What does an event manager do? Duties and responsibilities

Event managers typically organise and run business events for specific clients. These professionals frequently source suitable venues, advertise the planned events and perform additional tasks necessary to run an event smoothly and end it successfully. It's important to understand what an event manager does because business events are how a company can attract publicity, new clients and even new business partners. In this article, we examine what an event manager does by listing some of their responsibilities and the types of events they usually plan.
What does an event manager do?

As an event manager, you can expect to arrange and coordinate promotional, social and business events, such as launch parties, seminars and exhibitions. In this occupation, you are responsible for the smooth running of business events, which differ from the duties of party planners who generally organise functions such as birthday parties. A client usually hires an event manager to oversee the planning and running of their event, allowing the customer free time to attend to other responsibilities. This means that you typically work as part of a team to maintain and promote a brand's image and reputation.

What does the work environment of event managers look like?
As an event manager, you can expect to work in an office or an event venue, typically surrounded by your team. Event planning often requires you to travel extensively to meet with potential clients for event planning briefs, vendors who supply equipment and sponsors who often help fund these events. It is often also your responsibility to assess the suitability of venues. This means that the ability to drive and navigate public transport is helpful. Employers may ask you to present a driving licence in an interview.
Although event managers can also work as freelancers, this often requires experience. This is because some may find it challenging to generate business without the support of a larger organisation. Nevertheless, many event managers may decide to become freelancers, whether they are novices or leave larger organisations to start their own businesses.

What are the responsibilities of an event manager?
As an event manager, you may often work with many clients in a wide range of industries. Whilst the requirements may differ from one job to another, your responsibilities mainly stay the same. It's important to offer your clients consistent service. These responsibilities include:
Planning efficiently

Central to your occupation as an event manager is your ability to plan. You typically start a planning strategy by meeting with clients to discuss the specifics of the event. After the meeting, you can consolidate the client's key requirements into a brief. his brief allows you and your team to determine the location and time of the event, who is on the invitation list and how to implement the different phases. This often occurs according to a strict budget and timeline that the client sets out.
After deciding on these details, you can meet with your client again to present your proposal and obtain feedback. If the client is happy, you can move on to the implementation stage of the plan. It's important to address any client concerns before planning the event. You require resilience and negotiation skills to find the best possible solution that suits both you and the client.

Event managers typically adhere to specific requirements. For example, when planning a business seminar, you are responsible for checking whether the proposed venue meets the health and safety standards and if it's big enough for the intended number of guests. One example of how an event manager sets the tone for an event is adhering to health and safety regulations, which helps ensure that the business maintains a favourable reputation.
It's also important that you adhere to any legal requirements surrounding their event. For example, a declaration is typically necessary regarding the origin of the products and services available to attendees during a business exhibition to satisfy copyright requirements. Copyright infringements can lead to fines and legal challenges.
Promoting events.

As an event manager, you may often be responsible for promoting the events you plan. You can do this by liaising with your marketing team to produce a series of advertisements that attract people to the event.
For example, this may be a series of microtargeted social media ads that pop up when a professional private security guard scrolls through their feeds on their phone. This ad may get their attention, informing them of an exhibition devoted to innovative security equipment and methods planned for a particular date in their city. That security guard may attend the event accompanied by several interested friends in the security industry, indicating successful event promotion.

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