While the pandemic meant that most event planners had to move toward virtual or online platforms, live events aren’t a remnant of the past. Still, planning a live event these days requires quite a bit of planning that wasn’t necessarily a part of your pre-COVID event checklist—and a higher level of awareness by those who aim to keep their attendees, speakers, vendors and staff safe. The 2022 Event Safety Guide is a great place to start if you’re planning on hosting a live event in the near future.
What is the 2022 Event Safety Guide?
The 2022 Event Safety Guide for in-person events is a downloadable resource that gathers all the knowledge accumulated from the Pandemic Compliance & Safety at Live Events virtual series hosted by Event Farm. The goal of the guide is to provide information to event planners on how to hold a safe and effective event in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Top 10 Highlights from the 2022 Event Safety Guide
While we know that event planners who download this free resource take away numerous tips, we wanted to provide a “sneak peek” to help you grab some of the highlights—straight from the Guide itself.
1. Select your Safe Space (Location and Venue)
For those planning a live event while a pandemic is still in full force, having a “safe space” can mean something totally different, but in this instance we should talk about how you go about choosing the safest place—by both location and venue—to host your guests. Fortunately, in the Guide you’ll find no shortage of tools and tips to go about doing just that, from the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planner and the GBAC STAR Facility Directory, to the top questions you should be asking your venue to ensure you are starting your event off on the right foot.
2. Lock down Your Contracts
In a world where liability matters, it’s important that you know who is liable, and for what, in the case of something happening. Fortunately, much of this can be mitigated by a locked-tight contract that spells out the liability for you and your vendors, in case something happens. Similarly, you’ll want to ensure that you are covered under some sort of liability policy as added protection.
3. Test Smart (COVID Tests)
To mitigate virus spread, testing for the presence of the COVID-19 virus and its variants should be part of your plans. For that reason, it’s important that you understand the two main types of tests, and the guidelines within which they operate.
4. Capture (And Log) Test Results
Asking for COVID testing and vaccination status is easy; verifying it is less so. Fortunately, Event Farm and CLEAR Health Pass help ease that burden for event providers, giving you the confidence to safely bring people together in-person and allowing for an easy check-in process. Additionally, the Guide can help you think through compliance, HIPAA, and much more.
5. Engage a PCA
Setting guidelines on behalf of the safety of your guests is a great idea, but those guidelines only work if you ensure they are being followed. For that reason, consider engaging a Pandemic Compliance Advisor (PCA), someone who can ensure that all your connection points—from the venue all the way down to your attendees—stick to the path you set out for them. More than that, a fully-engaged PCA can also be your point-person for education, on-site problem solving and risk mitigation, as well.
6. Create a Safety Code of Conduct
A Safety Code of Conduct can be a great first step to getting everyone involved on the same page. Not only should it include the rules and outline acceptable behavior, but also spell out (in plain language) where your liability begins and ends. As an added precaution, add this information to your registration setup as a way for attendees to acknowledge that they have read and agree to it. Need help creating one for your event? No worries; we provide a sample link in the guide.
7. Create a Safety Plan of Action
Once you have an established code of conduct, it’s equally as important to reinforce it. In addition to your PCA, enroll a team member or two to know your plan inside and out, and be able to back it up, as well as be aware of any Event Guidelines put out by the CDC, as well.
8. Communicate Often and Clearly
Once you have all the parameters in place (your Code of Conduct, testing guidelines, and all that) communicating it clearly is of vital importance to help manage those expectations. Then, once your attendees hit the event space, clear, direct signage and consistent communication by staff can help reinforce those expectations.
9. Create an Emergency Communication Plan
In case of non-compliance, a positive COVID test or other unfortunate events, it’s important to have immediate communication access to anyone associated with the event—from staff to vendors, exhibitors and attendees. Bottom line? Whatever marketing or event platforms you use, consider if your messaging system will work quickly and effectively to reach the segments of people you need to reach with relevant information.
10. Focus on Flow
When it comes to how your attendees move about your event space, there are a number of things to consider: how you’ll handle lines, seating for sessions and breaks, and major bottlenecks that keep too many people in one place at the same time. In the guide, you’ll see how to make preventative plans, like staggering check-ins, staging gathering areas, and more.
If you’re planning a live event, or even just considering it, we hope that these tips can be of help. To download the guide and keep handy all of our tools, online resources, and insights to host safe live events, download the 2022 Event Safety Guide now. Happy Planning!