time-based: giving your goal a deadline or timeline will help with motivation |
Doran, G. T. (1981). “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”, Management Review, Vol. 70, Issue 11, pp. 35-36.
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Provide effective feedback
When giving feedback to team members, it’s best to stick to the “feedback sandwich” approach:
- Start off with a positive comment or observation. What did your team members do well?
- Follow up with feedback, and constructive criticism;
- Then end on a positive note with more positive feedback.
This technique helps effectively communicate constructive feedback to your team members, but not in a way that is overly negative or ignores the hard work the team is already doing.
Here’s an example of the feedback sandwich at work:
- Positive comment/observation: “You did a great job at registration, I thought the attendees appreciated how quickly they were able to get their badges.”
- Feedback: “While I thought your run of the show was great and I liked your organization, I thought that the whole team could have benefited if we got the documents with more time to prep…”
- End with another positive comment/observation: “Overall, I think you did a great job and once we get ahead of the time crunch, it is going to be even better.”
Unlike assembling a desk or a bookshelf, building a team is a continuous process that requires constant refinement. By adopting these tips, you’ll be setting not only yourself up for success, but the team as a whole too.
What’s different with EVA
When Team EVA produces digital footprints for events, we collaborate very closely with clients. Each client is assigned a dedicated client services manager. You will have an assigned person that helps you get started, answer questions and troubleshoot throughout the whole process. From set-up to data analytics, Team EVA is committed to helping you every step of the way. Set up a meeting with us today to learn more about how we collaborate with our clients to ensure success.
