Despite a heavy blow being dealt to the events industries, and business in general, this moment in time will pass and there will be an up-turn. The outlook is not bleak for event staffing agencies in the long term, so consider taking this time to get ready for the return of business with a bang.
We have looked at our own internal processes here at Liveforce, and are using this time to our best ability. Here are some ways to keep positive and pro-active during these corona-months.
Prepare for the up-turn during downtime
At a time when we can feel out of control, there are things we can to do to put us back in the driving seat of our businesses.
Review Existing Processes
In order to run a consistent, smooth-running organisation that promotes continuous growth your business will need solid internal processes. Under the current circumstances your company has probably already revised policies for remote work, travel and business continuity. Creating or revising your internal processes is definitely a worthwhile investment of your time. So what now?
Review Input vs Output
Break your current processes down into as a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. This can be broken down into these three questions:
- What roles are involved in delivering your service?
- What do you do at each step?
- What changes as a result of your actions?
Some BPM useful tools are:
Kiss Flow – Business Process Management Software which includes complete Process Management. A digital workplace where anyone can create an automated process, build a project board, handle a case flow, and collaborate on work topics.
Visio – Part of the Microsoft Office suite enables users to create professional, intuitive flow diagrams connected to real-time data.
Bizagi Modeler is a free (single user) BPM tool to create, optimise and publish workflow diagrams to increase efficiency.
Bonita BPM is the world’s leading open source BPM platform, providing free tools to build, run, monitor, and improve business.
Review your Onboarding Process
Having a sleek, comprehensive onboarding process will prove to be a valuable investment to your company. Onboarding, induction or orientation training, is a great way to get your new hires to be productive quickly, boost engagement and retention. A great onboarding process will also enable them to understand your expectations and the processes in place to help them.
Get ahead of the game by doing this online so when the industry recovers your event staff can hit the ground running. There are tools out there for this such as Talent LMS, and Enboarder who claim to “turn hiring managers into onboarding rock stars”! There are also free templates and tools available from Sentrifugo and Smartsheet.
Feedback, Coaching and Reviews
This is the perfect time to iron out any creases in your workforce. Schedule online one-to-one reviews with your staff. Use an online tool like Mentimeter or Poll Everywhere to gain feedback from your team and extended workforce. This is also a useful time to look to providing coaching your workforce. One-to-one coaching can be beneficial – all online, of course.
Brush Up on Liveforce
We’re offering extended training, more in-depth strategy for larger campaigns and how to get the best out of Liveforce. Get in touch to book a training session.
Cleanse your existing Liveforce database
Reviewing your database is a great use of time. Make sure it’s fresh and up to date, make note of how many inactive staff you have (not worked within Liveforce platform for over 30 days). Nudge any event staff who haven’t yet completed their profiles, write up any feedback and make sure they are recorded on Crew profiles. You can also send an email out to event staff asking them to update their skills or attributes, or brush up their bio’s or photographs.
Review recruitment touch points
When the industry recovers you will want to put your company’s most polished foot forward. Brush up your Liveforce recruitment pages to attract the best staff with our customisation features. Showing potential clients you have a slick staffing tool will also put you one step ahead of the competition.
Online training for you!
Always wanted to brush up on your Google Ad’s skills to promote your company, but didn’t have the time? Or to learn more about SEO? Or just want to learn Spanish for the hell of it? Right now is the perfect time to do an online course. You could also look at building your own courses with tools like in2itive which is a customisable learning platform.
Look to the future
Things may get a bit tougher before they get better. We are all in the same boat and it’s important to make the most out of this time. Consider it an investment in the future of your company, so that when coronavirus passes and it’s back to business, you will be ready and more prepared than ever.
