There’s one rule every event organizer knows to be true: Expect the unexpected.
No matter how carefully you plan, there may be unexpected situations that arise on event day. And you need to be able to roll with the punches, without breaking a sweat. How can you handle crises without ruining your guests’ experience?
We’ve got your back. Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a contingency plan for your events:
1. Identify Potential Risks
There are plenty of things you can’t predict when planning your event. But what about the situations that are predictable? You’ll save yourself a ton of headaches if you identify potential risks that could impact your event, such as:
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Weather issues (for outdoor events)
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Technical failures (AV equipment, lighting, etc.)
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Vendor cancellations (caterers, performers, etc.)
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Low attendance
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Health and safety concerns (injuries, illnesses)
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Power outages
Think through your event setup, location, and programming: which of those situations could potentially impact you? You can’t plan for every possible scenario, but if you know exactly where your event is vulnerable, you CAN create a backup plan for the things that pose the greatest risks.
2. Create Backup Plans for Known Risks
Now that you know which risks are most likely to impact your event, you should create a specific backup plan for each one.
Is weather a factor? Work with your venue to arrange for tents, indoor alternatives, or rain dates. For potential vendor issues, maintain a list of backup vendors and confirm their availability.
Worried about technical failures? Have backup equipment, technicians on-site, and pre-checked gear. Maybe you’re concerned about low attendance for a brand-new event. Have a marketing boost plan, such as offering last-minute promotions or discounts. Finally, for safety concerns, make sure you have a first aid station, medical personnel, and emergency protocols in place.
Having a backup plan for the situations most likely to throw a wrench into your plans will allow you (and your team) to react quickly and feel less stressed during your event.
3. Empower Your Team
Give your team the autonomy to make decisions within their purview. For example, if a guest drops their ice cream cone in the mud, a staff member can easily fix the problem and make the guest happy by giving them a new one free of charge.
That might seem obvious, but it’s important to train your staff to focus on solutions and guest recovery. Should you give away everything for free just because a guest asks? No. But your team needs to be able to think for themselves, assess situations, and provide solutions when they can.
If they need to come to you for every little thing, a bottleneck will inevitably develop. Guests will start to become unhappy, and chaos will start to spiral. For bigger issues, there should be a defined process for escalating questions and problems to a manager or more senior staff member.
4. Keep Good Records
We’ve worked with thousands of event organizers, and we’ve seen it all. The staff member who never calls in sick gets the flu. The venue manager sprains an ankle and needs a junior employee to step in. And it’s rare, but sometimes the organizer themselves isn’t able to be on site the day of the big event. How can you make sure things still go smoothly?
Simple: document your processes.
It might seem silly to write down things you do everyday like how to answer the phone; to you they might feel obvious or intuitive. But a staff member who has never performed those duties before will have more confidence that they can do the job correctly if they have the right tools and instructions.
If you have a detailed account of how the venue needs to be decorated, or how the registration table should be organized, it will be much easier for another team member to step in and fill those roles.
5. Maintain Clear Communication Channels
Similar to good records, clear and open communication with everyone involved - from your team to the catering vendor - will help you to pivot and make decisions quickly when things go wrong. Whether you use a messaging app like Slack, a text group, or email, create a consistent communication channel and keep your whole team informed of any changes as your event approaches.
Need to change the location of your registration table? Or switch the ticket scanning process? Let everyone know. Better communication will also help to empower your team: everyone will be able to answer guest questions more consistently and accurately, and they’ll feel more comfortable & confident in their roles.
Having open communication channels can also be a great way for your team to provide you with feedback. They might have suggestions for how to improve processes or simple changes that could make their jobs easier and more efficient, which will let them focus on making your guests happy.
6. Allocate an Uh-Oh Budget
You may already have a detailed budget for your event. But even experienced event organizers often forget to leave a buffer in the budget for unexpected expenses. If a performer cancels, would you be able to hire another one to come in at the last minute?
Or if a food vendor falls through, a prop breaks, or the A/V equipment goes down, could you replace them on the fly?
If you’re already over budget, you might feel like you can’t do anything to fix problems when they arise because it will cost more money. When you’re creating your event plan, leave 5-10% to cover unexpected expenses. Think of it as your uh-oh budget: you only use it for situations where you think, “uh-oh, we need more…” or “we forgot about…” or even, “ we need a new…”
It will make those situations a lot less stressful if they do arise. And if they don’t, then congratulations! You have an extra 5-10% left over!
7. Test and Rehearse
Dress rehearsals aren’t just for musical theater. They’re an important part of every event.
A few days or even just a few hours before your event begins, run through the entire program with your team. Take this opportunity to test equipment, examine the layout and lighting of your venue, and make sure everyone knows where to be.
While you’re at it, run through your contingency plans, too. Simulate different scenarios to ensure everyone knows their roles and can act quickly.
8. Consider an Insurance Plan
You’re investing a lot of money in your event. And many event organizers have been financially devastated by cancelled events, last-minute venue changes, or other major catastrophes. If you’re concerned about it happening to you, consider purchasing insurance to cover those risks like cancellations, liabilities, or damages. Make sure to choose a policy that fits your specific needs.
Final Thoughts
Unexpected situations happen every day, especially in the world of event planning. But it doesn’t have to ruin your day. By identifying risks early, empowering your staff and maintaining clear communication, you can handle anything that comes your way.
One more thing you can do to minimize the unexpected is to work with ticketing experts who always have your back throughout the event planning process. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone you can go to for help making changes on the fly, to answer guest questions about tickets, and support you?
Passage will do all that and more. Schedule a call with a friendly event expert today - we’ll even set everything up for you!
