Since March 2020, this whole pandemic period has been a waiting game. Waiting for the mask-wearing era to pass, waiting for when we can feel safe again, and most importantly – waiting for when we can socialize and have fun with other humans without the anxiety of getting sick.
But the truth is, most of us are tired of waiting and want to get to a place where we can safely go back to hosting and attending in-person events. During our recent Pandemic Compliance and Safety at Live Events panel, we conducted a poll where
61% of respondents indicated they are hosting an in-person event in 2021 and 27% said they are trying a hybrid approach first.
Whether you want to dip your toe into organizing in-person events or are ready to dive into the deep end, the key is to prepare more than you have ever done before to ensure you can produce a safe event. Here are 10 signs to gut check if you are actually ready to host an in-person event.
#1. You’ve surveyed your audience.
“If you build it, they will come” is not applicable today given we all have varying levels of risk tolerance and fear in the global pandemic environment we are living in. You need to do your homework. Reach out to the audience you are targeting for the event (potential attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, staff, etc.), and get an understanding of their willingness to attend.
#2. You have a safety plan of action.
You have ensured your venue is “safe” with appropriate ventilation and distancing built-in to your site plan. You’ve made everything you can “contactless”. You’ve programmed your agenda to minimize large crowds. You also have a plan of action for mitigation if someone becomes ill, including an event shutdown plan, and procedure for isolation and system of quarantine. Additionally, you have a plan of action to deal with attendee or staff non-compliance and risk.
#3. You have a designated Pandemic Compliance Advisor.
Someone on your staff should serve as a Pandemic Compliance Advisor (PCA). The role of a PCA includes: ensuring the venue follows appropriate regulations, procure and distribute safety supplies, engage and educate staff, monitor local risk, and coordinate risk mitigation on-site. They are your pandemic compliance enforcement leader.
#4. You have an Event Safety Code of Conduct.
A code of conduct is a document that includes your event’s rules and regulations, including acceptable behaviors before, during, and after the event. The code of conduct also should reference your Terms and Conditions for attendees wherein you will outline limitations of liability. Having one is great, but requiring a digital signature of acknowledgment is a must to make it effective. Ensure your event registration solution enables you to do this. This code of conduct is largely what your PCA will be executing and enforcing. (Note: If you don’t know where to start and want to check out the sample/template we created, you can download it here.)
#5. You have an on-site health screening plan.
The CDC has a handy resource you can use as a guide of what to ask during the event’s on-site health screening of staff and attendees. Besides knowing what questions to include, you should also have a plan of how you will collect and record this data. Clip-boards and printed paper can easily introduce human error and additional manual work. Reduce high-touch points by having the health screening done during a contactless and paperless check-in to ensure only those that are “CDC approved” are actually checked into the event.
#6. You have instant emergency communication in place.
Whether it is COVID-19 related or a safety threat of some other kind, you need technology in place that enables you to instantaneously and effectively communicate with all or specific groups of attendees and staff. Email is easily ignored and in-app messaging is an option but only works for attendees that downloaded the app and enabled notifications – hence why we recommend implementing an SMS text messaging communication system for your event.
#7. You have a system to monitor masks.
Are you requiring attendees and staff to wear a specific type of mask? Are you requiring masks to be replaced every 8 hours? You should already have these types of questions answered before hosting your in-person event. Leverage technology to keep track of mask pick-up and exchange.
#8. You have a contact tracing plan.
Let’s say attendee John tests positive for COVID-19 during your event. Are you able to answer: Which rooms has he been in? Who else was in those rooms that could’ve been in contact with him? Now more than ever having technology that keeps track of when someone joins and leaves a room and which other attendees were in the room is going to be critical to assess the situation and take action. Your access control system needs to be upgraded to a contact tracing system.
#9. You have a staff, volunteer, and vendor tracking system.
Attendees register and check into your event, making you aware of who is on-site. However, managing staff, vendors, and volunteers, can get overwhelming and out of hand quickly, as these are the people that normally don’t get tracked. Ensure you have event technology in place that allows for tracking of certified and authorized personnel, including the ability to monitor daily staff changes for multi-day events.
#10. You have carefully reviewed your vendors’ contracts and understand your liability.
Any event vendor should have a terms and conditions section within their contract where it spells out that they will abide by the appropriate CDC rules and regulations around COVID-19. They also must have a clause where they indemnify you if you get sued due to their negligence (i.e. cover the legal costs). And lastly, we recommend requiring vendors to have insurance and to name your company or organization as an insured under their insurance policy.
If you’ve got all of these covered – nicely done and we wish you a safe and successful event! But if you found yourself adding more to your to do list, click here to learn how you can knock out most of these (especially signs #4 to #9) with our Event Safety Software.