Spring is quickly approaching (!!!), and many hospitality locations will soon find themselves with an increase in event bookings. Promoting an employee to become an event captain is a perfect solution to creating manager-level assistance for this niche within your business. Event captains are service-level employees with manager-level responsibilities during a private event. What makes an event captain so great for business is that they know the expectations of event set up and can also assist in keeping the entire team on track when it gets busy. I’m sure some of you may already have a person in mind for the job. Do they possess the 5 qualities below? Read on and see how your candidate stacks up.
Problem solving skills: It’s not an event unless something goes wrong, am I right?! Seasoned planners and managers are aware that ‘pivoting’ is essential for any event, big or small. The key is not to produce a perfect event, but to know how to navigate the ever-so-changing waters. An event captain should be keen to problem solving and decision making on the fly when need be. This will help move the events along and really show their ability to assist management in a time of potential chaos.
An eye for detail: Sure, we can rely on several team members to set up a room for an event. However, those tiny details are what separates professional event planners from novices. When an event captain reads a room, there should be an eye for what’s wrong. An misplaced table, unlit candle, grammatical errors on signage, etc. A captain should be able to see these issues before anyone else and make proper changes per the host’s needs.
Motivates team with a positive attitude: I always say that hospitality employees come from all different walks of life, obtaining their position for different reasons. However, what sadly can bring co-workers together is a negative attitude toward their place of work (i.e. complaining). We’ve all been there and I can tell you I’ve learned: When it comes to attitude, you get back what you put out. An ideal event captain keeps it light and uplifting, giving his or her team a sense of community and understanding. A positive attitude motivates a team without even having to try. A positive attitude is infectious and helps put the team's best foot forward.
Personal interaction skills: A skill that every hospitality professional should have, but sometimes doesn’t. A great captain is able to listen and properly respond to his or her team (or the client). Maintaining social skills with all walks of life is essential for managing employees AND interacting with customers. This is a MUST in order for you to trust your event captain with a client on site.
They WANT the job: Remember when we discussed here how employees wish to learn and grow inside their place of business? This is a perfect way to provide for that need! Most employees want to learn more and wish to have additional responsibilities. Seek out those individuals and they will show up for you! Also, keep in mind that promoting an event captain within your current team is a great way to motivate and showcase loyalty.
What qualities do you look for in your event captain? Do
you agree with the qualities above? We’d love to hear the type of process your company uses to promote within your company! If you like this article and want to see more, be sure to subscribe to www.shesaidcelebrate.com today!
Comments