Event Strategy: Human Resources Management & EventEvent ManagementNuke Farida2012-2013

Bagan HRM planning process for events

Human Resources Strategy and Objectives

Strategy : supporting human resource management objectives and activities:

•  cost containment – improved staff/volunteer productivity, reduced absenteeism and decreased staff numbers.

•  improved quality – better recruitment and selection, expanded employee and volunteer training, increased staff and volunteer numbers, and improved financial rewards and volunteer benefits.

Human Resources Strategy and Objectives

• improved organizational effectiveness – better job design, changes to organizational structure and improved relations with employees and volunteers.

• enhanced performance regarding social and legal responsibilities – improved compliance with relevant legislation, such as that relating to occupational health and safety at work, anti-discrimination and equal opportunities.

Human Resources Strategy and Objectives

Staffing

Getz (2005, p. 222) suggests one way of undertaking this task in the context of events, involving a three-stage process:

Identify all tasks associated with event creation, delivery and shutdown. Site- related tasks, for example, might include site design and layout, setting up fencing, erecting tents and stages, positioning/building toilets, and placing signs and waste containers.

staffing

Determine how many people are needed to complete the range of tasks associated with the conduct of the event. Do all the tasks have to be done in order, by the same work crew, or all at once by a larger crew? What level of supervision will be required? What tasks can be outsourced and what must be done by the event team? Will more staff than normal be required to perform tasks (such as security) as a result of some specific circumstance (such as a visit by a celebrity to the event)?

List the numbers of staff/volunteers and supervisors and the skills/experience/ qualifications needed to form the ‘ideal’ workforce for the event.

staffing

List the numbers of staff/volunteers and supervisors and the skills/experience/ qualifications needed to form the ‘ideal’ workforce for the event.

Job Analysis

According to Stone (2002), questions answered by this process include:

.  What tasks should be grouped together to create a job or position?

.  What should be looked for in individuals applying for identified jobs?

.  What should an organizational structure look like and what interrelationships

between jobs should exist?

Job Analysis

.  What tasks should form the basis of performance appraisal for an individual in a

specific job?

.  What training and development programs are required to ensure staff/

volunteers possess the needed skills/knowledge?

Job Descriptions

Job descriptions commonly include the following information:

Job title and commitment required

Salary/rewards/incentives associated with position – for paid positions, a salary, wage or hourly rate needs to be stated, along with any other rewards such as bonuses

Job Descriptions

Job summary – this brief statement describes the primary purpose of the job

Duties and responsibilities – this information lists major tasks and responsibilities associated with the job

Job Descriptions

 Relationships with other positions within and outside the event organization – what positions report to the job?

Know-how/skills/knowledge/experience/qualifications/personal attributes required by the position – in some instances, particularly with basic jobs, training may quickly overcome most deficiencies in these areas

Sample job description

Job Specification

A job specification is derived from the job description and seeks to identify the experience, formal qualifications, skills, abilities, knowledge, motivation and personal characteristics needed to perform a given job

Sample Job Specification

Human Resources Policies & Procedures

According to Thompson with Martin (2005, p. 758), ‘Policies are designed to guide the behaviour of managers in relation to the pursuit and achievement of strategies and objectives’. He notes that they:

.  guide thoughts and actions – for example, an event manager who declines to consider an application from a brother of an existing employee may point to a policy on employing relatives of existing personnel if there is a dispute

Human Resources Policies & Procedures

• establish a routine and consistent approach – for example, seniority will be the determining factor in requests by volunteers to fill job vacancies

• establish how certain tasks should be carried out and place constraints on management decision making – for example, rather than a manager having to think about the process of terminating the employment of a staff member or volunteer, they can simply follow the process already prescribed.

Human Resources Policies & Procedures

Human resource practices and procedures for events are often conditioned or determined by those public or private sector organizations with ultimate authority for them.

A local council responsible for conducting an annual festival, for example, would probably already have in place a range of policies and procedures regarding the use of volunteers. These policies and procedures would then be applied to the event.

Human Resources Policies & Procedures

a range of laws influence the degree of freedom that the management of an event has in the human resource area. Laws regarding occupational health and safety, holiday and long service leave, maternity and paternity, working hours, minimum wages, discrimination, dismissal and compensation all need to become integrated into the practices and policies that an event adopts.

Recruitment, selection and induction

Diagram Recruitment process

Recruitment

using stakeholders (for example, local councils, community groups, sponsors and event suppliers) to communicate the event’s staffing needs (volunteer and paid) to their respective networks.

writing sponsorship agreements in a way that requires the sponsor, as part of their agreement with the event, to provide temporary workers with particular skills, such as marketing staff.

Recruitment

 identifying and liaising with potential sources of volunteers/casual staff, including universities and colleges (projects and work placements/internships may be specially created for these groups, particularly if they are studying festival, exhibition and events management or a related area such as film),

Recruitment

religious groups, service clubs (such as Lions and Rotary), community service programs, senior citizen centers and retirement homes, chambers of commerce, and community centers. The International Festival and Events Association maintains an internship ‘bank’ on its website (www.ifea.com/education/intern.asp).

Recruitment

targeting specific individuals within a community who have specialist skills to sit on boards or undertake specific tasks, such as those tasks associated with the legal and accounting aspects of conducting an event.

registering with a volunteer program.

Recruitment

conducting social functions at which, for example, existing volunteers or staff might be encouraged to bring potential candidates, or to which particular groups/ targeted individuals are invited.

determining the make-up (for example, age, sex, occupations) and motivations of existing volunteers, and using this information as the basis of further targeted recruitment

Recruitment

.  gaining the assistance of local and specialist media (for example, radio, television, newspapers, specialist magazines) in communicating the event’s human resource needs. This process is greatly assisted if one or more media organizations are in some way (such as through sponsorship) associated with the event.

Selection

When selecting among applicants, Robertson and Makin (1986) (cited in Beardwell and Holden, 2001) suggest taking into account the following factors:

Past behavior (Biographical data)

Present behavior ( test, interview, assessment center, portfolios)

Future behavior

Interview

Employment Rights Act

A statement of job title and dutiesThe date continuous employment commencedRate of pay, allowances, overtime, timing of paymentHours of work including breaksHoliday arrangement/entitlementSickness procedure (sick pay, notification of illness)Length of notice due to and from the employeeDisciplinary procedures

Employment Rights Act

Work rulesArrangements for terminating employmentArrangements for union membership (if applicable)Special terms relating to confidentially, right to patents and design, exclusivity of service and restrictions on trade after termination of employment (e.g. cannot work for a direct competitor within 6 months)Employer’s right to vary terms and conditions to subject to proper notification

Induction

Getz (2005, p. 227) suggests a range of actions be taken as part of an effective induction program:

.  Provide basic information about the event (mission, objectives, stakeholders, budget, locations, program details).

.  Conduct tours of venues, suppliers, offices and any other relevant locations.

.  

Induction

.  Make introductions to other staff and volunteers.

.  Give an introduction to the organizational culture, history and working arrangements.

.  Overview training programs

Induction

The induction process can also be facilitated by the development of an induction kit for distribution to each new staff member or volunteer. Such a kit might contain:

.  an annual report

.  a message from the organizing committee chairperson/chief executive officer

Induction

welcoming staff and volunteers

.  a statement of event mission/vision, goals and objectives

.  an organizational chart

.  a name badge

.  a staff list (including contact details

Induction

.  a uniform (whether a T-shirt or something more formal)

.  a list of sponsors

.  a list of stakeholders

Training and professional development

A formal approach to training needs assessment serves to determine whether training taking place is adequate and whether any training needs are not being met provided by the event. These suggestions might include how to improve training:

•  sending, or requesting stakeholder/government support to send, staff/volunteers on training programs dealing with specific areas or identified

Training and professional development

training needs (for example, risk management, event marketing and sponsorship)

identifying individuals associated with the event who would be willing to volunteer to conduct training sessions

commissioning consultants/external bodies to undertake specific training

Training and professional development

•  encouraging staff/volunteers to undertake event-specific training programs,

now provided by some public and private colleges, universities and event industry associations – in return for certain benefits (for example, higher salaries, appointment to positions of greater responsibility/satisfaction).

Training and professional development

When trying to identify what training is required to facilitate the effective delivery of an event, the central consideration is to determine the gap between the current performance of staff and volunteers and their desired performance. This can be achieved by:

performance appraisals of existing staff/volunteers (what training do staff identify as being required to make them more effective)

analysis of job requirements (what skills are identified in the job description)

•  survey of personnel (what skills staff state they need).

Supervision and Evaluation

One of the key tasks of supervisors and managers is that of performance appraisal. This task involves evaluating performance, communicating that evaluation and establishing a plan for improvement. The ultimate outcomes of this process are a better event and more competent staff and volunteers.

Supervision and Evaluation

Integral to the appraisal system are rewards that paid staff receive in the form of salaries, bonuses, profit sharing, promotion to other jobs or other events and benefits such as cars and equipment use (for example, laptop computers). Options also exist to reward volunteers for their efforts. These include:

. training in new skills

. free merchandise (for example, clothing, badges, event posters). hospitality in the form of opening and closing parties, free meals/drinks . certificates of appreciation. opportunities to meet with celebrities, sporting stars and other VIPs

Supervision and Evaluation

. promotion to more interesting volunteer positions. public acknowledgement through the media and at the event. free tickets to the event.

Termination, outplacement and re-enlistment

Termination action may be necessary in instances where an employee breaches the employment contract (for example, repeatedly arriving at the workplace intoxicated) or continually exhibits unsatisfactory performance.

Outplacement is the process of assisting terminated employees (or indeed volunteers), or even those who choose to leave the event organization voluntarily, to find other employment.

Termination, outplacement and re-enlistment

With recurring events, such as annual festivals, opportunities often exist to re-enlist for paid or voluntary positions. Many staff from the Sydney Olympic Games, for example, took up positions within the organization responsible for the Athens Olympics. contact by telephone between events.

Termination, outplacement and re-enlistment

To maintain contact with potential volunteers and past staff between events, a variety of approaches can be employed, including newsletters (see, for example, the Manchester Event Volunteers website, www.mev.org.uk), social events, the offer of benefits for re-enlistment, and personal contact by telephone between events.

Evaluation of process and outcomes

to determine how well, or otherwise, the process is working, it is necessary to obtain feedback from relevant supervisory/management staff, organizing committee members, and paid and voluntary staff.

The California Traditional Music Society, for example, uses a questionnaire to obtain feedback from volunteers (Figure 6.10, p. 167).

Legal obligations

Employment law regulates how employers deal with their employees in terms of pay and conditions, and prevents discrimination in relation to race, sex or disability. This legislation generally sets out minimum rates of pay, and conditions such as annual leave and working hours.