| Whether you do it regularly or not, conference | | | | AV support and teambuilding. You can choose to buy |
| organising is either something that you look forward | | | | in whichever services you need and your budget will |
| to, take in your stride or it brings you out in a cold | | | | stretch to. But a word of caution - good teamwork |
| sweat. Either way, you have probably thought at | | | | relies on trust and having confidence in your agency. |
| some stage about hiring a Professional Conference | | | | Don't fall into the trap of buying the service and then |
| Organiser (PCO) to give you a helping hand, or indeed | | | | trying to make all the decisions yourself – a PCO |
| make the whole thing go away while you | | | | worth their salt will have organised hundreds of |
| concentrate on your real job. | | | | events and you can benefit by being guided by their |
| So is working with a PCO always worthwhile, and can | | | | experience. They will know instinctively what works, |
| you justify the cost of bringing in outside help? | | | | and more importantly what doesn't. |
| People who do so regularly would undoubtedly say | | | | |
| ‘yes' because it's a bit like your mobile phone | | | | Finding a good PCO is all about asking the right |
| – you can remember a time when you got by | | | | questions. A Google search for conference organisers |
| without one, but you can't quite think how. | | | | will provide plenty of names, but a good looking |
| But are you getting real value for your budget? If | | | | website won't tell you about who's behind it. |
| you are just hiring someone to do the administrative | | | | Don't be tempted to include more than 2 - 4 |
| stuff, you are probably better going to the local | | | | agencies in your selection process. Reduce your list |
| temp agency and paying for a bit more in-house help. | | | | by making some preliminary calls to ask how long |
| It's often cheaper and you keep control of the whole | | | | they have been in business, the kind of work they |
| thing. However where a PCO really adds value goes | | | | do and their resources. Don't just ask about their |
| beyond just doing the leg work for you. An | | | | clients, request references as well. An unbiased |
| experienced conference organiser will provide ideas | | | | opinion from an existing client tells you much more |
| and initiatives that can bring your event to life and | | | | than a sales pitch. |
| you will end up with a result that exceeds your (and | | | | Pick two or three agencies you feel you could work |
| your delegates) original expectations. | | | | with and send them a brief in writing, giving as much |
| Organising a conference is the perfect example of | | | | detail as you can and telling them which services you |
| teamwork, and to get it right you not only need a | | | | want to buy in. Ask for written proposals and |
| good team, but you need to know how to get the | | | | costs, giving at least a couple weeks for questions |
| best from them. Think about where you yourself | | | | and responses. |
| can make a difference – your knowledge of your | | | | Make your final choice based on how confident you |
| business and culture puts you in the perfect place to | | | | feel, what benefit you will get from working with |
| act as a facilitator and co-ordinator, working with | | | | them and whether they can add real value to your |
| your senior management to plan the agenda, | | | | event. Look for value for money, but don't |
| choosing the right speakers to deliver important | | | | instinctively pick the cheapest. |
| messages and deciding on who is to be invited. | | | | What matters ultimately is the success of your |
| Your project manager from your chosen conference | | | | conference or event. Using a PCO is not the |
| organiser can provide you with a package of | | | | answer in every case, but if you find the right |
| management services, venue liaison, delegate | | | | partner you'll never look back. |
| registration, fee collection, guest hosts, technical and | | | | |