8.6 Event Assessment Stage
Angela Senter
After the event is over, it’s time to determine whether it was a success or a failure, a process known as event assessment. During the assessment, planners refamiliarize themselves with the event goals and the associated KPIs. Next they assemble the data and align it with the corresponding KPIs. With this data collected, it is a good idea to gather the relevant stakeholders and have a post-event evaluation meeting. In this meeting, the full group can discuss their feedback and add additional information to the KPI data assessment. For annual events, it is especially important to make scrupulous notes during the post-event evaluation meeting, as these detailed notes can be used to make next year’s event even better.
Gathering Assessment Data
Assessment data can be gathered in different ways. Event data can be either quantitative, meaning numbers and measurements, or qualitative, meaning descriptions and opinions. Quantitative data may include budget reports, attendance data, dollars raised, or products sold. Qualitative data may include the comments people made on social media posts about the event, online survey results, or feedback on how happy, talkative, or engaged the audience was.
Real World Example: Assessment
For Kelly and Mark’s wedding they had two goals, (1) to stick to a $10,000 budget and (2) to have their friends and family feel valued and included by offering them at least three ways to engage in the wedding, help plan, be in photos, and have time at the reception to offer personalized messages.
To assess whether their wedding met those goals, they would first look at the quantitative data in the budget report to see if they stayed at or under $10,000 for their expenses.
To assess whether they met their second goal, they should look at qualitative data to see if all guests were offered the opportunity to perform the three activities. If they were, then Kelly and Mark should assess whether people participated in the activities and whether they appeared to feel valued and included. The newlyweds should also note any comments made by guests that indicate they felt involved and appreciated.
Metrics that a property uses to make informed management decisions. Standardized KPIs also help managers compare their property’s successes or failures to other properties in the area.
A person or group of people that has a stake (or a role) in the event.
