Orchestrating a corporate event is essentially an exercise in managing suppliers. It’s up to you to coordinate each and every one of your corporate event suppliers in a streamlined, organised and professional manner. When done properly, you reap the rewards in the form of a successful corporate event. But when your supplier management goes awry, you’re on the fast track to disaster.
Here’s what you need to bear in mind to make sure your suppliers do your corporate event justice:
1. Check your supplier credentials
Before you do anything, do your research. There are hundreds of fly-by-night, cowboy-esque, take-a-chance vendors out there, eager to offer their services for a fraction of their reputable competitors’ fees. Their quote may look tempting, but underneath their cut-price deal lurks all manner of liabilities. Taking a shortcut – with anything to do with your corporate event – only ends up in disaster. The best case scenario? A supplier who’s a no-show. The worst case scenario? Angry clients who hold you liable for a calamitous corporate event, seeing you having to fork out hundreds of thousands of rands due to incompetent suppliers.
2. Find out how busy your suppliers will be during the time you’ll be requiring their services
Many suppliers agree to a contract, promising the unwavering attention of their most experienced staff. That said, an unforeseen bottleneck in incoming work can see your event delegated to their C team. This means that instead of working with their best staff, you end up working with their backup staff – who might not be able to provide you with the same calibre of assistance as their A team. Before signing the contract, establish who will be rendering their services and clarify that if they are suddenly inundated with work, they are still contractually obliged to provide you with the same team as originally agreed upon.
3. A watertight Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a must
If you’re contracting suppliers (as the majority of corporate event organisers do), you are the one who’s liable should anything go awry. This means that an SLA is crucial. Not only does it cover you and your company, but it also ensures that the end result – your corporate event – isn’t at the mercy of suppliers who deliver sub-par services.
4. Establish the legalities covered by your supplier
As the insurance industry news site Cover says, “A supplier or service provider contract should clearly set out the duties and responsibilities of each party. It should also clarify the legal consequences in the event of liability arising from the outsourced function”. Many suppliers sub-contract their services, and if they don’t provide public liability, and their sub-contractor fails to deliver, or delivers sub-par services, you’re the one who’ll face the consequences. Ensure that it’s clear as to who is responsible for what, and that if they do make use of sub-contractors, that they can guarantee that the services rendered will be of the same quality.
5. Only use ‘best of breed’ suppliers
As we mentioned earlier, it can be tempting to opt for a smaller company who undercuts their larger, more established competitors. But as the saying goes, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur”. Paying more for superior corporate event services is a no-brainer: you need to ensure that your suppliers have the capacity and expertise to change things up at the last minute and provide a quick turnaround time – without compromising on the quality of services delivered.
We’re one of South Africa’s leading corporate event management companies for good reason: our years of experience enable us to offer experienced project managers, stellar service and world-class results. Get in touch to find out how we can help you to create a corporate event that does your brand justice.
