Music Festival Staff Welfare.

For full time events team staff the festival season can be hectic and stressful. In the lead up to any large-scale music festival the work pressure of logistics deadlines combined with problem solving and long hours can impact on everyone's morale. What steps can festival organisers takes to ensure overall wellbeing of the events team.

The teams behind the organisation of any music festival are usually a dedicated group of people who work long hours with little time off to create some of the most awesome events. Sometimes unappreciated or poorly paid the turnover of staff can present issues for organisers in the long run. What measure should organising entities and mangers take to ensure they have a motivated and effective team.

Personal Development.  
Having a formal process in place for staff development helps people understand what their responsibilities are along with any weaknesses and strengths. By letting staff set their own goals and work strategies organisers and mangers are empowering everyone to work to their strengths and develop areas that need attention. Organisers should provide the necessary tools and time for staff to achieve any objectives agreed. This gives a sense of ownership and in addition managers should be encouraging empowerment and initiative along with reducing any micromanagement occurring. 

Recognition.  
Given the long hours and multiple responsibilities most event staff have it is always prudent to reward staff for their effort and dedication irrespective of the function they serve in the events team. Reward can be financial but additional time off is always appreciated post event.

Flexible Working.  
To avoid staff burnout and stress organisers should offer a level of flexibility in their working hours. More focus on achieving tasks than hours worked is often a better solution to maintaining good staff wellbeing and promoting a good work/life balance.

Mental Health Awareness.  
Organisers should offer training and counselling sessions to teams throughout the year, preferably in quieter periods when people can be more engaged in learning. Providing mental health training and support helps team members to identify any issues in themselves or colleagues at an early stage to ensure appropriate action can be taken. 

Promote Welfare.
Regular social gatherings within a relaxed environment can help the overall wellbeing of all staff and helps to foster friendships that can contribute to team motivation. Listen to staff concerns and act on any issues that can be easily rectified. With music festival sites being so big staff often complain about mobility around a site so the provision of bicycles for example can be a simple yet very effective solution. 

There is no avoiding the long working hours over a festival weekend as the event often runs 24 hours a day for 3 or 4 days. Organisers should employ various tactics to ensure they do their best to provide good staff welfare throughout the year to promote staff wellbeing.  

For organisers planning their music festivals using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

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