8_______________________________________________________

Registration and support
activities____________________________________________________

The aim of this chapter is:

To provide an overview of the operational support activities which take place immediately prior to, and during, a conference.

• •   Correspondence checks and pre-con meetings
• •   The organizer’s office
• •   Setting up and security
• •   Rehearsal
• •   Meeting room checks
• •   Welcome delegates
• •   During the conference
• •   Close down

8.1     Introduction

To a large extent the requirements for the conference ‘on the day’ are the business of the conference organizer. The venue may well have several events running at once, or in the case of hotels or educational establishments, the conference business will be only part of the activities taking place. This means that venue managers and floor managers tend to be involved in a supporting or ‘troubleshooting’ role, helping organizers to solve problems and ensuring facilities and services are available on time and as planned.

The arrangements of the conference itself, the speakers, the presentation, structure, chairing of meetings etc. are the organizer’s business and not directly the subject of these readings (there are a great many books available on the general theme of ‘How to organize’ a conference from the point of view of the client or organization whose conference it is). The venue’s chief concern is to ensure that everything expected materializes at the right time and in the right place, and therefore the details considered here, from checking the correspondence before the event to close down, should be seen from this viewpoint.

8.2     Correspondence checks and pre-con meetings

Having received the booking correspondence for a particular conference (which is generally the basis for a set of pre-arrival meetings, both internal and with the organizer), the conference sales co-ordinator or floor manager would need to review the details of the event, prepare the function list (see Chapter 11 for the full planning process), contact the conference organizer to check everything is in order and then normally expect the arrival of the organizer early on the day of the conference (or in the case of large events, possibly before, particularly if staging or complex setting up is required). These checks of arrangements between co-ordinator and organizer are made to deal with any final requests or changes to the booked details. This is to be encouraged, as a pre-con meeting between the venue and the organizer will often iron out any last-minute problems. Experienced conference organizers can be expected to phone or call in, up to a week beforehand or the day before, in order to make general checks, without any need for prompting by venue staff.

8.3     The organizer’s office

In order to reduce stress on organizers and ensure there is a central point of enquiry for a conference, an organizer’s office should be provided whenever a conference is going to be large, long running or VIP in nature. Where possible, offices should be in a convenient location (preferably not a hotel bedroom) and provided, as a minimum, with a phone/fax machine. Without this the venue itself will become the clearing house for any activity relating to the conference: the arrival of the staging, lighting and PA equipment, suppliers and speakers with queries, the organizer’s chief executive wanting somewhere for a ‘quiet meeting’ before the conference, etc. Providing another room is not a matter of politeness but one of considerable importance, without this, the venue staff at a large event will be inundated with enquiries with which they may not be able to deal directly, or find the organizer in time to deal with them.

8.4     Setting up and security

The most likely thing to arrive after the organizer at a large event is the backdrop (though some may take several days to construct and this should be foreseen in the scheduling and booking of the conference hall). A ground plan should have been made by the organizer and a copy left with the venue, to enable work to proceed if the organizer is not yet present or has been held up. The set will be followed by the technical equipment, lighting, sound rig and so on. At this point, once all the equipment is in place, cleaning can be done, the room laid out, message boards put up, and signing and other support activities such as the arrangements for the delegates check-in made.

Certain types of conference will involve security issues. For VIP or political events a security check may take place at some point prior to the conference starting, usually between set-up and delegates’ arrival (in these cases the set-up will have to be completed at least a day prior to the conference). Police or Home Office security may physically want to check the conference room and may well use sniffer dogs and metal detectors to do so. In some cases delegates may be required to pass through metal detectors of the kind found at airports, with specialist security staff on duty, video surveillance and security checks of staff. At this level it is also likely that staff may be required to hold special passes, though it is common for all staff to be badged in some way, not only for the purpose of courtesy to the delegates, guests and visitors but as a routine security issue.

8.5     Rehearsal

Prior to any security checks, there may be a rehearsal of the technical facilities, particularly of sound and presentation systems. While this rehearsal may be a purely technical activity, for certain types of high profile conferences, product launches or public relations events, it is likely that the rehearsal may be of the ‘full dress’ kind including practice by the speakers, timing arrangements, acoustics and so on. Ushers, if required, can be briefed at this point, together with any meeters/greeters the organizer may have arranged. Briefings for casual and specialist staff should include elementary issues such as the location of toilets, cloakrooms, organizer’s office, refreshment areas, delegates’ check-in and what to do with the VIPs (such as direct them to a VIP hospitality room) prior to the start, and what action is required in an emergency, including the nature of the alarm system, emergency exits, assembly points, location of the medical centre if there is one, or how to get a first aider quickly if there is not (Maitland, 1996).

8.6     Meeting-room checks

Floor managers are responsible for the smooth running of the conference on the day. As part of this process, not only will the floor manager have met the organizer on arrival, but he or she will also have carried out last-minute quality control activities; these will include ensuring that the meeting room is clean and correctly laid out, and that associated facilities such as toilets and the delegate reception area are clean and tidy. This is usually done with a checklist - sometimes referred to as the housekeeping or ‘pre-flight’ checklist, which covers everything from clarity of signing to the condition of the exterior of the building, because first impressions count.

8.7     Welcome delegates

A delegate reception area should be ready for use prior to the start time, even if, in the case of small informal conference, it amounts to no more than a table with delegate badges and agendas for people to pick up as they arrive. Commonly, however, the conference organizer would be on hand at least half an hour prior to the published time to deal with arrivals. At large conferences he/she would be supported by check-in staff, normally one for every 50 delegates, either provided by the organization itself or by the conference venue, to ensure delegates find the right conference and do not get mixed up with any other activities taking place (Seekings, 1996). A list of delegates expected, plus badges, should have been made up prior to the event, and where security is an issue, delegates must be politely required to wear their badges, though normally most delegates are happy to wear badges even at informal events; not all, at informal events, may wish to and should not be compelled if they do not. But it is important that delegates are checked against the delegate list as this will provide accurate final numbers of the people attending and can be passed to catering staff for any last-minute amendments to be made to seating or refreshment arrangements. It is also the point at which, if necessary, special dietary requirements can be checked. It is also common at delegate check-in to issue information packs about the conference, including agendas, conference papers, delegate lists and a little information about the venue for delegates to take away with them. This latter should be provided by the venue’s marketing department to the organizer, if the organizer is making up his/her own packs, to ensure that a selling opportunity for the venue is not missed.

For convenience of organization, where there are a large number of delegates, the registration process may split delegates alphabetically between two or more tables. It may also be necessary to provide either greeters or an information desk, or both, as queries by incoming delegates can slow down the check-in process. Queries can be dealt with by a greeter, or the delegates may be directed from registration to information desks. For convenience of issue, packs, badges and tickets (such as refreshment tickets) should be laid out in alphabetical order to ensure delegates are checked in speedily. It is preferable that this layout process should actually take the form of all items (badges, tickets and pack) being put into large envelopes and the envelopes stacked in a box; not only does this increase the speed but also saves a great deal of stretching over a vast array of material spread on a table. The envelopes can also be used for incoming messages for delegates (urgent messages can be highlighted on the conference room screens during refreshment breaks). The greeters have the additional function of helping direct delegates; while signage is necessary and important, people arriving in unfamiliar locations will look first for someone to ask, and look only secondly for (inanimate) direction signs.

8.8     During the conference

Conference sales co-ordinators and floor managers will, as a general rule, be able to leave organizers, speakers and delegates to get on with it once registration is complete and the conference proper has started. The floor manager and his/her staff become involved once again, chiefly, at refreshment breaks. Not only are these the points at which delegates get some relief from the conference proper, but also opportunities for the venue to undertake routine checks of the conference room, strip out and replace dirty glasses, refill water jugs, reclaim crockery, replace ash trays (if smoking is permitted, which is rarely) and deal with any spot cleaning needs. The chief problem with conference breaks is a lack of communication between organizers and floor managers. It is important to encourage organizers to pop out or call the floor manager if a session is running late, so catering staff can be informed. Organizers also have a tendency not to allow sufficient time for moving large numbers of delegates. If a session overruns it is easy to say ‘we will cut lunch by 15 minutes’ only to find that in practice it is difficult to do so, as delegates tend to move at their own pace, and organizers do not understand the length of time involved in service.

8.9     Close down

If there is an element of conference organization which is neglected by venues it is the close down. Some effort should be made to ensure all went well. Conference co-ordinators should be around to speak to organizers and delegates on departure to obtain verbal feedback and pick up comments. Comments need noting as part of a quality control cycle, and can be recorded as part of the ‘conference history’ to be referred to if the conference is a recurring event. Even relatively simple issues such as the chairman preferring a lapel microphone, or delegates wishing to have the curtains drawn, while not being perceived as being significant in terms of the huge number of events a venue undertakes each year, are significant issues to that conference and potentially important in ensuring repeat business, so must be regarded with due weight. Again, there is also a sales issue; one or more delegates may be interested in the venue and while they would not normally step out of their way to obtain information, can be asked for their business card and have information despatched to them if they are interested. A sales opportunity is a sales opportunity, personal contact being far more effective than advertising.

Clearing up follows to ensure the room is stripped, cleaned and tidied for the next event. It is helpful to encourage organizers to check the room, with the floor manager, to ensure removal of equipment, identify any damage and tie up any outstanding issues. Some organizers may also wish to take the invoice with them at this point, if the event was not pre-paid or was deposit covered; though equally some organizers will simply wish it sent on. The final stage in this cycle may be to send out the venue’s questionnaire, after a week or so, not only to obtain feedback but also to enquire if the conference will be repeated; some organizers may re-book immediately (Kotas and Jayawardena, 1994). Returned questionnaires should be discussed at venue management meetings to pick up any serious issues and add to conference histories (see Figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1 Example of a feedback questionnaire

Summary

This chapter has provided an overview of the chief support activities which surround the delegates’ arrival and check-in at a conference. It is extremely important that this process is handled smoothly as first impressions of the efficiency, or otherwise, of the venue, count for a great deal. The floor manager or sales co-ordinator should also be around towards the end of the event to encourage a friendly departure and as an opportunity for feedback or discussion with the organizer.

References

Daily Telegraph (1986) How to Set Up and Run Conferences and Meetings, London, Telegraph Publications, pp. 95–111.

Kotas, R. and Jayawardena, C. (1994) Profitable Food and Beverage Management, Sevenoaks, Hodder and Stoughton, pp. 215–220.

Maitland, I. (1996) How to Organise a Conference, Aldershot, Gower, pp. 195–202.

Montgomery, R.J. and Strick, S.K. (1995) Meetings, Conventions and Expositions, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 184–189.

Rutherford, D.G. and Umbreit, W.T. (1993) Inproving interaction between meeting planners and hotel employees. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Quarterly, 34(1), February, pp. 68–80.

Seekings, D. (1996) How to Organise Effective Conferences and Meetings, London, Kogan Page, pp. 320–341.