ACUI Open Forum

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

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Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
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Hi Jackie - 
   We went through this conversation with our Event Services office a couple years ago.  We struggled with how to keep the workload fair and consistent while being easy to understand to the end users.  To meet those needs, we chose to utilize the client type to divide the workload.  Student organizations and off-campus clients go to our more senior scheduler and the departmental events go to the other.  This allowed our clients to know who to call and we could communicate that out since it was a switch from just calling whomever they wanted in the office (which resulted in a lopsided work load).    

Happy to chat more if it'd be beneficial!

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Danielle Kroencke
Associate Director of Guest Relations
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Hi Jackie!

Our Scheduling team consists of 2 Senior Managers and 1 Event Specialist and all our bookings are done through EMS. The 2 senior Managers work off a rotating schedule, for 2 weeks 1 manager will process all events taking place before 3 pm and then the other manager will process any events after 3 pm, then we switch after the 2 weeks. We feel this keeps things fair, we also have large annual events that we each have taken on and are responsible for each year (i.e., Orientation, Sorority recruitment). The Event Specialist handles all weekly student organization meetings/gatherings, food sales, blood drives, tabling, and a few small to mid-level events. As far as daily office responsibilities of answering phone calls, addressing walk-ins, and responding to emails on our department email account, those are on a rotating schedule as well, we all handle one of those tasks for 2 weeks then switch. I am sure as you know, these daily tasks can be consuming, so this helps it from becoming overwhelming for one particular staff person. I hope this helps and good luck finding a new system that works for your team!

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Nick Olivarria
Sr. Events Manager
University of California–Riverside
Riverside CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Hi,
So Danielle & Nick... do you all coordinate outdoor spaces as well as indoor? Or is it only indoor?

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Sharon Myers
Events Coordinator for SCOE
Emory University
Atlanta GA
Events Coordinator
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Hi Sharon,

Our team schedules our student union (Highlander Union Building), the majority of inner campus outdoor spaces, and academic classrooms for non-academic events.

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Nick Olivarria
Sr. Events Manager
University of California–Riverside
Riverside CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-14-2021 12:01
From: Sharon Myers
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

Hi,
So Danielle & Nick... do you all coordinate outdoor spaces as well as indoor? Or is it only indoor?

------------------------------
Sharon Myers
Events Coordinator for SCOE
Emory University
Atlanta GA
Events Coordinator

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Hi Sharon - 
    Our Event Services team schedules the spaces inside the Student Union, Student Success Center (attached to the union), and three outdoor spaces.

------------------------------
Danielle Kroencke
Associate Director of Guest Relations
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville IL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-14-2021 12:01
From: Sharon Myers
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

Hi,
So Danielle & Nick... do you all coordinate outdoor spaces as well as indoor? Or is it only indoor?

------------------------------
Sharon Myers
Events Coordinator for SCOE
Emory University
Atlanta GA
Events Coordinator

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

It sounds like everyone has more people on their team than we do.

We have an office called the Office of Campus Events which is run out of the Division of Finance & Administration. All reservations for anywhere on campus are supposed to go through them first by submitting a request directly through Ad Astra for faculty and staff and a student form for student organizations. Once they approve the event then it comes to me to approve the space for the Student Union. Campus Events has two people main people with their Associate Vice Chancellor overseeing that office.

With the Student Union on a day to day basis it is just me that processes them. I process the request, answer our phone line, and am the main point of contact for our student union email. Our Assistant Director just got back from paternity leave so while he was off I was assisting our director with walk throughs. I send any ones that I have questions or concerns about to our Assistant Director of Event Services and our vaccine clinics have been coordinating with both our Assistant Director of Event Services and our Assistant Director of Operations. Our Assistant Director of Event Services currently also oversees our setup team, student managers, and information desk staff.

------------------------------
Katie Evridge
Administrative Specialist I, Student Union
University of Tennessee
Knoxville TN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Thanks, Dani, Nick, and Katie! Appreciate the responses coming in so far.

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Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-15-2021 08:32
From: Katie Evridge
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

It sounds like everyone has more people on their team than we do.

We have an office called the Office of Campus Events which is run out of the Division of Finance & Administration. All reservations for anywhere on campus are supposed to go through them first by submitting a request directly through Ad Astra for faculty and staff and a student form for student organizations. Once they approve the event then it comes to me to approve the space for the Student Union. Campus Events has two people main people with their Associate Vice Chancellor overseeing that office.

With the Student Union on a day to day basis it is just me that processes them. I process the request, answer our phone line, and am the main point of contact for our student union email. Our Assistant Director just got back from paternity leave so while he was off I was assisting our director with walk throughs. I send any ones that I have questions or concerns about to our Assistant Director of Event Services and our vaccine clinics have been coordinating with both our Assistant Director of Event Services and our Assistant Director of Operations. Our Assistant Director of Event Services currently also oversees our setup team, student managers, and information desk staff.

------------------------------
Katie Evridge
Administrative Specialist I, Student Union
University of Tennessee
Knoxville TN

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------

Hi Jackie, 

Our team in Event and Meeting Services at the ASU Memorial Union and Student Pavilion receives requests for our two buildings and outdoor mall area. We primarily work with registered student organizations on campus and departments. We currently have two full time event coordinators and rotating student employees who manage our front desk and are customer facing (at least initially for walk ins). We have had three event coordinators in the past. We have a general reservations email address that receives all events requests, indoor and outdoor, that are submitted via the event request form on our MU website. It also receives email inquiries or questions from clients who may not know who specifically to reach out or are unfamiliar with the form. Both coordinators have access to the general email and we pull the requests from the general email to our inboxes  as we are available. Our student employee will sometimes assist with smaller, simple reservations that we hand off to them when we get busy. The students also monitor the outdoor mall area to make sure reservations are taking place as booked and report back on anything that may not seem normal. We use EMS as our booking software. 

Let me know if you have any other questions! 
Amanda

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Amanda Behnke
Event Coordinator
Arizona State University
Tempe AZ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2021 16:33
From: Jackie Grinvalds
Subject: Event Planning - how do you divide up events?

How many people are on your event planning team (full-time and student staff), and how do you divide up reservation requests? By client type, event space, time of year, something else? What works well for your area? What have you learned does not work well?

We currently have two full time coordinators on the team in addition to me, who also oversees operations. They each focus on specific locations and coordinate logistics for events in each of their specific spaces, and we are all somewhat cross-trained to back-up one another, if someone is out. However, with anticipation of one of the large spaces going offline for a renovation and re-purposing in the coming year, we are considering potential alternative ways to divide up the work. I've seen models where each team member focuses on client type (e.g., student organizations, faculty/staff, and external), or by type of event (e.g., student staff reserve simple meeting requests, and full-time staff take on more complicated events). I'm curious how other event planning areas divvy up responsibilities for supporting the different types of events and how that works for you. As a note, we use 25Live, and the accompanying limitations on event intake and workflow that comes with it.

------------------------------
Jackie Grinvalds
Associate Director
Emory University
Atlanta GA
------------------------------