Celebrating Excellence: KFA @ 20

 

 

According to Michael Fritsch, Udo Brixy and Oliver Falck in their paper titled  “The Effect of Industry, Region and Time on New Business Survival – A Multi-Dimensional Analysis”, “The survival chances of start-ups tend to be relatively low in industries characterized by a high minimum efficient size and high numbers of entries.” The paper also indicated that “Setting up a firm can be an arduous task. Entering a market and competing successfully is subject to severe uncertainty and requires diverse qualifications that are rarely united in one single person. As a result, a considerable proportion of new firms have to leave the market relatively soon with the result that in many industries, regions or years only a minority of the entrants is able to survive for a longer period of time”

 

In their hypotheses, it was elucidated that “Empirical studies have shown that new firms are characterized by a relatively high risk of failure during the first years of their existence. The main reasons for such a liability of newness are the problems of setting up an organizational structure and getting the new unit work efficiently enough to keep pace with competitors. This includes establishing business relations with suppliers, acquiring suitable personnel as well as gaining customers. Another reason for the relatively high vulnerability of new firms to closure is that quite often a certain time period has to be survived until the first profit is realized. Because new firms tend to start relatively small, the liability of newness may also be a liability of smallness (Aldrich and Auster, 1986).”

 

Coming from this background, it is not hard to find a reason to celebrate a firm that has survived 20 years in business. Congratulations KFA you have made us proud and given us a reason to succeed. Today KFA rolled out the drums, extending invitations to colleagues and friends in the event industry to join in their high octane celebration to mark the 20^th Anniversary of KFA Event Centre. I was invited but I missed the occasion so I am doing this piece as a tribute to the KFA family. Kudos to you all.

 

 

 

KFA runs an Event Centre located in the highbrow Lekki corridors of Lagos, among other event services businesses in its portofolio. Let me look at a few factors that have distinguished KFA as an event centre of choice

 

Ambience: The atmosphere inside KFA is exhilarating. Once inside the arena it will switch you quickly into a joyous mood. You will feel calm, relaxed and homely. The air conditioning is super while the environment is neat, clean and hygienic.

 

 

Space: The centre is spacious allowing the guest to seat comfortably while an event is going on. This gives you the latitude of luxury while eliminating the evasion of your private space.

Service: The quality of service is superb and you get treated like a celebrity. I have a feeling the management set a minimum standard of compliance for every vendor contracted to serve during events. The courtesy and smiles are there to smoothen your experience and make you want to come again soon.

Security: The facility is fenced and gated and every movement in and out of the premises is supervised and directed. The procedure in place effectively eliminates uninvited guests and imposes confidence on the guests.

Parking Space: The parking area is clearly marked and the security personnel direct the parking arrangement ensuring free movement of cars within the complex.

Interpersonal Relationship: There is this warm feeling of welcome you get on arrival and throughout your stay. This attitude is ingrained in all service personnel working in KFA. During the planning of this event for instance, guest were called personally and notified of the upcoming event. This was followed up with the delivery of the invitations with acknowledgement of receipts. Thereafter a follow up call was made to confirm attendance. Classic performance I must say.

Design: The event centre is well laid out. There are distinct service points for other vendors. The conveniences are clean, neat and well perfumed with friendly fragrance. The interior is well lit while the floor is adorned with beautifully patterned tiles.

Safety: This is also a top priority in the premises as well marked exits are visible. The doors are wide and emergency lighting installed at strategic places as a contingency to power failure before the generators are switched on. Also noticeable are fire extinguishers mounted freely for easy accessibility.

Aesthetics: Beauty they say is in the eyes of the beholder. In KFA event centre, every guest is a beholder because you cannot help but notice the appealing and cosy setting.

 

 

I can go on and on. But let me stop to say that these are some of the features that has endeared KFA event centre to the hearts of many customers. It is these same qualities that made them to overcome the high risk of failure that characterise many start-up businesses. And these same indices which they have built for the past 20years is what they are celebrating today (29^th Nov. 2015)

 

 

In signing off this article, I would recommend to aspiring start-ups and many existing event centres who want to grow in the business to learn one or two things from the KFA experience.

 

Congratulations once again.

 

NB: Kemi Adeleke can be reached on 08062795680, 07040434341. kfarentals@gmail.com.

Why Event Managers are Important

Have you ever had an event that you managed yourself? I mean for instance it is your birthday and you want to celebrate it in a big way and you became the DIY event manager for that occasion. Did you enjoy that event? Or did you end up totally stressed and fagged out at the end of the day? This is always the case if event planning and management is not left in the hands of the professionals. In this week’s discussion, I will try to elucidate the reasons why event managers are important.

 

1.    Service Vendors: The Event manager has a huge database of service vendors. This affords the customer the opportunity to choose the best out of the pack. In some cases the event manager may even advise on the best service vendor to use based on quality, quantity, budget and other discerning features.

 

2.    Cost Savings: See also economies of scale. Event managers because of repeated usage of the services of vendors may easily obtain discounts which can be transferred to customers. This enables you to save cost. A certain event manager was always renting at least 4000 chairs from a particular rental agency. Over a period the manger came and ordered 500 chairs and the rental agency get it the planner for free. The planner transferred this discount to the event owner and as result presented a lower quote for the job. It became a win-win situation for the business because both planner and the customer were satisfied.

3.    Reduced Stress: Engaging the services of an event manager reduces stress for the event owner. The burden of event setup and dismantling, venue design and decoration, vendor negotiation and monitoring, adherence to time line, quality and quantity checks, pilfering and many other challenges which usually introduce stress will be handled by the event manager.

4.    Enjoyment: Most people who manage their event themselves hardly enjoy the event. This defeats the whole purpose of the event since the owner is supposed to enjoy by having a good time with guests. So in other to derive maximum satisfaction from your event, it is good to take the back seat and let the professionals handle it.

5.    Celebrity: Be a celebrity and celebrate during your event. Don’t be caught running helter-skelter trying to make sure that things are going smoothly. Rather relax in the company of your guest and watch with satisfaction as everybody is served. If there are issues that need attendance, signal the event manager and action will be taken immediately. Of course this will afford you the opportunity to rate the services of the event planner.

6.    Mistakes: There are basic mistakes which a Do-it-yourself (DIY) planner may commonly overlook. It is the duty of the professional planner to ensure that these mistakes are avoided. There was an event which I attended some time ago, it was a house opening occasion which required the cutting of tape to usher people into the new home. Unfortunately at the time of cutting the tape, there was no scissor to cut the tape. This was an embarrassing moment because it took a while before the DIY brought a razor blade which was used for the tape cutting. Issues like this can be simple but may cause bottlenecks.

7.    Trends: Things change every day and these changes in trends are noted by the event planner. The owner benefits from this knowledge and this contributes towards the hosting of a pleasant event for guests and the environment.

8.    Coordination: The event planner is a seasoned coordinator. Based on experience in the field, they are able to organise things better to ensure that all the timelines are met. Sometimes there are troublesome issues such as meeting with government agencies to get permits, these type of activities are quickly handle by professionals who already have a working relationship in these government agencies.

9.    Concepts:  You will benefit from the experience of the event planner in implementing tested and trusted concepts. These concepts might be in event program design, invitations, marketing, publicity or social media.

10. Event Marketing: Planners can play a key role in event marketing. They can help to source sponsors, speakers, media professionals and many other people that will help to make your event a success.

11. Standards: You can trust the managers to bring their wealth of experience to bear on your event by ensuring that the highest possible standards are kept in terms of catering hygiene, environmental cleanliness, health facilities, Security, safety and ambience.

12. Quality: Many people compromise on quality and in the process offend their guests. The planner understands the need for quality and ensures that maximum possible quality is obtained at the available budget.

13. Quantity: This is also a big issue where a DIY is not familiar with the measures that are obtainable. This will lead to the DIY being short changed and spending more in the process. The planner will use experience to obtain the right quantity at the best cost thereby saving money.

14. Economies of Scale: According to Wikipedia “In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to size, output, or scale of operation, with cost per unit of output generally decreasing with increasing scale as fixed costs are spread out over more units of output”. This is of very huge importance because by using the services of an event manager you will be tapping into their economies of scales thereby saving cost on all fronts.

Celebrating Event People

Celebrating Event People

 

In every profession and in many other thing in life people are celebrated, acknowledged or given awards in recognition of their expertise, excellence, performance or achievement. Celebrating people may also be a form of motivation to promote or encourage good service, participation, accomplishment or a deed.

 In the event industry, there are several allied services performed by different people and organizations. It is therefore apt for the industry regulator or the umbrella body of the profession to create a platform for recognising excellence in the vocation.

 Personally I would suggest the following awards

Event Manager of the Year: This award should be given to the individual who has managed the highest number of events in a year. Efficiency, Vendor management, Coordination of activities, Budget and Cost Management, etc. are some of the factors that should be used to measure this award.

Event Company of the Year: This award goes to the company that has managed the most events in a year. The factors that should be used to measure the winner of this awards should be the same with that of the Event manager of the year however it should be viewed from the company perspective.

Decorator of the Year: This award will be won by the decorator who has the best designs. Floral arrangement, colour mixing and matching, timeliness, setup and dismantling, etc. are some measurement criteria that can used to determine the winner.

The Best Event Centre: The event centre of the year will be won by the venue that hosts the most events. Neatness, Cleanliness, Ease of parking, ambience, security, safety, are other factors that may considered in giving this award

Caterer of the Year: The best caterer can be measured in terms of ability to provide variety of dishes, service equipment, neatness of service personnel and cleanliness. Other considerations could include quality of food served, Coordinated serving of guests, setup and dismantling, etc.

The Best Security Outfit: This award may be determined in terms of the company that has the most effective presence. Other equipment such as radio communication, dressing, courtesy, discipline may also be considered.

The Best Ushering Company: This award should be won by the ushering company who displays the best courtesy, dressing, manners, smartness, neatness, etc. The number of events should also be take into consideration.

The Best Rental Company: This is a company that will provide rentals for most of the items needed to host an event. It should be like a one stop shop for event requirement. Response time, setup speed, dismantle pace, neatness of equipment are some factors that should be considered.

Best Event Connoisseur: This is the best company in terms of serving drinks. The criteria here will include service equipment, setup and dismantling, ability to serve the drinks at the right temperature, neatness or service personnel, etc.

The awards can be further segmented or categorized in terms of the following

ü  Number of Guests: Using this as a criteria for segmentation could be achieved by grouping together events that have guests from 0 to 500, 500 to 2,000 or 2,000 and above.

ü  The Type of event: Categorization here may require grouping events as corporate, social, and professional, etc.

 

 

Event Management Certification

Event Management Certification

 What is Certification?

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization (Wikipedia). It is the “Formal procedure by which an accredited or authorized person or agency assesses and verifies (and attests in writing by issuing a certificate) the attributes, characteristics, quality, qualification, or status of individuals or organizations, goods or services, procedures or processes, or events or situations, in accordance with established requirements or standards. (businessdictionary.com)

One of the most common types of certification in modern society is professional certification, where a person is certified as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination and/or the completion of a program of study.

 What is Event Management?

I will present two definitions from Wikipedia and eventeducation.com.

“Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of large scale events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. It involves studying the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually launching the event” (Wikipedia).

 “Event Management is the process of analyzing, planning, marketing, producing and evaluating an event. It is a different way of promoting a product, service or idea. If an event is managed efficiently and effectively, it can be used as a very powerful promotional tool to launch or market a product or service. Events Management requires certain core values to be deployed to every element, process and decision to justify professional approach and achieve effective and efficient results” (Eventeducation.com)

 

These two definitions tend to agree on what Event management is all about.

 Defining Event Management Certification

Abstracting from the definitions of Certification and Event management it therefore means that Event management certification is the confirmation by an accredited authority that an individual or an organisation has the necessary qualification and experience to manage an event.

There are various agencies, associations, Organisations and bodies who offer this certification. The acceptance of these certificates as a valid means of proving the capability of an individual as an Event manager varies from country to country and from organisation to organisation.

 Is Certification Important?

This is recurring question. It has been argued that getting a certification does not really make you an event manager however that the experience is what makes you an event manager. So the issue of which one comes first now begs to be resolved. As a person seeking a career in the event management profession you may be torn between getting the experience first before certification and getting the certification first before the experience. It is a chicken and egg situation as some school of thoughts have also reasoned that you can only get certified on something you already know while it is also possible for you to learn and obtain knowledge on something new in order to enable you become certified. The acceptable course work and duration for this to be done is still not clearly defined.

The truth however is that you do not require any specific qualification to become an event manager or planner. The basic set of skills which you need to have or acquire include but not limited to:-

ü  Organizational Competences

ü  Good Interpersonal skills

ü  Attention to details

ü  Diligence

ü  Mission Critical abilities

ü  Timeliness

ü  Creativity

ü  Innovativeness

ü  Note taking and meticulousness

ü  Passion

ü  Team Player

ü  Cool, Calm and Never Panic disposition

ü  Flexibility

ü  Ability to improvise

 

So to answer the question, Yes certification is important however experience is required to make you a good event manager.

 Nigerian Perspective

In Nigeria, there is no accredited or authorized Event Management certification body to the best of my knowledge. Many event managers and planners have qualifications in diverse disciplines. Some began event management service out of their passion while others acquired the experience due to their exposure in employment.

A few people who dabbled into the profession have gone ahead to acquire training and knowledge through apprenticeship, attending workshops, seminars, project management courses, etc.

Generally Event Management is yet to be accepted as a profession in Nigeria because it is still an all comers affair. However the Association of Professional party Organisers and Event Managers of Nigeria (APPOEMN) has taken the bull by the horn to professionalize Event management and bring in some level of structure and discipline into the practice of event management in Nigeria. APPOEMN is driven towards becoming the accredited authority on event management in Nigeria.

Conclusion

The good thing is that all over the world the event management profession is developing rapidly. It has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Several efforts are being made to professionalize the industry and make it an attractive career. A quick search on the internet will reveal a lot of certification programs and a few degree courses geared towards event management. Just like any other profession, the real knowledge of event management does not lie with getting the certificate, experience is a vital. As a career startup, getting the certificate is a good way to begin.