Performance Management for Events

Performance Management for Events

 Definition

Performance management is referred differently, depending on the organisation. It may be called Performance Appraisal, Quality Performance Review (QPR), Employment Appraisal, Performance Review, etc. It can be defined as a method by which the work or job performance of an individual, an organization, a business, a project or an event can be measured  in terms meeting set targets of quality, quantity, cost, and time.

Practice

Most organisations measure their performance using Key Performance Indicators (KPI). It is important to identify what is your KPI. The reason for this is that we have many indicators which we can use to measure how we have performed in a given task. The task here is to identify what objectives we want to pursue and how we can measure our progress in achieving this objective. There are both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Quantitative measures bothers on identifying tangible objectives which can be described in terms of figures, numbers, size, etc. It could be cost, frequency, magnitude, etc while qualitative measures bothers on intangibles qualities like attitude to work, interpersonal relationship, integrity, honesty, knowledge of work, customer satisfaction, etc. It can only be measured subjectively.

My experience in this area is worth mentioning. I started work about 25years ago in one of the old generation financial institutions and worked there for about 3years before leaving. I never heard about performance appraisal, I was not appraised and nobody told me about that. Looking back I ask myself, what kind of performance management system did they have in place then? How did the institution measure its success?

Next I moved to another financial institution where I worked for 10years and the situation was not better. Yes in the new place there was a system in place and looking back again I cannot see how that system related to my work and how it helped to improve the company performance. I never for once knew what the overall company target was.

It was not until I moved to a multinational company, that I became fully aware of a world class performance evaluation process modelled after the International Balanced Score card. The system in place was fantastic and everybody drives it starting from the Managing Director to the least employee. Part of the employee on boarding process is the introduction to the performance appraisal system and its implication on your career and the company as a whole. Every year the global target of the company is defined and handed down to top level management who in turn cascades it down to the least employee.

My advice to organisations is to embrace a performance appraisal system that’s presents itself as a work tool for the company and the employees.

Setting Targets

In other to conduct a good performance evaluation, you must have the skills and capability to set proper targets.

There is a popular acronym which is used to guide people in target setting. It is called S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time bound). Any plan, objective, target, etc must be SMART.

Specific: A target, plan, objective or goal, which ever word you want to use in referring to it must be specific. For instance you can set a target to generate a revenue of N1m. This is specific target because the amount you want to generate as revenue is clearly stated. Avoid setting goals that are open ended.

Measureable: The ability to measure and monitor your goal is very critical to achieving the result.  Therefore once you set a target, you must indicate how you want to measure it. Hence in the goal setting example used earlier, it can be measured through the profit and loss account report. If this measure is not in place you will have no way of determining when you have generated this revenue and therefore risk the danger of eroding your working capital.

Achievable: This is also a very relevant aspect of any KPI or target setting. We cannot have a wish list or a dreamer’s target. If you are doing a business and the entire capital you have invested in it is not up to N200, 000.00, you cannot set a target of making N100m revenue. No you cannot. Where will it come from? Are there structures on ground to support the generation of this revenue?  No these things do not work that way. You have to set a realistic target and work towards achieving it. Gradually you can set a 2-4year plan to drive up your revenue.

Realistic: A target that is not realistic is not achievable. You cannot set a bogus target. A target must be supported historically with facts and figures. You cannot make a profit of N1m in one year then the next year, you set a target to make N200m. That sounds impossible. To set this type of target there must be evidence that you have received new investments that will enable you to generate this expected revenue. So we have to examine our available resources, review our performance over the years and from there draw a realistic target.

Time Bound: Any target or plan that does not have the time frame within which to achieve it is not worth it. Plan must not be open ended. You must define a certain time frame, to achieve this target. It can be one year, 6 months, 1 months, 1 day, etc depending on the target. When a target or plan is not time bound, you cannot monitor it effectively. You cannot determine your progress and if you are not meeting that plan, you will not have the capability to correct it.

 

The SMART acronym seems to favour quantitative measures. There are some qualitative measures that figures cannot easily be assigned to. For instance to determine customer satisfaction is not a straight forward quantitative measure. In this type of assessment, a survey-like approach becomes necessary.

 

Event Management Perspective.

In applying the rules I have listed above in measuring the performance of an event, we may have to lean more towards the qualitative than quantitative assessment. In an occassion, what specific targets can we set? What can we measure? What realistic achievement do we expect? How do we hope to realise it and what time frame are we looking at?

 

Indeed the event owner, manager or service vendors may set up quantitative targets to measure cost (expenses), revenue, number of attendees, etc. However to measure the feeling of attendees or participant has to be qualitative. And one sure way to assess qualitative performance is through the use of surveys.

 

Qualitative perceptions are silent killers for most businesses. A customer, participant, attendee may have some unfulfilled expectation which is not captured. This is a loose cannon because that person can be anywhere in the next minute narrating his or her experience. This could go viral in these days of internet where things circulate with almost the speed of sound.

 

In event performance management therefore it becomes imperative that managers and planners must have a qualitative feedback mechanism in place to capture exceptions and work towards course correction. One sure way to do this is to administer surveys to a cross section of attendees, participants, trainees, etc.

 

Below is a sample survey that can administered to an event audience.

 

In concluding, my advice to event managers and organisers is to take the issue of measuring the performance of their events to the next level. The overall aim should be to deliver improving attendee experience with every event.

 

Traffic Management During Events

 

 

Issues with Traffic Management during events

 

Vehicular movement and parking arrangement during occasions are some aspects of event management which may create a lot challenges for managers, servicing vendors, participants and attendees if it is overlooked.

The Event venues, centres, places or locations are reputed to be the major causes of traffic build-up and gridlock around their vicinity. Traditionally in Nigeria, we have the practice of using public roads, open spaces or people’s homes as event centres. When this happens, a section of the road may be blocked thereby hindering traffic flow. This habit has been the order of the day and event owners and managers sometimes and not always may obtain necessary government permit to close a section of a road for an event.  Although government at different levels especially the local councils see this as a way of generating revenue, however they do not put all the necessary arrangement in place to alleviate the suffering that the other road users will encounter during these events. Neither does the event owners and managers make adequate arrangement too. The resultant effects becomes the inconvenience of other tax payers and road users. This is a very key consideration for event managers and must be factored into the planning of the occasion.

The trend of hosting events along the roads, people’s homes or open places, seems to be fast receding with the springing up of ultramodern event centres everywhere. Despite that the traffic jams that are associated with it still lingers on, in some instances.  This is so because the building of these event centres is not regulated. As such proper planning is not put in place to take care of adequate parking spaces for cars, vehicular and pedestrian movement within and around the vicinity. Hence, the trend of event attendees and service vendors parking cars and trucks indiscriminately on the streets, obstructing free flow of movement and the consequent chaotic traffic situation continues unabated.

For event managers therefore, this is an area which tasks their organizational competence so much. The manager has to provide transportation Logistics and convenience for attendees and servicing vendors. Overlooking this assistance may throw a spanner into the manager’s wheel of works. Most often, it is important to have a check list of things that must be done in this area. The list may include but not limited to

  i.            Hiring traffic police, State Traffic Management Authority, Man O ’War, or any other approved paramilitary outfit or security agency to help in the control of traffic.

ii.            Map out a designated parking area with slot markings.

iii.            Provides proper and visible directional signs and road markings

iv.            Deciding on the parking style (straight, reverse or forward) to ensure that attendees can drive in and out in freely.

 v.            Reviewing and discussing the parking arrangement with the traffic controllers and the other contractors.

vi.            Getting the necessary permit from the appropriate authorities.

vii.            Dignitaries may need to be dropped by their drivers on the red carpet, how this will be controlled must be preplanned.

viii.            Physically challenged attendees will need special handling and must be pre-arranged.

ix.            Flight arrangements including airport pick up and drop off must be made if needed.

 x.            Include traffic arrangement, road mapping and directions as part of the invitation packaging.

 

On the part of the government agencies that supervise traffic control and generate revenue through the issuing of permits for the use of public facility for the hosting of an event, there are also some responsibilities too. This may include but not limited to the following

1.      Ensuring that the Event manager is a certified professional properly registered with Association of Professional Party Organizers and Event Managers of Nigeria (APPOEMN) or any other recognised professional body

2.      Providing proper receipts, permits and clearance to enable event service vehicles and trucks to move freely without hindrance and harassment from public officials.

3.      Working with the event managers to map out alternative routes for other road users and parking arrangement in places where the hosting of an event might create traffic issues.

4.      Participate in the planning and building of event places to integrate vehicular control, parking and pedestrian movement as part of the environmental design.

5.      Monitor the traffic situation before, during and after an event to ensure compliance to plan.

6.      Intervene immediately with plan B if things are not working accordingly.

 

I am confident that if these tips are applied by every stakeholder during the event planning and execution, we will come out with better experience for attendees and general public.