OCTOBER | NOEA COLUMN
Who looks after the people
who look after the people?
At its core, this is
a people industry,
says NOEA CEO
Susan Tanner
I
f events are about anything,
they are about people;
bringing them together in
celebration, memory, in shared
interests or communities, tribes
and fan groups. The wonder of a
great event is in bringing people
together of every shape and size.
One of the difficulties in
bringing together in such large
numbers, is that people are by
their nature unpredictable.
Increasingly the industry is
wrestling with the idea of
control, responsibility and even
liability when it comes to the
actions of people when bought
together in large numbers. I
was talking this week with
some colleagues in the industry,
about the size of many events.
Some are so large they can be
equated to large towns, with
all the positives and negatives
that come with it. The industry
needs to understand its place in
the safety of these people, and
how much event organisers can
be accountable for them or their
actions.
That is just one of the
themes we’ll be addressing at
this year’s NOEA Convention,
taking place again in Bath, 27th
November. Not only are we
looking at the responsibilities
of organisers within their own
event campus’s, but also their
responsibilities to guests as
they arrive and leave the event;
the so-called exclusions zone or
zone X.
We’re looking at what happens
when the event loses control of
its audience, what happens if
things go wrong, and who looks
after who. What happens if
bigger forces such as the police
need to take control of a site.
Equally, we can’t wait to have
Bev Osborne back from Training
4 Resilience, who will be running
another workshop which will
put our own delegates right in
the middle of a storm!
But we’re also looking at who
looks after the people who look
after the people. I’m constantly
mindful of the fact that people
who run events do so because
of their talents in organisation,
“What we’re not looking at is how
well trained these people are in
dealing with, well … people”
production, entertainment,
working with partners etc.
These talented individuals
are then in turn supported
by volunteers and additional
staffing, again these people are
chosen because of their passion
for the outdoor events industry
Perhaps what we’re not
looking at is how well trained
these people are in dealing with,
well … people. Not just on a day
to day basis, greeting people
with a smile and knowing where
the toilets are, but when things
go wrong, when the pressure is
on and emotions are running
high. We put ourselves, and the
people that work with us, under
a huge amount of pressure. Can
they really be ready for this?
We’re delighted to have a
number of event professionals,
and some real experts in mental
health & wellbeing, join us to
look at how we look after the
people whom we entrust our
audiences to. How good are
we really as an industry when
it comes to showing due care
to our staff? In my opinion, as
ever with this industry, our
ideas and our intent are just
and well thought through,
however in this age of increased
understanding of mental health
and wellbeing, maybe there is an
added layer of professionalism
needed.
I’m really looking forward to
hearing what others have to say
on this as well, and in hearing
NOEA members, and those new
to our association, talk about
this important subject. It’s going
to be another informative and
challenging day, and I hope to
see many of you there.
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