Operations
Operational understanding
EN editor Saul Leese kicks-off a new series of interviews,
starting with CloserStill Media’s (CSM) operations director,
Julia Danmeri, to try and understand the daily challenges
that operations teams face across the exhibition industry
D
anmeri has a strong history
in operations and has been at
CSM for nine years. Before that, she
worked for four years at Emap and
UBM respectively. She stumbled on
events after working for a year in the
Dominican Republic and returned
almost penniless, and sent her CV to
just about anyone that may consider
taking her. Office Angels got her an
interview with EMAP in Croydon, and
the rest is history.
What are the top ten challenges people
working in ops face?
1. Budgets: We’re
responsible for a
significant proportion of
the event budgets so we’re
under constant pressure
to keep costs as low as possible, in
order to improve profitability whilst
also delivering good quality events.
It can be difficult to strike a balance
and also achieve a good result for all
parties. It does, however, encourage
creativity as you have to think about
a feature, floorplan, etc. designs in
order to manage budget constraints.
2. Sustainability: There is a struggle
between sustainability versus
cost. It seems to cost money to
save the planet! At times, few
green alternatives exist, and it can
be difficult to afford the greener
alternatives even when they are
available. However, this also
encourages creativity, e.g. you
have to plan on reusing kit where
possible.
3. Managing show teams: Operations
is the link between all departments
as well as exhibitors, and it can
34 — March
be challenging to juggle
everyone, and extract the
information you need,
as well as managing
expectations. You have
to adapt depending on who you’re
dealing with in order to get the best
out of people. Operations are known
for being patient, understanding and
rational, which can sometimes be
challenging, especially when you’re
under pressure yourself. You also
need to make sure you are regarded
as part of the core team and not just
a support function.
4. Well-being: The hours are long
and pressures are high in the
run up to any event, particularly
when juggling multiple events.
It’s important to find the balance
between getting the shows done
without pushing yourself over the
edge. Ops aren’t typically great at
taking sick days when they should
as there’s a real attitude of the show
must go on, but looking after your
health is important as is work/life
balance.
5. Exhibitor journey: Exhibitor
contact with ops normally
intensifies a few weeks pre-show
which is an incredibly short
timeline, and makes it difficult to
provide the quality of customer
service you want. How do you
engage them earlier and encourage
them to submit all necessary
paperwork within deadlines? It’s
important to ensure we’re abreast of
technology as advances can make
the exhibitor experience more user
friendly and streamline services.
6. Tenancies: Making the most of the
time we can afford and ensuring we
manage the space safely
and effectively. It’s
always been a challenge
balancing the time
contractors say they need
versus time the venue has available
versus budget constraints.
7. Integrating new show teams: It’s
important to ensure that teams
that come with acquisitions are
integrated fully into the team to
ensure we are all following the same
processes where necessary and that
our standard working practices
are adhered to without becoming
onerous for the country we’re
working in e.g. H&S paperwork
requirements vary from country to
country.
8. Problem solving on the go: We
manage a lot of people onsite so it
can be hard to keep track of last-
minute onsite requests let alone
dealing with any crises/issues that
arise in enough time to get them
resolved.
9. Staff: It can be difficult to find
good quality staff with the correct
experience as well as the language
knowledge that you require. You
often have to compromise between
knowledge and language skills.
10. Supplier sourcing: When launching
new events outside the UK it can be
difficult to find good quality, reliable
and customer friendly
suppliers who offer the
right prices. Ideally, the
suppliers need to be local
as they have a better
knowledge of the venue
and country operations, as
well as speaking the local language.
However, they’re not tried and
tested, so it can sometimes be a risk.
The April issue of EN will cover
operational budgets, with ideas that will
make life easier for everyone working in
operations.