The Company that Never Fails to Impress- IKEA!

As someone who grew up in a small town, with the closest Ikea hours away, it was always an exciting day when we could make a trip to visit one of the monstrous Ikea stores.  I could spend hours pretending I lived in each separate room and creating my dream house.  While I can still do those things I also get super excited each time I read about Ikea holding a launch event or is celebrating a milestone because they always knock it out of the park! 

Most recently I came across an event report (in BizBash of course!) on Ikea's recent celebration of opening it's 30th store in France.  They took their typical room set up style and flipped it, quite literally, turning it into a rock climbing wall.  This was put together by event agency Ubi Bene and the visual effect alone would stop you in your tracks. However, this installment went above and beyond as the idea was also designed keeping in mind that Clermont-Ferrand is a "sporty city" and so locals could interact with Ikea in a way that would appeal to them.  

New Year Inspiration

After a crazy couple weeks of holiday parties, food and drinks I have finally been able to take a moment to breathe. Luckily just before the holidays I had an opportunity to finish a fantastic book that I think is perfect to share going into the New Year.

The book is called The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday  (the last name is also a fitting coincidence!) I highly recommend checking it out, it is a quick read that makes a lasting impact.

With New Years resolutions coming up I wanted to share some of my favorite takeaways from the book that will help overcome the challenges and see you thrive as a result of them.

• You are in control of your emotions.  No matter what obstacle is thrown your way you will be better able to handle it if you remain objective and decide how you want to feel about it.  Instead of being afraid or nervous when something stands in your way you can decide to feel empowered to take it on.  
• Practice persistence in all that you do.  Not only does it show incredible dedication, but in trying something all the wrong ways, you can push yourself to come up with a completely new way.  
• In the end, be okay with none of it working.  Sometimes things are just not in your control and there is nothing wrong with that, but still maintain perspective and consider the areas in which you use this as an opportunity to grow. 

Now I am sure it is written much more eloquently in the book, but it is a great read to get your year started off right! 

Sponsorship Recognition

Getting a sponsor for your event can be all kinds of fantastic.  From being able to leverage their brand recognition to more money in the budget.  Of course this does get paired with ensuring they are recognized (rightfully so!) on event.  Where the challenge comes in is finding a unique and creative way to do this that can serve as an enhancement of the experience rather than a last minute thought to comply with agreements.

After recently volunteering at an incredible gala I was inspired by a particular sponsor that utilized the table setting to interact with the guests.  This was executed utilizing wine glass inserts at the place settings, each with a different conversation starter question relevant to the event and the guests.  This was paired with their logo and messaging on the reverse.  This created a wonderfully interactive experience between the guests and the brand, especially considering that some of the tables consisted of guests that may not necessarily have known each other.

I know after seeing this display of creativity I will be sure to challenge myself in the future to think above and beyond the standard flyer or folded display and think about how I can capitalize on the opportunity to really have the sponsor be involved.

This was a simple focus on printed material, I hope to look further into ways to recognize them electronically as there has been incredible growth in this area over the last few years, becoming sleek and interactive in many exciting ways.

Investing in your Volunteers

Now when I use the word investing I am not solely thinking of money, as volunteers are often utilized to help cut costs.  However, taking some time to create a network of strong volunteers really can have a long term benefit to your events.

For example:

• they come to really understand your messaging and representing your company exactly how you would expect an employee to 
• with annual events they are familiar with the flow and set up, easily jumping in to complete tasks with limited instruction/supervision needed 
• they build confidence in their interactions with your guests, resulting in a greater experience for them 
• with each event you can spend less time providing them background information/general instruction 
• they can become Volunteer Leads and take over some of the instruction duties 
• they will start to refer other good volunteers to you 
• you can be confident that they will remain professional and conduct themselves appropriately 
• in knowing their strengths you can assign them tasks with added responsibility (freeing you up take on other matters) 

Have you experienced any other ways in which investing in your volunteers has paid off? 

Simple Tips for Managing Volunteers

There is just something so wonderful about someone who wants to give their time for free to be a part of creating an exceptional experience for others.  Whether assisting with a fundraising or charity event, getting involved in the community or assisting at a corporate gala the extra set of hands can be magical. 

However, what I wanted to touch on was the managing of volunteers and the fact that forgetting to budget time for preparing and managing them can result in some negative interactions for your guests.  Having volunteered for a number of different types of events and organizations over the years I have had quite a mix of both positive and negative experiences.  

To make it simple I will outline my DO's and DON'Ts of creating a great experience for your volunteers and in turn for your guests!

DO:

• Train them! This goes beyond giving them a general walk around of the venue.  Give them specific instructions for the task they are to complete.  Provide a quick example where possible so that they have something to reference.  Yes, events are busy and hectic but taking this time will ensure volunteers are providing correct information to guests and executing set ups without having to redo them. 
• Provide them with a direct chain of communication.  If something goes wrong or a situation arises what steps must they take, who do they connect with and how do they reach that person. This also provides a benefit when you need a message sent out to update the timing of the evening to help ensure all your volunteers are updated.  Inviting a couple volunteers to be team leads assists greatly in this, especially if you have individuals showing keen interest.  
• Remember them! If the time is coming up for them to be finished, or sit down to dinner make sure you tell them this.  You don't want your wonderful volunteers left stationed at their post well into the first course or after paid team members have headed home.
• Lastly, be certainly not least. THANK THEM! There is no such thing as over thanking a volunteer.  Encourage all staff members to do the same because building up a volunteer has many benefits that can be realized.  

DON'T: 

• I really only have one don't and that is do not scold them for performing a task incorrectly.  They willingly volunteered their time to be of assistance and the majority of the time a wrong step is a result in not taking time to train them on responsibilities and expectations.  

These are just my basic tips for making the most of your volunteers on event, especially if this task is assigned to you at the last minute.  I hope to continue to discuss the benefits of creating lasting relationships with volunteers and was to make that happen.  Feel free to share any do's or don'ts you would add to my list. 

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

After fighting off a cold and then swamped with school work I was very happy today to get in my community to be a part of spreading some holiday cheer.

Volunteering for the Beach Village BIA I was lucky to visit the wonderful shops, restaurants and services that are offered in what I will always defend as the best area of Toronto.  From meeting business owners to their furry four legged friends it was great to see the variety that is present along Queen St. East.

If you are in the Beach over the holiday be sure to check out which stores are participating in the "Spot the Nutcracker" contest and you could win a shopping spree at all the unique stores you visit along the way.

Please share if you are getting out in your own area to bring a smile to those around you! :)

Policies, Procedures and People

A recent topic of discussion in my financial management class was that of policies and procedures.  Although our focus was on financial policies and procedures, I couldn't help but think of the number of times I was in a situation where had proper consideration been given to creating policies and procedures for people much confusion could have been avoided.

As I have discussed communication previously I wanted to touch on the fact that taking the step of creating actual documentation of processes to follow and sharing it with the appropriate parties is by far the simplest way to decrease on event confusion.  From my experience an area where this is often over looked is when it comes to people (volunteers specifically) on event.

The best part of policies and procedures is that they do not have to be neither fancy or include high level technical language. Simply answering the following questions gives you a great base to go from:

1. Who will play a role on event? (i.e. staff, volunteers, suppliers, etc.) 
2. What tasks are to be completed? (i.e. set-up, tear down, cleaning, crowd control, supplier management, etc.) 
3. What steps needs to be followed for successful completion of each task?

Once these questions are answered, align the person responsible with the tasks to be completed and assign a time line for completion of specific tasks.  Taking this one step further and identifying for each individual what they should move on to upon completion of their task (if their shift on event is longer than what they were assigned) helps to keep them engaged and focused.  If this document is accessible to everyone, expectations are clear and people can be managed and moved from one task to another as the event demands.  

I recognize this is a very simple way to consider the management of individuals on event, but why make it more difficult than it needs to be? I am still building up my experience of course and would appreciate any input from those with more experience than I on what you have found to be successful in this area.