What is event management?
Event management refers to the systematic planning, organisation, execution and follow-up of events. This involves coordinating dates, venues, staff, technical equipment, vehicles, service providers, budgets and processes.
The term covers both public events and internal corporate events. These include, for example, trade fairs, conferences, concerts, theatre performances, corporate events, training courses, meetings, exhibitions and product presentations.
The aim of structured event management is to ensure that all necessary resources are available at the right time and in the right place, and to guarantee that events run safely, cost-effectively and according to plan.
With a digital event planning Events, venues, staff, equipment, vehicles and tasks can all be coordinated within a single visual planning system.
What is the difference between event management and event planning?
Event planning and event management are often used interchangeably, but they describe different scopes.
Event planning focuses on the practical preparation of an event. This includes, in particular:
- Scheduling
- Location planning
- Task planning
- Staff deployment planning
- Technical planning
- Logistics planning
- Process planning
Event management also encompasses the coordination and supervision during the event itself, as well as the follow-up work.
These include, amongst others:
- Budget control
- Service provider management
- Safety management
- Attendee management
- Communication
- Change management
- Performance monitoring
- Documentation
Event planning is therefore a key component of overall event management.
What tasks are involved in event management?
The tasks vary depending on the type of event, its size, the target audience and the organisational context.
The key areas include:
- Define event objectives
- Specify the event type and format
- Plan your budget
- Set the date and duration
- Select and book a venue
- Create a programme and schedule
- Scheduling staff and external service providers
- Co-ordinating technology and equipment
- Organising vehicles and transport
- Take into account approvals and safety requirements
- Manage participants and invitations
- Plan set-up and dismantling
- Organise and monitor events
- Handling deviations and faults
- Documenting and evaluating events
When several events are scheduled simultaneously, it is also necessary to coordinate shared staff, rooms, vehicles and technical resources.
What types of events can be planned?
Digital event management can be used for various types of internal and external events.
Trade fairs and exhibitions
At trade fairs, the exhibition stand, staff, technical equipment, exhibits, transport, set-up times and customer appointments all need to be co-ordinated.
Typical planning objects include:
- Exhibition stand
- Stand staff
- Exhibits
- Presentation technology
- Meeting rooms
- Delivery and installation times
- Client appointments
- Accommodation and travel
Conferences and meetings
At conferences and meetings, presentations, speakers, rooms, participants, technical equipment and time slots are coordinated.
In addition, the following resources may be required:
- Moderators
- Interpreter
- Technician
- Registration staff
- Catering
- Workshop rooms
- Streaming technology
Concerts and cultural events
Concerts, theatre performances and festivals require particularly detailed planning in terms of technical arrangements, safety and event logistics.
For example, the following need to be coordinated:
- Artists and ensembles
- Examples
- Stages
- Lighting and sound technology
- Back-office areas
- Security services
- Admissions staff
- Set-up and dismantling
Corporate events
Internal and external corporate events include:
- Company parties
- Kick-off events
- Client events
- Product presentations
- Workshops
- Training courses
- Staff meetings
- Management meeting
Sporting events
Sporting events require the planning of match times, facilities, teams, referees, volunteers, security staff and medical support.
Which resources need to be planned for events?
An event requires a wide range of personnel, venue, technical and logistical resources.
Staff and event teams
Employees who can be scheduled include, for example:
- Event manager
- Project Manager
- Set-up and dismantling teams
- Technician
- Moderators
- Hostesses and hosts
- Service staff
- Security personnel
- Driver
- Cleaning staff
- Temporary staff
- external service providers
When Staff deployment planning Availability, working hours, qualifications, breaks, absences and work locations must be taken into account.
Venues and rooms
Spatial resources include:
- Event venues
- Conference rooms
- Seminar rooms
- Stages
- Exhibition stands
- Back-office areas
- Cloakrooms
- Catering sectors
- Storage areas
- Car parks
When planning a venue, capacity, facilities, access points, fire safety, accessibility and availability must be taken into account.
Event technology
Technical resources may be in limited supply and must be reserved well in advance.
Typical event technology includes:
- Microphones
- Loudspeaker
- Mixing desks
- Lighting technology
- Canvases
- Projectors
- LED screens
- Cameras
- Streaming technology
- Two-way radios
- Stage and truss systems
- Power distribution systems
Vehicles and Transport
Vehicles are required for staff, technical equipment, stage equipment, catering and other equipment.
These include:
- Transporter
- Lorries
- Trailer
- Passenger cars
- Buses
- Forklift
- Pallet truck
- Specialised transport
The planning of vehicles and transport operations is closely linked to the Fleet planning linked.
Materials and equipment
In addition, the following materials are often required:
- Furniture
- Barriers
- Signage
- Decoration
- Promotional materials
- Name badges
- Information documents
- Consumables
- Protective equipment
How does event planning work?
Professional event planning takes place in several coordinated phases.
1. Define the event objective
First, the purpose of the event is defined.
Possible objectives include:
- Informing customers
- Showcase products
- Train staff
- Building contacts
- Increase brand awareness
- Generate revenue
- Sharing knowledge
- Provide entertainment
2. Define the framework
The key organisational details are then defined:
- Date
- Duration
- Number of participants
- Target audience
- Event format
- Budget
- Location
- responsible persons
3. Select a venue
The venue must be suitable for the expected number of participants, the programme and the technical facilities.
The following points require checking:
- Capacity
- Availability
- Contact details
- Car parks
- Accessibility
- Power supply
- Internet connection
- Fire safety
- Set-up and dismantling times
4. Create project structure and tasks
The event is divided into sub-sections and tasks.
Typical work packages include:
- Location
- Programme
- Technology
- Personal
- Marketing
- Attendee management
- Catering
- Logistics
- Security
- Documentation
5. Schedule resources
Staff, rooms, equipment, vehicles and materials are allocated to individual tasks and time slots.
The overarching Resource planning prevents the same resources from being reserved for several events at the same time.
6. Create a schedule
The schedule outlines the chronological sequence of all key processes.
These include:
- Delivery
- Structure
- Technical review
- Dress rehearsal
- Admission
- Agenda items
- Breaks
- Conversion times
- End of event
- Decommissioning
- Return transport
7. Coordinate service providers
External partners are incorporated into the overall planning along with their services and time slots.
These include, for example:
- Catering companies
- Technical services provider
- Security services
- Cleaning company
- Transport companies
- Exhibition stand builder
- Artists’ agencies
- Interpreting services
8. Carry out safety and emergency planning
Depending on the type and size of the event, safety requirements, escape routes, first aid and emergency procedures must be taken into account.
9. Organise an event
During the event, the proceedings, staffing, technical aspects and timetable are monitored.
Changes and disruptions must be assessed quickly and communicated to the relevant personnel.
10. Follow-up and evaluation
Following the event, feedback, costs, attendance figures, any issues and suggestions for improvement are analysed.
A practical example of event planning
An events agency is organising a two-day specialist conference with 800 participants, 35 speakers and several parallel workshops.
The event requires a main hall, six workshop rooms, presentation equipment, interpreters, catering, security staff and a set-up team.
Two weeks before the event, a workshop room that had originally been booked becomes unavailable. At the same time, a speaker requires additional streaming equipment at short notice.
With centralised event planning, project management can identify:
- which rooms are available during the required period
- which workshops can be rescheduled
- which technology has already been scheduled elsewhere
- which employees and service providers are affected
- which participant details need to be amended
- whether set-up or transport times change
The workshop will be moved to a suitable alternative venue and the additional equipment will be taken from a pool of available equipment.
The updated procedure is available centrally to all authorised staff and service providers.
Event management and project planning
An event usually has a specific objective, a limited duration and a defined budget. It can therefore be planned and managed in the same way as a project.
The Project planning Supports, amongst other things:
- Project structuring
- Task planning
- Scheduling
- Milestones
- Responsibilities
- Resource planning
- Progress monitoring
Event management also involves additional event-related requirements such as venue, attendees, technical equipment, security and logistics.
Event management and staff deployment planning
Events often require teams that change frequently, with a variety of skills.
When planning staff deployment, the following factors, amongst others, must be taken into account:
- Availability
- Working hours
- Qualifications
- Role
- Location
- Breaks
- Set-up and dismantling times
- statutory working time regulations
An event may have sufficient staff but still be understaffed in certain areas, for example if there is a shortage of qualified technicians or security personnel.
Event management and venue planning
Location planning coordinates event venues, rooms and spaces.
Please note the following:
- Participant capacity
- Room layout
- Stage and technical areas
- Escape routes
- Accessibility
- Delivery zones
- Cloakrooms
- Catering areas
- Set-up times
- Cleaning times
When there are several parallel programme items, rooms, participant flows and set-up times must be coordinated with particular care.
Event management and technical planning
Technical planning ensures that all the necessary equipment is set up, tested and ready for use at the right time.
Typical technical planning steps include:
- Identify technical requirements
- Book equipment
- Organise transport
- Allow time for set-up
- Check the power supply
- Carry out a technical test
- Provide replacement equipment
- Planning dismantling and return transport
An available technical resource is not automatically suitable. Performance, connections, compatibility and operating personnel must also be taken into account.
Event management and event logistics
Event logistics coordinates the transport, storage and provision of all necessary materials and technical resources.
These include:
- Delivery times
- Loading bays
- Vehicles
- Transport routes
- Interim storage
- Development sites
- Return transport
- Packaging materials
A delay in the delivery of materials could jeopardise set-up, technical checks and the start of the event.
Event management and security planning
Safety planning is a key component of event management, particularly for public or large-scale events.
The following points should be taken into account, for example:
- Escape and evacuation routes
- Fire safety
- Access control
- Visitor guidance
- First aid
- Evacuation plans
- Weather conditions
- Security services
- Emergency communications
- regulatory requirements
The specific requirements depend on the venue, the number of participants and the applicable legal requirements.
Set-up and dismantling planning
Set-up and dismantling are separate planning phases and should not be regarded merely as brief periods on the fringes of the schedule.
The following need to be coordinated:
- Access routes
- Delivery sequence
- Set-up teams
- Technician
- Vehicles
- Lifting equipment
- Room bookings
- Security checks
- Cleaning
- Return of the venue
Equipment or furniture can often only be installed once previous work has been completed.
Service provider management for events
Many events are organised in collaboration with external service providers.
The following information, at a minimum, should be documented for each partner:
- Scope of services
- Contact person
- Operating time
- Installation and delivery date
- Venue
- Costs
- Dependencies
- Approval status
- Documents required
Unclear lines of communication between event organisers and service providers often lead to duplication of work or services not being provided.
Event management and document management
Events generate a large number of documents and files.
These include, for example:
- Schedules
- Floor plans
- Contracts
- Offers
- List of participants
- Security concepts
- Approvals
- Technical plans
- Checklists
- Photos
- Formatting instructions
With an integrated Document management Files can be linked directly to events, tasks, rooms, staff or appointments.
Common mistakes in event management
Planning starts too late
Venues, equipment, service providers or qualified staff are no longer available on the requested date.
Set-up and dismantling times are missing
Rooms or equipment are booked back-to-back for several events, even though set-up and transport are required.
Resources are being booked twice
Staff, rooms, vehicles or technical equipment are assigned to several events at the same time.
Responsibilities are unclear
Tasks are planned but are not assigned to a specific person.
Service providers are working with out-of-date information
Changes to dates or schedules are not communicated centrally.
Security requirements are checked too late
Permits, fire safety measures or the necessary security staff are missing shortly before the event begins.
Technology is selected subject to availability only
The device is available, but is either incompatible with the rest of the equipment or unsuitable for the size of the room.
Transport times are underestimated
Equipment cannot be moved between several venues in time.
There is no contingency plan
There are no contingency plans in place for technical faults, staff absences, adverse weather conditions or evacuations.
Changes are not documented
Those involved work with different schedules and time frames.
No further action is required
Costs, experiences, disruptions and areas for improvement are not analysed.
Key performance indicators in event management
Number of participants
The number of participants indicates how many people registered, turned up or were actually present.
Capacity utilisation
Capacity utilisation compares the actual number of participants with the available capacity of the venue.
Budget variance
The budget variance compares planned event costs with actual costs incurred.
On-time delivery
Adherence to deadlines shows whether set-up, programme items, deliveries and dismantling were carried out within the planned time slots.
Resource utilisation
Resource utilisation describes the extent to which staff, rooms, vehicles and technical equipment were actually used.
Cancellation rate
The cancellation rate shows the proportion of registered participants or booked services that were cancelled at short notice.
No-show rate
The no-show rate indicates the proportion of registered participants who did not attend the event.
Cost per participant
This key figure compares the total cost of the event with the actual number of participants.
Number of plan changes
This metric shows how often appointments, rooms, staff or other resources had to be adjusted at short notice.
Failure rate
The disruption rate captures technical, organisational or personnel-related problems during the event.
Participant satisfaction
Participant satisfaction can be measured through surveys, ratings or willingness to recommend the service.
Service provider adherence to deadlines
This key figure shows whether external partners have met delivery, installation and deployment deadlines.
Software as a support tool
Software can support event planning by providing centralised information on dates, availability, resources and responsibilities. The most suitable solution depends on the specific process, the available data and the existing systems. One example is Event planning with Visual Planning®.
Conclusion
Event management brings together dates, venues, staff, rooms, technical equipment, vehicles, service providers and tasks to form a single schedule. Structured planning highlights interdependencies and ensures that all necessary resources are made available in good time.