5 Experiential Staffing Tips That Will Save You Time and Stress

Planning an experiential marketing event comes with a long to-do list, including creative, logistics, permits, budgets, and more. And oftentimes, staffing ends up as an afterthought. But the truth is, your event staff are the face and voice of your brand, and they can make or break the experience and your success. Finding the right people, training them, onboarding them, and managing the team can be overwhelming when you have so many other things to think about.

Whether you’re organizing a multi-city mobile tour, a pop-up activation, or a high-profile conference, here are 5 experiential staffing tips that will save you time and stress.

How to Staff Your Experiential Marketing Event Without the Headaches

1. Start With the Right People

Not all brand ambassadors are created equal. You want people who are committed, enthusiastic, engaging, and who care about making connections with consumers. That means avoiding generic staffing apps or last-minute, random job-posting sites.

Look for staff who are:

• Have experience working events or have face-to-face customer service experience (retail, restaurant, etc.)
• Energetic and enthusiastic, and polished and professional
• Capable of rolling with the punches that come with live events
• Culturally aware and able to connect with a diverse audience

If you’re working with an event staffing agency, ask about their vetting and hiring process.

2. Staffing Isn’t Just About Hiring. It’s Preparation, Too

You wouldn’t hand someone a mic and expect them to convey your brand messaging to a crowd without practicing it first. The same goes for your staff. Even the best people need direction and training.

Make sure your team has:

• A solid brief of your brand and your story, the products or services you offer, your target audience, and key messaging.
• Visuals of the setup, uniforms, and flow of the activation. Include information about interactive elements, giveaways, social sharing opps, etc.
• Goals and expectations of the event. Are they there to generate awareness? Sample? Collect leads? Drive foot traffic?
• Answers to the most common FAQs.

Prepared staff come off as confident and genuine. And those two things equate to a better representation of your brand.

3. Have Backup Plans for Your Backup Plans

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Someone will get sick. Someone’s car won’t start. Life happens, and you can’t prepare for every staffing roadblock, but you can plan for them.

A solid backup staffing plan includes:

• Backup staff onsite (paid) and backup staff on call
• A foolproof check-in and communication process or system
• An onsite lead with strong organizational skills and one who’s not afraid to step up and take charge

If you’re working with an agency, ask about their contingency plan for call-ins and no-shows. And also, if they assign a lead to the staff to handle changes and manage the staff on-site.

4. Don’t Skip the Human Touch

Technology can help you check staff in, push updates, and track results. But your team will perform better when they feel supported and seen.

Make sure you are:

• Checking in during the days/weeks leading up to the event, and before and after the shift
• Available during the event
• Following up with feedback, praise, or a thank-you note post-event

A little recognition goes a long way, and the best staff will want to work with you again.

5. You Don’t Have to Go It Alone

If the thought of sourcing, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and managing seems overwhelming or is too time-consuming, it’s because it can be. Hiring an experienced, experiential staffing agency will do more than just fill a roster. They’ll be an extension of your team, a true partner who will take care of your needs and expectations every step of the way and take a pretty big load off your plate.

When you partner with a staffing agency that gets it, you get to stay focused on the big picture, like brand and event goals, creative elements, engagement metrics, and ROI. And as you probably know, that’s where your time is best spent.

Staffing doesn’t have to be a pain point. With the right team, training, and planning, your next experiential activation can run smoothly and be successful.

If you need a staffing partner, ATN is here for you! Since 2002, we’ve staffed thousands of events for brands and marketing agencies coast-to-coast, and we would love to chat with you about our staffing solutions.