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Learning Series: Staffing a Gala

You rely heavily on staff throughout your awards program, especially during the call for entry and other beginning stages. However, there are a lot of moving parts to your gala which also demands a decent amount of staff attention.

There are many tasks that need monitoring, organizing, arranging, and negotiating. This means you must delegate staff time (and budget) accordingly to make sure your gala goes down without a hitch.

5 Primary Staff Responsibilities at Any Gala

There are 5 primary staff responsibilities at any gala. Depending on your program, there may be more but in all likelihood, will be no less.

These responsibilities include:

1. 1. Marketing your gala: Your marketers should target participants beyond your entrant pool, judges, or others who were involved directly with the program. Bringing in more individuals will broaden the reach of your organization and make the awards program even more effective.
   2. Making arrangements with outside vendors or companies – This includes making arrangements with catering companies, A/V services, carriers, awards manufacturers, and others.
   3. Checking tickets – This may seem like an obvious, straightforward task but is worth mentioning because you will need extra staff to manage it.
   4. Planning seating arrangements – This will vary widely depending on the venue you select.
   5. Observing the budget – It’s too easy to overspend when you’re planning and executing an awards ceremony. As such, you should have staff members keeping an eye on the budget each step of the way.

Get Your Gala on Track With Proper Staffing

Having enough staff available before and during the gala is important. By dividing staff members among the 5 categories above, you can be sure you aren’t ever understaffed.

If you need additional help or want guidance to ensure your gala-planning efforts are on track, download our free companion worksheet here.

Ashley Surinak

Ashley Surinak is the resident OpenWater expert on all things content. From the blog to guides and beyond, you'll find her at every turn in your OpenWater journey.

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