Behind the scenes of events
Laine, Krista (2018)
Laine, Krista
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2018
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018120420065
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018120420065
Tiivistelmä
Sporting events provide a way for people to come together and grow. However, organizing an event can be very challenging, therefore the goal of this project is to learn about running events and to create a resource for others to use to help them run an event. To do so, I volunteered at three different events and experienced first-hand the challenges involved.
These events included the Nordic Business Forum, Kalevan Kisat and Finlandia Marathon. Based on my own experiences and from surveying other volunteers I found that most of volunteers are happy with the training sessions and their roles at the events, but there are some who are not that satisfied with their experience. Volunteers are one of the key resources in an event so to successfully prepare volunteers to be the best at their job, the event manager needs to be able to create a good experience for all the participants.
From these findings, I create a recipe for success in running an event by comparing the process to baking a cake. As you bake the cake your four ingredients for success are flour, egg, sugar and baking powder. With these four ingredients you can bake a good simple cake. When it comes to event management there are also four ingredients needed. First, in the beginning you need a plan which includes a vision and a timetable. Second, you need to delegate work load. Third, you need to find a way to communicate with the teams in order to keep up with the team and to find out how you are progressing along the way. The last cake ingredient is the baking powder which makes the cake rise. This is the event-specific ingredient which will make your event a marathon, track and field competition, or a conference type of training. As you implement your plan and mix ingredients together, you’ll be able to adjust the plan along the way which will lead your team to the desired destination. After the cake is baked you have the basics done and you can cut it in pieces and start filling the layers. This part will help your team to do everything they can to prepare the event for the participants. Usually the last day is the event day. This is the day when you’ll be busy since just like the cake needs to be decorated to look desirable, the event needs to look good to. The best part though is to surprise the participants, meaning that as an event manager you have exceeded their expectations. When the event has come to its end, there is time for the evaluation. Just like after a birthday party you may have some left overs, this is the time to check what went well and what are the areas needed improving. Then, as you become a good “baker” of a basic cake, you can start to mix things up and try some new variations of the cake. The manual of creating an event goes through the very basics of event management. The weakness of the manual is that it has not been tested so there is no proof that it will save your event. However, it will give simple ideas about what kind of things to take into consideration when planning, implementing and executing an event.
These events included the Nordic Business Forum, Kalevan Kisat and Finlandia Marathon. Based on my own experiences and from surveying other volunteers I found that most of volunteers are happy with the training sessions and their roles at the events, but there are some who are not that satisfied with their experience. Volunteers are one of the key resources in an event so to successfully prepare volunteers to be the best at their job, the event manager needs to be able to create a good experience for all the participants.
From these findings, I create a recipe for success in running an event by comparing the process to baking a cake. As you bake the cake your four ingredients for success are flour, egg, sugar and baking powder. With these four ingredients you can bake a good simple cake. When it comes to event management there are also four ingredients needed. First, in the beginning you need a plan which includes a vision and a timetable. Second, you need to delegate work load. Third, you need to find a way to communicate with the teams in order to keep up with the team and to find out how you are progressing along the way. The last cake ingredient is the baking powder which makes the cake rise. This is the event-specific ingredient which will make your event a marathon, track and field competition, or a conference type of training. As you implement your plan and mix ingredients together, you’ll be able to adjust the plan along the way which will lead your team to the desired destination. After the cake is baked you have the basics done and you can cut it in pieces and start filling the layers. This part will help your team to do everything they can to prepare the event for the participants. Usually the last day is the event day. This is the day when you’ll be busy since just like the cake needs to be decorated to look desirable, the event needs to look good to. The best part though is to surprise the participants, meaning that as an event manager you have exceeded their expectations. When the event has come to its end, there is time for the evaluation. Just like after a birthday party you may have some left overs, this is the time to check what went well and what are the areas needed improving. Then, as you become a good “baker” of a basic cake, you can start to mix things up and try some new variations of the cake. The manual of creating an event goes through the very basics of event management. The weakness of the manual is that it has not been tested so there is no proof that it will save your event. However, it will give simple ideas about what kind of things to take into consideration when planning, implementing and executing an event.