Pulling off a series of successful events is not just about the space but the team behind it.
From Business Development all the way to event setup and management, we caught up with Gibbson Ang and Yvonne Koster and found out how teamwork was key to making the dream work.
Before we get into the nitty gritty, fill us in on each of your roles with respect to SPECTRUM.
Gibbson Ang (GA): My role of Business Development (BD) encompasses “selling” SPECTRUM as a space for events. The BD process involves gathering and making sense of information so that we can enter a conversation with the sincere intent of meeting a potential client’s requirements.
Yvonne Koster (YK): To put it simply, my work starts after Gibbson closes a client. Essentially, it’s about providing EXCELLENT customer service to the client – the event organisers – and the event attendees. Prior to any event, my responsibility – and that of the SPECTRUM team’s – is to set up event space and ensure that the setup activities do not adversely affect the rest of SPECTRUM’s members.
On the day of the event, Gibbson and I are the points of contact for the event organisers and attendees – answering any questions they might have about the space and its amenities, as well as helping to coordinate their movement within the space.
Finally, I’m the go-to person should a client face any issues with our A/V equipment.
From what the both of you have said, we gather that it takes a whole team of people just to run a single event. So, what were the challenges that the team faced in hosting multiple events in a single day!?
GA: While there might be some luck involved in the clients who are interested in our space, what we didn’t leave to chance was our readiness to facilitate all our events and turn the space over after each event. And this was where the SPECTRUM team worked our magic to provide an excellent experience for our clients and the event attendees!
“…what we didn’t leave to chance was our readiness to facilitate all three events and turn the space over after each event. And this was where the SPECTRUM team worked our magic to provide an excellent experience for our clients and event attendees!”
YK: …and part of this magic was a whole lot of teamwork! Specifically, Nick oversaw the setup for all the events’ AV requirements, and Ben coordinated the team for any logistics needed.
And whilst all of this was happening, we had to ensure that what we were doing didn’t disrupt the work of the rest of SPECTRUM’s members. This meant ensuring that there were enough spaces – both common areas and meeting rooms – available to the rest of SPECTRUM’s members so that their daily work wasn’t disrupted.
Overall, I’d say that the team needed to deliver on three broad thrusts. The first was to work quickly and efficiently to ensure each event ran smoothly and ended on time. Secondly, we had to coordinate effectively with vendors to ensure that they complied with each event’s requirements and could set everything up within a specified time frame. And lastly – amidst all the chaos – we had to manage external guests and our current members at the same time.
“…the team needed to focus on three broad thrusts. The first was to work quickly and efficiently to ensure each event ran smoothly and ended on time. Secondly, we had to coordinate effectively with vendors to ensure that they complied with each event’s requirements and could set everything up within a specified time frame. And lastly – amidst all the chaos – we had to manage external guests and our current members at the same time.”
To be honest, there were times when I wished I could be in two places at once!
Given that cloning ourselves isn’t an option (yet), how did the team overcome all these challenges?
YK: I’d say that overcoming these challenges came down to three things: planning, delegation, and communication.
Firstly, the team planned all the logistics of each event in advance to ensure enough time for setup, execution, and teardown.
Next, Ben was great at coordinating with all of us to ensure that tasks and responsibilities were delegated such that no one person in the team was overburdened.
Last but not least, effective communication was critical when it came to ensuring that any issues that arose were addressed quickly and efficiently. For this, Swish was key to keeping everyone on the same page, and enabling the team to collaborate and solve any issues that popped up.
“…effective communication was critical when it came to ensuring that any issues that arose were addressed quickly and efficiently. For this, Swish was key to keeping everyone on the same page, and enabling the team to collaborate and solve any issues that popped up.”
GA: Agreed. Communication was important when it came to pulling off the setup, F&B, and layout for the three back-to-back events – especially because we’re a lean team.
From what the both of you have shared, teamwork goes beyond just working together. It also encompasses elements of coordination and communication. Considering the various facets of teamwork, how crucial was it to work as a team in order to successfully organise all the events that day?
GA: First off, there is no way we could sell SPECTRUM’s event spaces without the team, period.
Apart from handling the logistics of each event there’s also lots of administrative work that takes place pre-event. This includes showing clients around SPECTRUM during site visits, coordinating F&B and guest lists, quotation revisions, drafting space user agreements, A/V setup and testing, and much more…
YK: Yup, teamwork is the fuel that drives every endeavour to success. It’s a single word that encompasses elements of cooperation, idea-sharing, and supporting one another in pursuit of a common objective.
Teamwork alludes to the power of collaboration, communication, as well as a sense of shared duty and accountability. It’s about using each individual’s qualities and skills in a collective effort towards achieving a result greater than the sum of its parts.
“Teamwork alludes to the power of collaboration, communication, as well as a sense of shared duty and accountability. It’s about using each individual’s qualities and skills in a collective effort towards achieving a result greater than the sum of its parts.”
In summary, I’d say that teamwork was crucial in pulling off all the events with excellence. And I’m proud to be working with a team that works together flawlessly.
GA: Exactly. And to add to Yvonne’s sentiments, I’m blessed to be part of a dependable, gung-ho team that never shies away from getting their hands dirty. We have Yvonne and Amy who are always on-the-ball with client follow-ups and prep work; and Jonathan, Ben and Nick who can always be depended on for support.
These are people who make the dream work through teamwork!
This article was originally published by Golden Equator People Experience Management Team