Event Management in Australia: the Dos and Don’ts

Successful event management in Australia can result in events that linger in the minds of concert-goers, festinos, wedding guests, conference delegates long after the event has passed.

The same can be said of failed events! So how to navigate your way to the former? We present a list of Event Management in Australia: the Dos and Don’t’s.

Do

Delegate

If you try to run an event single-handedly, you will soon drop all the balls. A successful event manager or planner knows that sharing the load means less mistakes are made. Rather than micro-managing, upskill and trust good team mates and employees to shine in their particular area. Team work makes the dream work!

Have an end goal in mind

When faced with planning and managing an event, it helps to have vision and an end goal of what you want to achieve.

If you start without knowing how you want the event to look like at the end, you are likely to get side-tracked by the details and not have a full understanding of all the moving parts needed to achieve the whole experience.

Be organised

Get the clipboard, use the spreadsheets, make the lists. Tick off your tasks and manage your team in an organised and efficient manner and you will find things fall into place a lot smoother. Being organised means you control the event rather than lurching from crisis to crisis.

A hallmark of event management is that there are so many details to take care of, from venue to suppliers to traffic and even weather, so being organised is an absolute necessity in this industry.

Keep the spark alive

Due to the long, often anti-social, working hours and stress in the lead up to events, a career in event management may leave you at risk of burnout.

Remember why you chose a career in event management – the excitement of events, the memories you are creating, the exhilaration of successfully pulling off the extraordinary – and use this memory to pull you through the hard times.

Study further

While there are success stories about people who have fallen into a career in event management in Australia and risen to the top, the chances of this happening in a crowded and competitive job market are slim.

Rather hedge your bets: if you think you would like a career in event management, get a degree or diploma behind your name.

A reputable degree, such as the ICMS Bachelor of Event Management, not only makes your resume stand out from the rest, but the grounding that a career-focused education, combined with built in work experience thanks to the ICMS Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program gives you, will give you the skills and knowledge to hit the ground running and fly through the ranks of the event industry.

If you are already in the industry but want to upskill, a postgraduate qualification, such as the ICMS Master of Event Management or ICMS Graduate Certificate in Event Management, takes you even further along your career path, taking you from better than the rest to being the best.

Don’t

Leave things to the last minute

If you let event planning get away from you, you may find yourself hosting a failed event where things don’t arrive on time, the venue is too small or too large, the sound doesn’t work, the caterers are confused… the list of what can go wrong is endless!

Start planning as early as you can to avoid as many human errors as possible. Of course, things can still go wrong, but if they do, if you have planned well ahead of time, at least you will have a contingency plan!

Leave things to chance

Leaving things to chance opens you up to things going horribly wrong. Keep a tight rein on your planning – and budget – so you can keep the event management and planning as controlled as possible.

Be discouraged

No matter how prepared, organised and efficient an event manager or planner is, sometimes elements out of your control will cause an event to flop. Move on, move forward, and don’t be discouraged. Events come and go, some will be winners, some failures, but there is always another event on the calendar to look forward to and improve on.

Be encouraged by the opportunity to do better next time, and encourage your team to be positive.

Think small

Even if you are planning or managing a small event, don’t think small. See where you can deliver more than what is expected, exceed expectations and raise the bar. Every event is an opportunity for you to showcase ingenuity, creativity and your flair for creating memorable and exciting events.

ICMS can help you do the dos and avoid the don’ts

As an event management professional, you want to avoid having your name, or your company’s name, associated with an event that has failed.

Recently, Splendour in the Grass 2022 became known more for a lack of contingency plans after heavy rain in the area than for the fun the program promised.

If you believe you have what it takes to forge a successful event management career in Australia and beyond, at ICMS, we believe in you too! Experienced lecturers and event industry professionals are on hand to support you in your journey towards event management career success.

“ICMS has experienced teachers in the events industry, all of whom have created and managed events.  Also the lecturers are connected to current events and event companies, both here and overseas. We are a part of the international events network,” ICMS Sessional Lecturer and Events Development Specialist William O’Toole said.

For more information on the ICMS Bachelor of Event Management, click here.

Postgraduate: For more information on ICMS Graduate Certificate in Event Management, click here.

Postgraduate: For more information on the ICMS Master of Event Management, click here.

For more information on the Aspire Diploma of Event Management, which is a standalone qualification or a pathway to an ICMS degree, click here.