In the Shoes of an Event Coordinator

What do you do? If you answer “I am an Event Coordinator!” you know it is a rewarding job, and one that requires a lot of skill and experience.

What do they actually do?

Simply put, an Event Coordinator organizes important gatherings, including seminars and conferences, trade shows, formal parties, round tables, product launches and promotional events.

Why Do You Need Them?

The event coordinator oversees the project development and implementation from beginning to end.

They are involved in every stage of the process, from planning, delivery to post-event follow-up. In every situation though,

the overarching need is to always focus on providing the highest quality of client service.

Event Coordinators will save you the time of organizing and worrying about all the small, but crucial, event details. Yet, they will provide you with enough information to give a reassuring bird’s eye view of progress.

They must know the market, all the best contacts and new places, and be aware of all the latest trends. Importantly, their demeanour and outlook must always be completely professional.

How is this achieved?

This is achieved by understanding the client’s needs, finding, researching and recommending the best partners, liaising with suppliers, providing leadership and communicating efficiently with all stakeholders.

Their personality:

Event coordinators need to have exceptional interpersonal skills, not just to share their joy and enthusiasm, but also to work with - and understand - the client and event participant’s cultural background.

They should have the talent to influence others, to argue their point to get the best out of a situation, and tackle problems in a calculated and controlled manner, with patience and perseverance. Easygoing, calm and well organized, these qualities reinforce stress resistance, allowing them to work under pressure and act quickly and efficiently. Rational and serious, they need to be also original, creative and resourceful.

Skills required:

Good listener - must be able to listen and understand exactly the client’s need.

Communication - it is important to know how to communicate correct information, and adapt correspondence depending on the audience.

Organising- planning ahead and being proactive to ensure deadlines are met.

Flexible -the client requires someone able to add extra hours and meet any demand to ensure the project is completed successfully.

Versatile -ability to handle multiple priorities and act independently.

Teamwork – it is imperative to develop and keep good relations with the event team.

Stress management- while event management can be stressful, one needs to use stress as a positive energy.

Customer-oriented- focusing on client satisfaction by achieving the impossible.

Time management- Delivering value for money in an efficient manner.

Available and discreet- Whatever they are doing, event coordinators will be always available, discreetly waiting should their services be required, or for last-minute troubleshooting.

If you are holding an event, big or small let someone skilled, resourceful and experienced to do the worry and work for you, to produce the best event outcome.

Someone who thrives in this work environment and brings out the best in everyone around them.

Credit photo : Nik MacMillan ; Til Jentzsch via  unsplash.co