After years of virtual events, the demand for physical events is skyrocketing. We can feel it, can you? According to the statistics by AMEX, it has shown that 67% of event professionals believe in-person meetings will return to their pre-pandemic numbers within one to two years. Whether it is totally live events or hybrid events, the desire to meet in-person is very much there. Unfortunately, Covid-19 is still one of the most dangerous challenges for event planners as it has not absolutely gone away. In spite of the successful implementation of global vaccination or immunization programmes, infection rate is still on the rise in some nations.
As we look to the future of physical and hybrid events, the safety of every single person is the top priority. Thus, how can event planners safely return to physical events?
In this post, we highlight the top 5 considerations in which your physical event can be more safe. Let’s take a look.
- Rethink the event venue
Comprehending the rules and regulations about the venue where you are organizing your next event is one the most crucial things that you are supposed to consider. To ensure all participants feel comfortable, you must reassure the destination able to meet the guidelines of social distancing.
As things may change rapidly, you might also want to look for locations that provide flexibility, virtual site tours, and have clear regulations in place to guarantee that requirements for comfort and safety can be met. A contingency plan that tackles various Covid-related circumstances that can impact the conference should be discussed with the venue.
- Have a clear communication with attendees
Communication is a crucial component of your overall event safety strategy as it enables in managing expectations and preparing your attendees. The concern of lawsuits is one of the major ones. When attendees feel resentful or injured during the event, they tend to want to blame someone. Hence, this issue can immediately turn into a desire for legal action.
To ease the communication, you are suggested to use the most simplest and understandable language to communicate with your attendees. As a professional event planner, make sure that all participants follow all the safety precautions you have set as well as any rules or information they would need to be aware of before attending. For instance, remember to have onsite reminders even if you distribute communications via email or designate a dedicated page on the event website.
- Involve virtual elements
Technology and innovation has become the “key player” for the majority of meetings and events nowadays. With the advancement of technology, live streaming apps, event apps, digital video equipment and other new technologies have become the essential components for both virtual and hybrid events.
Creating a 3D virtual exhibit wall, tracking and monitoring attendees onsite are some new technologies used in virtual and hybrid events. By adding digital elements, it can
can retain the comfort of attendees while expanding the audience for and accessibility of your event.
- Understand the latest SOPs
Event professionals must be aware of the latest guidelines, requirements as well as limitations. It is very important being familiar with all those rules as some attendees may come anywhere across the globe. It is no longer enough if you are only following the regulations by the government.
All parties were in the dark when the coronavirus first hit. The only thing that event planners could do was to follow the SOPs by the government. However, the governments have made the decision to move the responsibility and duty for event safety on the shoulders of the event professionals as time has passed as well as the advancement of medical technology.
- Go Contactless and Touchless
During the pandemic of Covid-19, many planners placed a high priority on going contactless as well as touchless. The desire to be contactless and touchless is stronger than ever with the resurgence of physical events. In order to reduce the likelihood of transferring germs, it is essential to utilize touchless technologies.
Here are some matters to consider. In order to prevent physical contact with surfaces like screens that can readily harbor germs, think about implementing touchless payment methods like TNG eWallet, Grab Pay, Apple Pay and etc on the spot. In addition, one of the digital scanning technologies is another way to better handle walk-ins and crowds at registration counters. For example, you may allow the attendees to check into events by scanning a short QR code from their phone.
Conclusion
As we mentioned above, it is a big deal to manage events securely from a global pandemic. There is a lot for event specialists to consider and plan for the safe return to physical events. Therefore, let’s face it and deal with it together!
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