This article is from Cvent and was published on February 21, 2020.
The stage is set, your agenda is ready and has been sent out to all your registrants. You’re ready to get the ball rolling… or are you? You can’t be sure how successful your event will be before it’s over. A last-minute crisis can leave you helpless. To avoid any last-minute event hiccups, use these important event planning checklists to remember before, during, and after the day of the event:
Event planning checklist: One week before the event
This checklist is prepared to ensure that all the services that you’ve requested are in place. The following event checklist is not exhaustive but covers all the important aspects that you should check at least a week before the event.
| Tasks | Comments |
|---|---|
| Have all appropriate contacts’ information handy | Keep it in a place where you can easily retrieve it, like your phone |
| Ensure all equipment is working and the quantity of any material ordered is correct, etc | |
| Recheck the schedule with the caterer | |
| If possible, set up registration area a day in advance | |
| Place parking and directional signs for attendees’ convenience | |
| Deliver all event-related material/equipment to the venue | |
| Check the weather forecast | |
| Be prepared to troubleshoot changes | Prepare plan-b and keep fillers ready for instances where the speaker doesn’t make it on time |
Event planning checklist: On the day of the event
This is the most stressful day for event planners. You’ve to arrive early at the venue and ensure that everything is set according to expectations. This checklist, in particular, should be created with the utmost care as you wouldn’t want to miss anything. Your on the day of the event checklist should be largely packed with one important mantra – check, re-check, and check again!
| Tasks | Comments |
|---|---|
| Do a last walk-through by arriving early | |
| Recheck vendor and AV set-up | |
| Make sure to carry the attendee list | |
| Ensure all speaker-related material is in place and you have the badge printers ready | Use on-demand badge printing to avoid typos and misspellings |
Event planning checklist: After the event
Once the event is over, comes the three important things to do – feedback, evaluation, and final communication. All three steps are vital to identifying event success and failures, which will help you in chalking out better plans for the next event.
| Tasks | Comments |
|---|---|
| Handle invoices | |
| Send thank-you emails | |
| Update all marketing assets such as websites | |
| Share pictures on social media | |
| Hold post-event meeting with key stakeholders | Prepare a preliminary post-event evaluation to report what went well and what needs improvement |
| Send post-event survey to plan your next event |
These are basic event checklists to help you prioritize your tasks before, during, and after the event. However, please remember, that these are generic event planning checklists that can be customized according to your event needs.
Good luck with your events!
Photo : Unsplash
