Event-day staffing: Four questions to ask before the gates open

Ask most venues how many staff they've booked for Saturday, and they'll tell you in seconds. Ask how many have actually confirmed, whose numbers you can count on, or what the whole thing will cost once the invoices land, and the answers get slower. In some cases, they involve a spreadsheet, a WhatsApp group and someone saying, "Let me ring them."

That's not anyone's fault. It has been this way for years. Event-day staffing is hard work — we know, because we've done it. Often it means a lot of people, from a lot of places, all turning up at the same time. However, a few simple questions are worth asking before the gates open.

Here are the four we think matter most.

Every venue knows who its best people are. Or thinks it does. The trouble is, that knowledge usually lives in one supervisor's head. Supervisors move on, swap shifts and go on holiday. Staff who are popular with one supervisor aren't necessarily universally popular across the venue.

If you rate people after each shift and keep track of how they perform, you can see who's great on the gates, who's better in hospitality and who needs a bit more support. Then you can put people where they'll do best, instead of wherever there happens to be a gap.

It's a more reliable way to build a team than trying to remember who did what last time.

Think about the hours your team spends on the same jobs every event: building the rota, chasing confirmations, checking who's arrived, matching attendance to the agency invoice, working out pay and holiday for your own staff.

None of those jobs takes long on its own. Added up over a season, though, they take time away from running the event.

The repetitive jobs are the ones worth looking at first. If software can take some of them off your team's hands, they get more time for the work that needs them there.

Booked, actually showing up, and on time are two different things. A shift can look full on the rota on Monday and be empty on Saturday. Sometimes the first time you find out is when someone's missing at the gate.

The sooner you know who's confirmed and who has declined, the more time you have to sort it. Two days out, you can chase people and find cover. Two hours out, all you can do is hope.

So, ask yourself: can you see, right now, who's said yes? If the answer is "I'd have to check the group chat", it might be time to take a look at Sarge-P.

Many big events use at least one agency, and each agency has its own way of doing things. Different organisations send different lists. Invoices arrive in different formats and don't always match your own records. Check-in times don't always match what the invoice says.

With a lot of agencies and staff, mix-ups are more likely. It doesn't mean anyone's being careless. It's a lot of moving parts to keep track of.

Having check-ins, agency details and billing information in one place makes it easier to compare an invoice with what actually happened on the day. A record of how reliably each agency delivers, and the quality of the staff in question, gives both sides something factual to talk about. You'll still get the odd query, but it's easier to sort out when you can see what happened.

Try answering these without opening a spreadsheet:

• Do I know who my strongest people are, and where they work best?
• Do I know how many hours my team spends on admin? Could they be better used elsewhere?
• Do I know who's confirmed for the next event?
• Could I check an agency invoice against what happened on the day?

If you couldn't answer one or two of those straight away, don't panic. You're in good company. It's how a lot of venues run.

Sarge-P brings your staffing information together in one place. You can see who your strongest people are and where they work best, keep track of confirmations, and use QR code sign-in and sign-out to see who actually turned up. With a clearer record of the day, it's easier to check agency invoices against what happened.

That means less time chasing updates and piecing information together, and more time for the work your team needs to do. Better planning also makes it easier to spot gaps early and have a backup plan ready. That's how you raise standards and lower costs.

If you'd like to see where you stand, take our free two-minute assessment, or have a look at sarge-p.com.