The responsibility of the event planners is to coordinate and organize various events like weddings, meetings, social and corporate events and make sure that it is carried out smoothly. Their work is to manage both large-scale and smaller-scale events. They might have to work at a national or international level while organizing conferences, workshops and seminars. At whichever level they are working, they have to ensure complete security, safety, and manage risk factors. They have to cope with all the problems that might arise during the course of an event. Some event planners also handle exhibitions and trade fairs. According to the type of the event and the company they are working with, they are assigned specific roles.
The exact work of an event planner is to plan the program and book the necessary items. Professional event planners do good research about the event before actually planning it. Their research includes finding the needs of the clients, visiting and booking the venue, and making the accommodations for their client if the event is held at a far away place. If the event demands audio-visual aids and a banquet facility, the event planner organizes it. Event planning also include promotion and publicity through various media. Preparation of a budget and managing the expenditure is the important responsibility of event planners.
Once the event is completed, the event planner evaluates the event, that is, whether it was successful or not. Afterward, he/she deals with the financial matter and evaluates the profit gained. The event planners work both indoor and outdoor depending on the event they conduct. Small-scale events are usually conducted indoor in hotels or halls. Outdoor events are generally held at parks, fields, specific centers of the town, etc. Wherever the event is held, the event planners should ensure that there is enough light, ventilation, and it is decorated excellently.
In order to enter the field, you need to take up a certificate course in event management like a post graduate diploma course or a plain diploma course in media or events. Courses in hospitality, tourism, business, and marketing are also relevant to event planning. A degree course from a reputed college can help you to get easy entry into this field.
Good inter-personal skills and a professional attitude are necessary to be an expert in the field. Firstly, an event planner should be ready to work away from home if required. He/she has to be imaginative, creative, and focused towards the task. Traveling, dealing with a number of things and meeting the deadlines to make the event successful can be quite exhausting. During such time, the event planners should be able to cope with the stress and manage and distribute the assignment tactfully. Since they have to deal with a wide range of people, excellent communication skills and good knowledge of various languages is very essential. To be a professional event planner, you need to be efficient, well-organized, and confident. You need to have good marketing, business, negotiation, problem solving, and project management skills. Knowledge about various technologies can be an added feature on the profile.
To work at a better post, it is important to have some basic training of organizing an event. Certain courses offer training as a part of the curriculum. However, by assisting a senior professional event manager in various functions and concerts, you can gain good first-hand experience.
Training to an event planner is on the events itself. An event planner may get to learn a lot of new ways and techniques of managing things or dealing with things in a different way. He/she may come to know about various new ways of planning and executing events.
The salary can vary depending upon the company you are working with and the role you play as an event planner. Certain companies offer incentives to their employees as a reward for excellent achievement.
To begin with, you can take up the role of an assistant event planner, and after gaining considerable experience, you can be given the position of senior event planner or coordinator. From this position, you can progress as event organizer or event manager. Further, you can aim at achieving the post at the directorial level. A professional event planner can be self employed and start his/her own event management company.
With complete dedication and commitment, you can fulfill your dream of being a professional event planner. However, along with it you also need to acquire the above mentioned skills and qualifications.
