Into OPERATIONS: An Inside View Into Event Operations

Our showcase event with Crowne Plaza Singapore

We have often seen the glitz and glamour of an event, the decorations at the ballrooms, and the exciting performances on stage. On the other hand, we have seldom seen the preparation behind the scenes, the process it takes to conjure a great event.  

Today, we are joined by our Operations Manager, Joshua. He has been working at Into E for seven years and he will share his thoughts and experiences in the Operations role. With that, let us take a look at event management, from a different perspective!

Question: How would you describe your work?

Joshua: For me, event operations encompass a lot of different aspects. From the listing down of tasks to checking your inventories, and finally the actual event setup, I would say nothing would work unless you set a plan for them.

Have a clear flow of the work process, and delegation of roles, these would help in getting things started.

Question: Can you share with us, what do you mean by the work process, as well as the delegation of roles?

Joshua: Over here, the work process starts from the Sales Team. They would clinch the project and brief us on the event details and the logistical requirements. From there, we have the Coordination Team coming in as a liaison, to curate and present the different options to our clients. Lastly, you have the Operations Team to ensure inventories are accounted for, and to do up fabrications if there is any.

So as you can see, the roles that the individual teams hold are very crucial, as there would be information passed down from time to time. You can say that everyone needs to know their part well and what is expected of them, then we can consider the project to be on the right track.

Question: Over the years, how do you constantly ensure that you have the spots covered?

Joshua: Hahaha! You need to check for blind spots! I believe I speak for many who are in the same role. We all have our best friend, “The Checklist”, in which we track what are the packed items and what needs to be done. The reason being, in the warehouse we have things as big as Carousels, Claw Machines, to smaller things like game tokens and more. So if you don’t have a checklist, it will be really hard to keep track and you will end up wasting a lot of time.

Time = Money, always remember that!

Question: What kind of situations have you encountered during this phase?

Joshua: When it comes to event preparation, no one gets to rest until all the items are accounted for, packed, and loaded up on the vehicle. We do have some situations where it could be a last-minute request from our clients or instances, where we face some issues in transporting the fabrications for the event.

Either way, being well-prepared is key to working in this industry and it is something that we focus a lot on when it comes to recruiting new members into the team. 

Question: We have often heard the phrase, “Setting Up For Success” from you, can you share with us what do you mean by that?

Joshua: People perceive an event set-up to be an easy task, “You just have to ask your vendors to install it there ma”. However, plotting the layout for your set-up is one of the tougher tasks in Operations. You would often ask yourself, “Where do the flower arches go?”, “Should I arrange the door gifts at the registration for easier access?”. You have to put yourself in the shoes of an event attendee, understand the step-by-step process as they attend the event.

With that experience, your client would be confident in you and trust that you can manage the event venue and set-up well.  

Question: What are some of the challenges you have faced for events set-up?

Joshua: I would say liaising with our friends at the various event venues can be challenging sometimes. There are different regulations and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at different places. So you would have to be familiar with the loading/unloading areas, at the same time build a rapport with the venue managers. These would help make set-ups and tear-downs operations a lot more efficient.

I find it extremely satisfying when an operation is conducted efficiently, and everything is in the right place.

Question: Now let’s talk about post-event, what are the things to consider?

Joshua: I feel as an Operations Manager, the post-event work is often not being highlighted enough. You have to take into consideration the conditions of your equipment, and the count of items that you have previously packed for the event.

You have to look towards the upcoming event, so ensuring that your equipment still works perfectly will put you in good stead for your preparation for the next event. Well-preparedness is something that I cannot stress enough on.

Last but not least, whenever we pull down the shutter of the warehouse, we will also remember to turn off the lights. Because our boss will always say, “Electricity not free ah!”

Question: Lastly to sum it all up, what is your take on event operations?

Joshua: I would always tell my team that our roles in event operations is not just to transport and set up logistics. It is a role that looks at event management in a bigger picture, it involves skill sets such as project management, budget planning, vendor liaison and many more. As you take on more responsibilities, you will get to work with more people at different levels, and these are things that are applicable in your daily life.

Bear this in mind, “Fail to plan, plan to fail.”

Once again, we would like to thank Joshua for sharing with us his experience as an Operations Manager.

We hope you have gained a better understanding of event management and the hard work that we in the events industry put in, behind the scenes!

If you are on a lookout for an event organiser, do drop us an enquiry here!