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Event Management
Notes 2. Does the issue adversely impact the cohesiveness of the team? Individual designers tend to
work on their own projects, with few meetings between design team members, so
cohesiveness is not impacted. However people are noticing his lack of punctuality, and
other people’s timekeeping is beginning to slip.
3. Does the issue unnecessarily undermine the interests of other individuals in the team? The
designer sitting next to the latecomer is unhappy that she has to field calls from clients before
he reaches the office, and is unable to give a firm answer to the question “When will he be in?”
The design team manager decides to speak to the latecomer because of the impact on his co-worker.
They agree that coming in to work late is not a problem (he has a long commute, with heavy traffic
en route) but that he will commit to being in by 9.30am every day to reduce the number of calls his
co-worker has to field, and also give her a fixed time to give clients. He will work late to make up
time, and will take on a task she doesn’t like to make up for her extra phone handling.
When you are faced with a potential discipline issue, take the time you need to gather information
about the situation, then decide what you’re going to do and act. Discipline issues rarely go
away of their own accord, and they usually get worse, often causing considerable unhappiness
and resentment amongst other team members.
1.7.4 Challenges of Teamwork
If you have ever served on a committee, marched in a band, sung in a choir, or played on a team,
you know the challenges of developing successful teams. The most frequent problems that
event managers face when developing teams are:
Communications
Excellent event coordination is the result of continuous, consistent, high-quality communications
between the event stakeholders. The event manager is responsible for developing and sustaining
the event communications to ensure that all stakeholders are informed, in touch, and involved
in each of the phases of managing the event. The following are several methods that you may
use to establish and/or improve a high-quality communications network for your event.
1. Conduct a communications audit and find out how your event stakeholders best send and
receive information.
2. Avoid communications that are blocked by noise, visual distraction, or other interference.
3. Include an “Action Required” statement on all written communications to confirm that
communications have been received and understood.
4. Use nontraditional communications such as audio and video tapes to increase impact,
retention, and action.
5. Use written change orders to record changes during your event. Make certain the client or
other responsible person signs the change order to authorize the addition, deletion, or
substitution of services or products.
Self-Interest
Many committees are comprised of people who essentially bring their personal views, bias, and
agendas to the event planning process. It is the responsibility of the event manager to persuade each
person to forgo personal interest for the sake of group interest. Only through a strong group effort
can an event achieve a successful outcome. You may wish to invite an expert in team building or
conduct team building exercises yourself to develop trust, congeniality, and a common purpose
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