Explore how to keep everyone on the same page and ensure smooth operations when dealing with large teams and numerous vendors.

Planning, strategizing, and organizing a mega B2B event can be one of event managers’ most exhilarating yet challenging tasks. For most budding event planners, the first thought that comes to mind is how to manage multiple teams at an event and emerge victorious on the other side. 

For those wondering how to manage multiple teams, the trick is communicating well, being systematic, managing your vendors, and making the most of technology. Event management and vendor management involve maintaining good working relationships with people. Your vendors are your superpowers, and your teams are your support system. Together, you can create a memorable and highly successful event for the years to come.

Let’s take a look at how to go about team management, team collaboration, and team coordination and making the most of all communication channels.

Who are The Key Players in Making an Event Successful?

Being an event organizer is like being a part of an Avengers team. An efficient project management software goes a long way in managing a team. However, your managerial skills will always take precedence. An efficient manager knows very well how to manage multiple teams. It takes everyone’s equal effort to make a B2B event a grand success. So, who all are part of this superhero team? To begin with, a quintessential event team has:

1. Event Manager or Event Director

The leader, or rather, the manager of the entire event team, is the event manager or the event director. This person calls the shorts, and the whole event is the brainchild of the event manager. The event director decides on the team, budget allocations, sponsorships, and internal and external partners. They create the entire project plan to execute the event.

2. Operations Manager

No event can materialize without proper handling of operational duties like venue selection and set-up, registration management, vendor coordination, selection of speakers, technology set-up, health and safety measures, etc. The operations manager heads a team that looks into each of these responsibilities. They are the backbone of the event, without whom event organizing is practically impossible. 

3. Program Manager/Content Manager

In one of our podcasts, Noelle Peterson, Senior Director of Global Events and Field Marketing at UserTesting, said, “At UserTesting, we ensure our events deliver content and exemplify best practices in user experience through key strategic steps, right? So how do we achieve that? Leveraging our own platform. We use our own platform to gather insights before and after events, allowing us to tailor sessions, networking opportunities, and amenities to meet specific needs. We’re creating personalized experiences. We’re creating engagement and valuable content.” 

Content is one of the most important factors in the success of any B2B event, and the content manager is in charge of curating valuable content for event attendees.

4. Technology Manager

Let’s face it– most of the mistakes and mishaps at events are related to tech, so handling the tech department efficiently is crucial. The technology manager oversees the setup of audio-visual equipment, internet connectivity, and power supplies. He coordinates with the proper installation and functioning of lighting, sound systems, microphones, projectors, and screens. They are in charge of event apps and other related operations. Other responsibilities of the technology manager include on-site support, testing and backup, data management, and collaboration with other teams.

5. Marketing & Communications Manager

Every event worth billions of dollars must be heavily promoted for maximum registrations and exposure. Deciding on the core marketing strategy and the channels to be used is the primary goal of the marketing and communications manager. Every event needs a theme to be conceptualized based on the client brief. This is the starting point of any event. Once the theme is approved, the strategy, planning, and promotion of the event’s core message will follow. The marketing manager handles all developments related to getting the event out in the public eye.

6. Sponsorship & Partnerships Manager

Events are seldom singularly sponsored; most need sponsors and partners to fund them. The sponsorship and partnership manager manages relationships with sponsors and secures the event’s finances. They are in charge of pitching and securing sponsorships, creating sponsorship packages, pitching and securing partnerships, negotiating contracts with sponsors, and coordinating on-site with them.

7. Vendor Manager

Vendors are responsible for various aspects of the event, including food, recreational activities, décor, tech supplies, and much more. The vendor manager keeps track of all the vendors for the event. They are the most resourceful people in event management as they are well-connected with various vendors depending on the event’s requirements. They maintain vendor contracts and ensure that products and services are delivered within the budget.

8. Finance Manager

The finance manager is the brainchild of everything money-related. No team member can make independent financial decisions without the finance manager’s permission. The finance manager delegates tasks and allocates financial resources for the event, creates the budget for the event, forecasts, and analyzes the financial aspects of events.

9. On-site Staff

The on-site staff has numerous roles and responsibilities at an event. The on-site staff must ensure everything works right in the seating, décor, registrations, installations, or catering. They are continuously on their toes before and during the event. Apart from ensuring the smooth execution of all event-related activities, they are responsible for safety and security at the venue and deal with last-minute crises and problems that may occur at the venue.

10. Post-Event Evaluation Team

Continuous improvement requires consistent evaluation of efforts and a resolve to elevate performance. The post-event evaluation team contacts the event attendees right after the event to gauge their reactions and feedback on the event. They collect and collate data from the event app to record overall attendee attendance, networking level, total revenue generated, etc. 

After data collection, they create an elaborate post-event analysis report on the event and develop recommendations for future events. To understand what goes into making a compelling post-event analysis report, read our blog on Essential Elements to Consider for your Next Post-Event Analysis Report.

Challenges to Managing Multiple Teams in Event Management

The world of event management is exciting and at the same time challenging. As an event manager, you may face numerous challenges while managing multiple teams. Here are a few of them:

Multiple projects

One of the key challenges in an event management organization is the coinciding of one or more events at the same time. This means your event teams are working round the clock, and you are constantly working to keep up with the deadlines. There are times of the year when there are no events, and then there are times when, every week, there is an event that needs to be organized. Awareness of the event season and its upcoming challenges can help tackle this issue effectively.

Perfectionism

Many managers, especially the newly inducted ones, struggle with letting go of duties and responsibilities. They often feel that they can do it better than anyone else and end up taking on more than they can handle, resulting in burnout. This behavior also affects team members as they don’t get to use their potential and feel useless as an asset to the company. This tendency to be perfect all the time needs conscious effort on the part of the managers to learn to let go of control and rely on others to work as a team.

Communication

Many managers are highly competent while working alone but struggle to communicate effectively with their team members. This leads to communication gaps and dissonance which in turn affect productivity. Maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships and being assertive with subordinates will help cultivate healthy team communication dynamics.

Distributed Knowledge

Quite often managing multiple teams means there’s no standardization of knowledge that is critical to planning events for certain clients. This can happen in huge organizations where there are many teams handling different events. In such situations, it is important to maintain knowledge bases, have proper documentation, and encourage collaborative problem-solving to help mitigate knowledge gaps.

How to Manage Multiple Teams in Event Management?

In a video session with Zuddl, held in August 2024 as part of Event Marketer’s Week, Alison Webb, the Event Lead at Qualtrics, outlined various ways on how to manage multiple teams depending on the event planning stage.

As a passionate event professional, she puts her heart and soul into executing every B2B event. However, she understands the importance of a balanced approach to avoid getting overwhelmed while managing events.

In the planning phase, she suggests having multiple meetings with all the teams so that everyone is on the same page. Her strong web approach to team communication ensures no communication barriers or gaps. 

She also stresses the importance of creating a ‘Super-Group’. This group will have the teams’ leads and will constantly be in touch with the event manager or event director. The 1:1 weekly meetings with the Super-Group will ensure that information is passed down systematically.

In terms of Project Tracking, Alison suggests using pertinent tools like Google Calendar, Asana, or Jira to keep track of everything and automate tasks to save time and energy. 

Her approach to on-site management is treating attendees as if they were her guests. This means ensuring the utmost comfort and high levels of experiential satisfaction for all event attendees. 

Lastly, she emphasized the importance of streamlined communication of roles and responsibilities for every team member. Values like a strong sense of responsibility and mutual support are integral to a successful large-scale event.

Tips and Strategies for Managing Teams

It takes conscious effort over a period of time to be an ace team manager, and here are a few tips to help you get started on that journey:

1. Employ the Right Staff

Although this may not be a direct tip to manage a team, it is a prerequisite for effective teamwork and project success. Ensure you hire people who fit your long-term and short-term business goals. Your team members should understand how demanding the event industry can be and be willing to commit to the following challenges. Do a thorough background check and verify if they fit your team perfectly. Understand their core strengths and weaknesses so that duties can be allocated accordingly.

2. Delegate Tasks

Leadership is all about the effective delegation of tasks to team members. As a project manager, you must conceptualize, strategize, outline, and plan the event. Once that is done, there will be a list of tasks and responsibilities that need to be shared amongst team members. Consider jotting down all the actionable on a board with an overview of the project and assigning responsibilities based on the individual skill sets of team members. After delegating tasks, ensure you oversee all developments from time to time, track the project progress of every activity, and give feedback.

3. Supervise Periodically

To ensure all project objectives are met, you must supervise your team and follow up from time to time. You can use online platforms and tools like Asana and Trello to delegate and supervise tasks, keep reminders, and track task progress. In case of any delays, try to get to the bottom of things and get the ball rolling as soon as possible. Send periodic reminders to the team to get them to do their regular tasks occasionally.

4. Communicate with Clarity

With so many tasks, it is essential to communicate with every team member as clearly as possible. Miscommunication and incomplete communication are among the significant reasons for last-minute mishaps. Be sure you speak with each team member in the manner they understand you best. Assuming that your team has understood everything by just telling them things once can be a grave misjudgment on your part. 

Sometimes, team members are stressed with tasks and need constant reminders to keep doing what they should. A good understanding of your teammates and their temperaments will help you communicate with them effectively to ensure the seamless execution of tasks. Apart from interpersonal skills, using efficient tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, video conferencing tools, and other team collaboration tools can help foster better communication within onsite and remote teams.

5. Set KPIs for Each Team

Yes, the event industry is ever-changing, especially given the dynamic nature of the job. However, productivity is crucial to organizing memorable events, so you should establish clear expectations with teams and give them explicit performance indicators to keep them motivated and directed toward achieving their goals.

 Every team needs unique key performance indicators, and you must communicate to them how to perform their tasks and what will happen if they fail.

Tips to Manage Last-Minute Exigencies

Handling sudden and unexpected crises is the actual test of an event manager’s people management skills. Imagine that your caterers haven’t arrived on time on the event day, or your guests are miffed because they are unhappy with their hotel check-in. These are things that happen all the time, and here are a few tips to handle emergencies like a pro:

1. Have a Contingency Plan

When organizing an event at a grand scale, it is essential to identify potential risks and have a specific risk management plan handy to mitigate challenges. Always have vendor backup options, indoor venues for outdoor events in case the weather conditions betray you on D-day, and safety and security measures in place. Make your teams aware of potential risks and train your staff to deal with them.

Some common last-minute challenges in event organization are equipment malfunctions, venue changes, weather disruptions, communication breakdowns, guest cancellations, and staffing shortages.

2. Build a Flexible Event Agenda

Flexibility in scheduling and your attitude is the key to maintaining your composure while handling unexpected changes. An event agenda usually has a timeline of everything that has to occur on the event day. Make sure that you leave sufficient buffer time between activities. Have a backup keynote speaker if your main speaker backs out at the last minute. Being flexible with the project plan does not mean that you have to miss out on outlining major event activities; it just means that you have to be ready to deal with change as and when required.

3. Keep Calm and Assess the Situation

This tip is a no-brainer. However, you must stay calm while handling unexpected situations at the event. Understand the nature and severity of the problem. 

Break down the problem and understand the possible solutions or substitutes to deal with it. Identify the stakeholders who could be affected by the situation. Make decisions from a place of calm to handle the problem to the best of your ability. 

Allow your employees to take charge if you need to catch up with handling other teams at the event. For example, just a few hours before the event, you will be notified that your keynote speaker or a presenter will bail out the event due to sickness or travel inconveniences. It is indeed a cause of concern and can leave you feeling overwhelmed. At this moment, you should endeavor to stay calm and reach out to the backup speaker you had spoken to while hiring the keynote speaker. Make sure you brief them about the situation and be flexible about the changes they might bring about in the presentation.

4. Enlighten Your Team About the Situation

We did discuss the importance of clear communication earlier. However, in a crisis, it is paramount to keep your cool, communicate everything with your team members, vendors, and sponsors (if necessary), and actively seek suggestions from everyone while tackling the crisis. 

Keeping relevant people in the loop can give you the support and encouragement you need to overcome the situation. Proper communication with your workforce can avoid conflicts and delays and build trust. In the above scenario, where you are left with no keynote speaker hours before the event, letting the client and your supergroup know about the situation can be helpful. Your operations manager could help get the backup speaker to the venue as soon as possible and help them go through the presentation.

Key Takeaway

Most event managers find managing multiple teams and keeping up with deadlines daunting. However, following a systematic approach with a sense of adaptability can be the key to planning and organizing mind-blowing B2B events. The tips and strategies listed above will help you master the art of coordination and managing multiple teams and vendors at large-scale B2B events.

Irrespective of the magnanimity of the event, you can deliver exceptionally well-organized events with good leadership and team management skills. To upgrade your event planning skills, read our blog on 21 Event Planning Skills that Ensure Success in 2024.