Evaluation of the Conference Arrangements Offered to Customers at a Small Venue - Report Example

Evaluate Conference Arrangements Offered To s at a Small Venue Part of personal and professional development is taking opportunities to attend seminars, workshops and conferences. The human mind is always on the lookout for intellectual stimulation. The human heart welcomes human contact with friends of the same interest and colleagues in the same profession. The human spirit is always eager to take up a challenge, a new adventure and acquire new knowledge. Organizing a fruitful endeavor such as a gathering of people for a common goal of learning something new is always a challenge. The organizer needs to think of all the essential details that make a successful conference – the topic, the speakers, equipment to be used, the schedule, the intended audience, the venue, food, invitations, hand-outs, etc. Needless to say, all these details are to be planned meticulously over a period of time. Part of goal-setting is how the participants would rate the over-all success (or failure, for that matter) of the conference, so an evaluation sheet should also be designed for feedback. For starters, this paper will be limited to planning a small day-long conference in a small venue. The basic arrangements will be discussed in detail. Conference Theme The idea of a conference is sparked by a topic of interest shared by a group of people. This topic may be subdivided into smaller topics to make it digestible to be discussed for a whole day or more. Speakers must be chosen well, based on their expertise on the topic and their credibility to deliver a masterful and engaging talk. Speakers must be contracted beforehand with a formal letter of invitation to speak in the conference. The letter should include details such as the particular topic he is assigned to talk about. It ends with the organizer asking the speaker for whatever needs he would have such as the equipment necessary (LCD projector, OHP projector, computer, etc.) and transportation arrangements to and from the venue on the day of the conference. Upon approval of the speaker, he shall be requested to submit his profile to the organizer so that he could be introduced well. To add flair and retention of learning in an applied setting, workshops may be included in the conference. These may be thinking games done in small groups, discussion between dyads of thought-provoking questions related to the seminar or a collaborative art work representing what the group has learned. For this, the organizers need to assign workshop facilitators per group who would form participants into their respective groups, oversee their progress, and provide the necessary materials. However, in the interest of time, workshops may be done away with. Organizers need to plan the programme well so that participants will be adequately guided as to the schedule of their day. This gives the participants a sense of control and anticipation and when to schedule their personal breaks. Entertainment may be inserted here, if the organizers have connections with a local singer, musician, dance group or stand up comedian. This is a welcome treat to participants who may be struggling to maintain their focus on the seminar for the whole day. The conference may include a conference kit, distributed during the registration period. It may be a simple envelope or bag containing hand-outs of the talks, a note pad and pencil or pen for taking down notes, and some promotional materials or giveaways provided by sponsors of the conference, if any. It can also include the participants’ meal and raffle tickets, if applicable. Venue Arrangement An appropriate venue should be chosen for the conference. A function room in a rustic restaurant, a bigger hall in an office building, a church or a grand ballroom in a hotel may be chosen depending on the number of participants expected and the budget available for the conference. Upon choosing the right venue, a booking should be placed to ensure its availability for the targeted date. Planning the logistics of the venue is essential so that traffic flow is smooth within the conference venue and seating arrangement should be done in such a way that participants have maximum comfort and access to the speaker and his visuals. The floor plan should be arranged in such a way that participants will not have a difficult time locating the registration table, the food tables and even the washroom. The sound system should be tested out early to avoid glitches during the seminar proper. Flowers or balloons will add a cheery effect to the ambience and make the participants feel that the organizers planned the event to the smallest detail to make them feel welcome. A committee on registration of the participants may be formed, as this is usually the cause of commotion in every conference. Participants are encouraged to pre-register (and pre-pay their fees via bank deposits) and just show up with their bank receipts to claim their conference kit. It is assumed that their filled out participation form is already with the registration committee and ideally, already plotted in the data base of the organizers for future reference. For walk-in registrants, they are led to fill out their forms, pay the conference fees and pick up their conference kits and then led to their seats. Nametags are important for easier identification and opportunities for social interactions. One of the most important details of the conference is the food to be served to the participants. Organizers should plan the menu with the caterer and have a food tasting session to make sure that the food served is palatable. If it is a whole day affair, it is expected that lunch and 2 snacks will be served (for morning and afternoon snacks). Some conferences run up to the evening, and include cocktails and dinner with entertainment. This is all dependent on the budget of the conference. Of course, the participants get what they pay for. The simplest half-day seminars just serve a drink and a pastry or sandwich. It would be a treat if the organizers have sponsors who can take care of part of the food expenses to keep the conference fees down. Advertising and Promotions Being a business, organizers must bear in mind that they should meet the expected income for this project. They should set a budget for marketing purposes to disseminate information about the service they are offering. Simple posters, flyers and mailed invitations to prospective participants are basic advertising materials that work. Follow that up with tele-marketing, and that would give them an idea of how warm or how cold the prospective participants are towards their participation. Using media advertising proves to be useful – radio announcements, television plugs or commercials, print advertising in local newspapers get the attention of interested participants, increasing the possibilities of having more participants for the event, meaning more income to expect. Evaluation Organizers should not forget to include designing an evaluation form about the conference to be filled out by the participants at the end of the conference. The evaluation should include all the necessary details to be assessed – the venue, the food, the speaker and topic, the organizing staff, etc. This evaluation will provide the organizers with feedback about the work they have done. From this, they learn from their mistakes, and know what to watch out for in their next venture. Read More