Introduction to Event Captaining
Service and the Service Professional
As an event captain, you will be working in the service industry as a particular kind of service professional.
Service is an activity a service professional performs to satisfy guests’ needs or to support or enhance guests’ experience. Service is comprised of a set of intentional actions and/or interactions.
A service professional is a hospitality professional who has knowledge, skills, and abilities related to delivering services to guests. Guests are the recipients of service.
Events and the Event Captain
An event is an organized occurrence that gathers attendees or participants (guests) together at a specific time, at a specific location, and for a specific purpose.
An event captain is the service professional who (1) leads service, (2) manages a service professional team, and (3) oversees the event throughout its onsite lifecycle.
(1) They lead service by upholding service standards and (in the event of challenges) engaging in service recovery.
(2) They manage a service professional team by directing, coordinating, supporting, and motivating team members. They take ownership over the team’s performance and share responsibility for the team’s successes and failures. Successes demonstrate that the captain is leading effectively by guiding, directing, and empowering the team. Failures demonstrate that the captain is not leading effectively and so must facilitate improvement by identifying problems and implementing solutions.
With experience, the captain often assumes additional roles with respect to the team:
A Role Model: An exemplary professional. The team respects and strives to emulate the experienced captain.
A Mentor: A trusted advisor and relationship manager. The team entrusts its professional growth and development in the experienced captain.
A Coach: A goal-oriented expert. The team gains knowledge, skills, and abilities and receives encouragement from the experienced captain.
(3) They oversee the event throughout its onsite lifecycle by managing event documentation and logistics and liaising between clients, vendors, caterers, other captains, service professionals, and guests to actualize the client’s vision of a given event.
The Key Responsibilities of The Event Captain
The captain has a number of responsibilities throughout the onsite lifestyle of an event. These responsibilities can be classified into four general stages: pre-event preparation and setup, event execution, post-event breakdown, and post-event analysis.
Pre-Event Preparation and Setup
Review safety protocols
Review relevant documentation and equipment inventory
BEO
ROS
Rental List
Staff List
Floor Plan
Order Form
Expediting Sheet
Beverage Inventory Sheet
Conduct a walkthrough
Conduct a team meeting
Administer setup
Event Execution
Manage Primary Event Components: Welcome guests, offer beverage service, offer food service, maintain excellence in guest interactions, and monitor team performance
Manage Event Transitions: Manage transitions between event service types and event service areas and monitor team performance during transitions
Post-Event Breakdown
Administer Breakdown
Conclude Guest Interactions
Debrief with the Team
Post-Event Analysis
Evaluate an Event
Identify Patterns
Make Adjustments
Communicate Findings and Adjustments