COVER FEATURE |
|||
|
all the mistakes we make , we ’ d be in a much more effective and efficient space .”
Ops trends In terms of industry trends , Kiwanuka says the supply chain is still “ quite volatile ” and increasingly a challenge : “ If you look at the last few years of change in the supply chain , losing one of our sector ’ s big two contractors created a catalyst of disruption throughout the exhibitions industry .
“ Freeman ’ s decision to move its UK focus away from general contracting
|
had a huge , transformational knock-on effect . The repercussions are still felt .”
Kiwanuka also cites cost increases and resource shortages as the main challenges that Ops Nest members are facing . She says recent research has shown the sector has lost a huge amount of its “ middle layer experience ” which looks to be weaker than ever before . “ The focus within organisations on getting the revenue and people back in has been huge ,” she says . “ There needs to be some focus now on how that event is delivered . Especially since there are numerous challenges like tighter tenancies . The ops role has changed over the years and increased in specialist areas such as safety and now sustainability . Way back when I started , it was administrative and design-focused . It was quite logistics-heavy . People came in through the PA or admin route when the function wasn ’ t necessarily as big as it is now .”
Kiwanuka believes the additional required competencies , coupled with the fact there are more shows than ever before in event professionals ’ calendars , means the ops role is more difficult – despite the rise of digital .
Says Kiwanuka : “ The digital side should be a solution but quite often it ’ s a negative because it ’ s bombarding of information and it enables late communication of things . It ’ s starting to creak at the seams . The digital solutions
|
“ Our industry doesn ’ t have a plan for failure ”
in event ops are negligible . A lot of people are still relying on Excel spreadsheets and a paper to-do list to manage hugely complex workflows .”
Building a community Looking back to the days of Covid when Kiwanuka was forced to move her training courses online , she says the desire from the ops community has always been there . “ I saw how territorial us ops can be . I always thought that would be the reason we would never be a community . That ’ s why learning is at the heart of the Ops Nest – its about how we all get better in our own spaces .”
Earlier this year , the Nest partnered with HowNow Consulting to produce research for the community . Kiwanuka says : “ We ’ ve always relied on the narrative and conversation - having a gut feeling about where ops are at , but I ’ ve never seen any data apart from salary surveys that got into any detail . We ’ re going to commission this research every year so we get year-on-year fluctuations .”
Currently , she says there is a lack of investment in tech and people : “ Potentially some of these competencies , though currently sitting in the ops workspace , could or should be their own competency for example sustainability .
“ How can you be an
|
expert in feature design and production , exhibitor management and customer service , health and safety , scheduling , and then absorb something so big as climate change or accessibility – often without extra resource . Something needs to give .”
Looking forward , the Ops Nest has developed a new ESG programme called ‘ One Change ’. Kiwanuka says the aim is to take big-picture problems and “ break them down into bite-sized chunks to affect change ”.
“ What we ’ ve noticed in our conversations with people day in and day out is that there ’ s a lot of big challenges out there and little progression . People don ’ t know where to start or how to make an impact .”
Kiwanuka says the Ops Nest is focused on helping events professionals develop in four key areas : ‘ knowledge , network , experience and collaboration ’.
With 180 members , Kiwanuka says the Nest is in a strong place , with many big organisers onboarding their ops teams into the network . The Ops on Tour in December and the Ops Foundation in February have both sold out .
Away from the Nest , Kiwanuka is an advisory board member at Event Apprenticeships , helping to raise the profile of career opportunities . She says the long-term goal is to bring people into the industry who do not go through the academic route : “ We ’ re trying to open the industry up to social mobility and draw from a wider pool of people . Apprenticeships are essential for that .” EN
|
Winter — 15 |