Event Management Guide November 2014

Event Management Guide Why use this guide? Delivering a successful event takes an enormous amount of planning and preparation. For members of staff that undertake occasional events management alongside other responsibilities it can be difficult to know where to start. This guide is designed to lead you through the process of planning your event to ensure success. It will provide advice on every aspect of your event from initial planning through to the event itself. This guide will also highlight ways in which the Marketing events team can help you with event management including finding appropriate venues, planning your budget and sending targeted invitations. Planning your Event – What, Where and When What? You should begin with a clear idea of the type of event that you are looking to hold. Ask yourself the following questions: • What style of event am I planning? e.g. formal lecture, panel style Q and A session, dance or sport demonstration. • What, if any, catering will I require before or after the event? • What is my target number of attendees? • What kind of audience am I looking to attract? e.g. students, Aston University staff, contacts from external companies, the local community. • Which members of the University Executive do I want to invite? (if any) • Is there a budget for this event? If so, how much is available? Where? The type of venue that you need for your event will depend largely on the answers to the above questions. Essential points to consider are: • You need a venue that will be appropriate for the kind of activity taking place e.g. a lecture theatre for a talk, a flat floor space, possibly with movable seating, for a demonstration. • The venue will also need to be large enough to accommodate your ideal number of guests comfortably. • At the same time it should not be so large as to make the event feel poorly attended and have a negative effect on the atmosphere.

Event Management Guide November 2014

• If catering is needed then proximity to a kitchen/serving area will need to be taken into account. • If you are hoping to attract high profile external guests the room will need to be in an impressive state of repair so as to reflect well on the University. Staff from the events team have extensive experience of using rooms within the University and will be happy to help you in making a selection. If you would like to view room capacities these can be found at http://www1.aston.ac.uk/staff/estates/teaching-operations/rooms-for-hire/ When? The main influence on your choice of date will be venue availability. Once you have decided on one or two suitable spaces you can confirm their availability by checking with Iftikhar Khan, Teaching Operations Manager, on ext 4667 email at [email protected] or Lesley Richards, on ext 4681 email [email protected] Further tips on selecting a date: • If your event involves a speaker or a number of experts making up a panel you will need to confirm dates when they are available. • If you wish to invite the University Executive to the event then you will need to confirm their availability. The best way of doing this is to contact their personal assistants. For the ViceChancellor’s diary you will need to contact Alison Offong on 4884 or via email at [email protected] or Claire Duggan 4642 [email protected] The more notice you give of your event the more chance you have of the Executive being available to attend. • Whenever possible you should consult the events team in the Marketing department and Development & Alumni Relations to ensure that you do not arrange an event on the same evening as a high profile University event such as an Inaugural Lecture, Network Lecture etc. Promoting your Event The Aston community If your event is of general interest to University staff, you can promote the event in the internal Aspects mailing. Please [email protected] Departmental Secretaries are another good way of dissimilating information to different departments within the University. The email address for the group is [email protected] Internet Research If your event will appeal to a particular interest group then it is useful to find out what societies/associations exist within the local area. Internet research is valuable. For example to promote a panel event on Fairtrade, a quick Internet search of ‘Fairtrade + Birmingham’ reveals contact information for a number of Fairtrade groups in the city.

Event Management Guide November 2014

Union Societies If it is appropriate, consider asking the Students’ Union if they have a society in this particular field – they have a large number across a variety of themes. A full list can be found at by emailing [email protected] Contacts If you are putting on an event with a speaker or panel always ask them if they have family/friends/colleagues that they would like you to invite. They may also belong to research groups or professional bodies, if so invite the members of these. Other HEI’s If your event is academic in nature, consider inviting academics and students within the same subject area from other local universities such as Birmingham, Warwick, Coventry, Leicester etc. Printed Materials If you require printed posters/leaflets to promote your event these can be designed by the Marketing department. We can also advise on printing and costs. Designing and printing promotional material can take time, so as soon as the initial details of your event are confirmed, contact Publications Manager, Dawn Lander to discuss your requirements. Dawn can be contacted at [email protected] or ext 4553. Aston University Website There is an events section on the University website that you can use to promote your events. For further information or to submit text please contact Emma Tromans on [email protected] x4542 Plasma Screens It is possible to advertise your event on the plasma screen in the main reception area. Please contact Kyle Campbell, [email protected] Student App You can display events on the new student App. Please contact Tony Lyons [email protected] Weekly Events Diary The University receptionists, puts together an Events Diary each week giving information on all of the events happening on campus. Be sure to send details of your event to the reception team. Contact: [email protected] Booking space in the lower and upper foyers If you would like to book space in the lower or upper foyer for a reception desk/promotional materials then please email [email protected]

Event Management Guide November 2014

Before the Event Informing the Media • Aston’s dedicated Public Relations team will help you to raise the profile of your event by working with the media on your behalf. • Let the team know what you are planning to do and they will write a press release and distribute it to the local and national press and broadcast media for consideration. • Please contact Alex Earnshaw 4549 or email [email protected] to discuss your needs. Catering • If you wish to offer the people attending your event any refreshments these will need to booked in advance. Email [email protected] who offer a range of buffet options and can create bespoke menus on request. • If you do not require food they can also provide tea/coffee and soft drinks, as well as beers and wines. • You will need to provide catering with numbers so you will want to wait until quite near to the event to book to avoid over or under catering. Catering@aston will usually expect 3 or 4 days notice. However, if you require a bespoke menu or something out of the ordinary, it is best to give them time to source this. Audio / Visual (AV) Support • If your event involves someone giving a talk or presentation then there is a good chance that you will need to use a laptop, data projector and microphone. Please contact [email protected] to discuss requirements. • If you are organising a talk or lecture you may want to consider having the event filmed, or audio recorded. Media Learning and Technology can do this for you for a fee. Contact Nick Birch or Colin Roach to discuss requirements. Photography • Consider getting a professional photographer to take photographs at your event. These can be used to accompany a post-event press release, or to go alongside a report of your event in the Aspects internal mailing list. If you have an external speaker or important external guests you may like to send them copies of the photographs afterwards. • The events team will be happy to give you details of our recommended photographers.

Event Management Guide November 2014

Cleaning/Portering • If you have high profile internal staff attending your event, or any external visitors then it is important that the area you are using is clean and presentable. This can be a particular issue if students have been using the area before you. At additional cost it may be possible for you to arrange for cleaning staff to help prepare the venue. For more information please contact Adrian Owen from Estates. • If you are using a venue with movable chairs and tables, and you require a particular set up, you may need to ask the porters to assist you in moving furniture. Head Porter, Mark Atkins, can be contacted on ext 4319 or via email at [email protected] If you require the porters out of normal working hours you will be charged for the overtime. • It is also a good idea to contact the Estates team to inform them of your event to ensure there are no clashes with building work. You don’t want your event to be interrupted by drilling. Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] Health and safety If your event involves a large number of people or an interactive stand then it may necessary to complete a risk assessment. Please contact the Health and Safety Office who will be able to advise how to complete the paperwork. A generic risk assessments and advice can be found here: http://www.aston.ac.uk/staff/hr/safety/risk-assessment-forms/ Car Parking • If your visitors require car parking you will need to arrange this in advance with Security at Aston. Car Parking on campus is not normally a problem for events that take place outside of normal working hours. If your event is happening during the day Monday to Friday then this may be more difficult. Security can be contacted on ext 4803. VIP car parking can sometimes be arranged in Potter Street. Security will advise if this is possible. The standard procedure is to tell guests to park at Millennium Point: http://www.aston.ac.uk/about/directions/visitorparking/ Staffing • Successful events require lots of pairs of hands! If at all possible, try and arrange for a colleague or colleagues to be at the event with you and brief them as thoroughly as possible beforehand. • No matter how well an event is planned something may happen on the day that means you are called away to solve a problem. If this happens you need to ensure that there is someone available to step in.

Event Management Guide November 2014

On the Day Inform Reception To ensure that all of your guests receive a warm welcome to the University and are given the best directions to your venue, inform the reception staff via email at [email protected] Please make sure that you have staff in prominent areas to direct your guests as appropriate. Reception staff can only give advice/directions from the reception desk. Looking after your speaker If you have arranged for external speakers at your event, you will need to make sure that they are taken care of. Send them maps of the campus beforehand if they are visiting for the first time. Make sure they know where to park their car. If appropriate, arrange for a member of staff to meet your speaker at reception and escort them to the venue. If they arrive early offer them coffee and a place to wait in comfort. Be sure to arrange for some water to be in the lecture theatre for during the event. Audio / Visual Checks It is advisable to check that all equipment is working correctly as much in advance as possible – an hour is ideal. This will give you plenty of time to resolve any problems you find. Also check that any slideshows/presentations that presenters have brought with them work as expected. After The Event Say Thank You The following day it is important to thank your speaker, any panel members or any members of the University Executive that made a contribution to your event. This can be done by email or written correspondence. If there were any particularly positive comments from people that attended the event or if you have any photographs it would be nice to include these. Gather Feedback To get a good idea of how an event went, or to ask for suggestions for improvements, you may want to approach the people that attended. You can send an informal email asking for comments or design a formal questionnaire. For help with this please contact the events team. Publicise your success If you did not issue a press release or appear in Aspects in the run up to your event it is not too late. Speak to the Press Office about sending a post-event press release or writing a short article for Aspects. For media, contact Alex Earnshaw at [email protected] , for inclusion in Aspects, please contact [email protected]