What Every Event Staffer Can Learn from the Three Wise Monkeys
I’ve just wrapped two days of set in and another two days of meetings/exhibits at RSNA in Chicago. One question kept presenting itself to me over and over again: when is an event staffer “off duty?”
The answer – regardless of whether the event is a customer conference, an internal meeting, a trade show, a networking event or a social gathering – is not until s/he is back home or back in the office. It doesn’t matter if the staffer’s official duties have ended for the day. For the duration of the event, a staffer or employee is always “on.”
From what I saw, this concept isn’t widely embraced by event professionals. I overheard some fascinating conversations while riding escalators and while using the men’s restroom. In at least one instance, I’m quite sure I should have been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. I walked past one exhibit staffed by a man who was fast asleep in his apparently-too-comfy chair. I watched one attendee at a private party on Sunday imbibe far too much alcohol. Regrettably, his name tag clearly identified him as an employee of the company hosting the party. Too bad none of his colleagues had the good sense to remove him from the gathering.
I’ve said for years that effectively working an event mostly requires common sense. Unfortunately, common sense is seldom common practice. So we need to rethink our behavior and our habits. We need to remind ourselves that for the entire time we’re at an event, we are the living, breathing face of the brand.
That’s a big responsibility. It requires the awareness that at any given moment, unseen eyes and ears may be observing us and drawing conclusions about our brand. In any case, it’s probably smart to adopt the philosophy of the Three Wise Monkeys of Japanese proverbs. Their mantra? “See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.”