How to Recruit Event Staff and Build a Talent Pool: A Guide for Event Managers

Choosing the right people for your event requires timing, talent, and even luck; building a sustainable talent pool is no easy feat either. But once you get the hang of these, the reward is a steady, dependable group of talented people who can support your events consistently without the constant need to start the hiring process from scratch.

In this blog post, we help you enhance your recruitment process and provide you with tips for creating and maintaining a sustainable talent pool. In the end, we also share with you an all-in-one event management app to ultimately streamline your processes and boost your productivity.

Who Are Event Staff?

Event staff are the individuals responsible for ensuring events run smoothly and efficiently. This workforce can include a range of roles, from security and hospitality personnel to technical support and event coordinators. Depending on the nature of the event, the exact staffing requirements may vary, but each role plays a critical part in delivering a seamless experience for attendees.

Event Staff Responsibilities

The responsibilities of event staff are as varied as the events they support. Here’s a breakdown of the key roles necessary for most events:

1. Event Planners and Coordinators 

These individuals manage the overall event from concept to execution. Their tasks include selecting venues, coordinating with vendors, and ensuring that everything aligns with the client’s vision.

2. Security Personnel

Focusing on maintaining safety and security at the event, security personnel need to manage access points, perform safety checks, and address any emergencies.

3. Catering Staff

Catering staff are the ones responsible for managing all food and beverage operations, from menu planning to service. They must also ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.

4. Technical Staff 

When it comes to anything tech-related at the event, the technical staff are in charge. They set up and manage audiovisual equipment, ensuring that presentations, sound systems, and multimedia run without issues. They also handle troubleshooting any technical problems that may arise during the event.

5. Volunteers and General Staff

In some events, particularly large-scale ones, volunteers or additional staff are welcomed or hired. They handle various non-administrative duties, including registration, attendee guidance, and assisting wherever needed. 

How to Recruit Event Staff

Recruiting event staff involves more than simply filling positions. To build a skilled and reliable team, you need to tailor your recruitment strategies to your specific event needs. Here’s a step-by-step approach that you can incorporate in your recruitment process. 

1. Identify the Event's Staffing Needs

First, outline the exact roles you need to fill. Consider the specific nature of the events you are organizing. For example, suppose you are an expert in organizing large music festivals. In that case, you may want to focus your recruitment efforts on hiring additional security and technical staff, while if you are an expert in organizing corporate events, you might want to hire more coordinators who have specialized skills in the professional field. Defining the roles early helps in sourcing the right candidates and matching them to the right positions.

2. Announce Hiring Strategically

Once you've identified the positions that need to be filled, it's time to publicize your hiring needs. This can be done through traditional methods such as banners, posters, publications, and radio and television advertisements. 

Alternatively, you could opt for digital platforms, using social and professional networks. In case you missed it, a significant majority (92%) of employers leverage these digital platforms for recruiting, making it the most popular strategy currently in use. This approach is favored over other methods, such as employee referrals, job boards, and classified ads. 

Furthermore, you may motivate your existing staff to recommend suitable candidates by offering incentives for successful referrals. For niche roles, consider contacting industry-specific associations or communities to directly reach a more targeted pool of talent.

3. Screen and Interview Applicants

Carefully screen resumes to ensure candidates possess the necessary qualifications and experience for the roles. For interviews, prepare role-specific questions that evaluate both technical skills and cultural fit. If you're hiring for specialized roles, such as AV technicians, include scenario-based questions to assess problem-solving skills.

Additionally, consider involving more than one interviewer to improve hiring results. According to a report, having three interviewers increased the odds of making the best hire to 63%. After interviews, conduct thorough reference checks to validate past performance and fit for your team.

4. Implement a Comprehensive Onboarding Program

Did you know that onboarding programs are considered a crucial component in retention strategies by 98% of CEOs and hiring managers?

Onboarding is a critical step that sets the tone for new staff members and enhances retention in the long run. Ensure that each employee understands their role within the larger event structure. In addition, consider providing role-specific training and shadowing opportunities with experienced team members to make the transition smoother for new hires.

How to Create and Sustain an Event Talent Pool

After recruitment, it’s time to create your event talent pool, but that shouldn’t stop there; you must be able to sustain it for the long run. Keep reading as we take you to the key steps in achieving these. 

1. Setup Your Talent Pool in a Secured and Centralized Database

After recruiting and onboarding, it's crucial to accurately record staff information in a talent pool. This should include their skills, experience, qualifications, and any other pertinent details that can help in managing and deploying your workforce efficiently. Each employee should have a detailed and complete profile for easy access and staff selection.

In addition to ensuring that your talent pool has all the necessary information about your staff, it's important to ensure that it is in a secured and centralized database. This will facilitate easy access and data management for current and future needs. By having a centralized location, you can streamline the process of updating records, monitoring staff performance, and planning for succession. It also enhances security measures, as sensitive information is stored in a single, secure location, reducing the risk of data breaches.

If you want to know more about centralized databases, make sure to check out this post on why you need a centralized database for your business.

2. Foster Staff Retention 

Building a sustainable talent pool requires more than just focusing on technical skills; it involves staff retention. To achieve this, consider providing continuous learning and growth opportunities like certifications or specialized workshops. Creating incentive programs that reward repeat staff, such as loyalty bonuses, recognition for outstanding performance, or offering leadership roles for those who show potential, can also help foster staff engagement and loyalty. Regular check-ins with staff to gather feedback on their experiences and using this information to improve your management processes can help in fostering staff retention as well.

3. Engage With Your Talents Year-Round

Keep your staff engaged even when there are no immediate events by sending newsletters, hosting webinars, or offering online training. This not only keeps your talent pool connected and informed about upcoming opportunities but also helps them feel that they are a valuable part of the team. It also builds a sense of community and loyalty, ensuring that your staff feels recognized and appreciated for their contributions, even during slower periods.

4. Keep Recruitment Efforts Ongoing to Ensure a Rich Pool of Staff Talent

Ongoing recruitment efforts are key to ensuring that you have a rich pool of staff talent at your disposal. This means constantly looking for fresh talent, even when you're not actively hiring. This way, you'll always have a strong and dynamic team ready for your events.

5. Leverage Technology for Efficient Talent Pool Management

It's a common misconception to think that effective talent management ends after creating a talent pool and engaging employees. In reality, it requires regular updates to the talent database to ensure all information is up-to-date and every employee is optimally deployed without oversight. Manually managing this can be tedious, but technology offers a solution. For example, StaffConnect streamlines this process, making it easier to maintain an accurate and efficient talent management system.

Build Your Talent Pool From Scratch and Keep It Organized With StaffConnect‍

StaffConnect's talent database is not only secure and centralized but also equipped with essential data management tools. StaffConnect allows users to set up custom profiles and log in to the system at any time to update details, and administrators can be notified if any important data, such as bank details, has been changed. Moreover, the system is equipped with custom ratings features to track staff professional development, as well as filter and search capabilities streamlining the task of locating the right staff for the available job.

But that’s not all; StaffConnect’s talent database is not the only feature that makes it a vital event management software. It offers more practical features such as white-label custom branding, event scheduling, GPS check-in/out, timesheets, invoicing, payroll, and more, making it your all-in-one event planning platform.

Start your journey towards greater efficiency and productivity; book your free StaffConnect demo here for more details.