Investing in Training for Music Festival Staff.

Often overlooked by organising entities because of time or budgetary constraints, investing in the training of staff can provide significant benefits. The training and development of staff can help with organisational efficiency, risk management, and employee retention. What do organisers need to consider when planning their training investment for staff.

Every music festival organisation operates in a complex, high pressure environment which relies heavily on how staff members perform. High performing employees ensure that every event is run safely and is successfully delivered both financially and for customer satisfaction. Music festival entities employ a mixture of permanent full-time staff and seasonal contractors, each with their own specialist role. These roles can vary and typically include project management, customer relations, marketing, finance, IT, and technical or engineering specialists. There are training opportunities for all levels of experience that include generic topics but also more specialist activities for role specific functions.

Value of training.
The value of training is both in measurable financial and operational returns and impacts positively on many aspects of the festival. Training that has a focus on security and medical emergencies can contribute towards risk mitigation and legal liability. New software systems and other operational process improvements can provide increased efficiency after staff have been suitably trained to master these. Any training will add value to an employee's worth and demonstrates a commitment from employers in their staff ultimately having a positive effect on morale and retention. Customer-facing staff (dealing with attendees and artists for example) can be trained in how to provide excellent customer service, which will lead to greater overall customer satisfaction.

Popular Training Topics.
Organisers can prioritise training initiatives that provide the biggest benefit to the festival operations and staff morale. Key safety and emergency protocols are an essential element of every event and training that has a focus on emergency escalation processes, evacuation routes, crowd safety and first aid are always a priority. Customer service processes are great for staff involved with festival-goers and artists, for example. Training that helps emphasise a friendly and proactive approach which takes into account any inclusivity requirements will benefit everyone. Customer facing staff should be trained to acquire a comprehensive knowledge about the festival including the location of facilities, artists' schedules, policies and prohibited items, for example. One of the key attributes of good customer service is the ability to manage troublesome festival-goers (or artists) through conflict resolution. Specific training that deals with de-escalation techniques using calm’ clear and courteous language is useful for numerous scenarios encountered on a typical festival site. For staff involved in specialist functions, training that helps them develop their skill set will benefit them and the employer. This could include training in new event management or accounting software systems, marketing technology, and technical upgrades for sound or lighting engineers.

Types of Training.
Training can be delivered in a variety of ways which can include job shadowing, formal classrooms, role playing, or remotely online. Festival organisers will typically pick a mixture of these depending on budgets available and the time constraints of staff. Job shadowing is popular in these environments because there is little disruption to day-to-day activities and individuals are learning in real time. However, this needs to be backed up with formal objective setting and an assessment of what has been learned over time. Classroom training may be the least popular type of training because it takes staff away for days at a time and relies on attendees remembering large amounts of theoretical data in a short timeframe. The preferred training method for festival staff is likely to be role play and simulation exercises as they can be performed by teams together and reflect real life situations. This style works well for conflict resolution exercises and learning how to use software and RFID scanners, and has always been how first aid has been instructed. For staff interested in advancing their career with formal qualifications, an employer can fund attendance at a recognised educational establishment with part-time attendance or remote learning.

Investors in People Initiative.
The Investors in People (IIP) accreditation system has been around for decades and is a formal UK initiative that demonstrates a commitment to staff development. Obtaining an IIP accreditation can be challenging and takes time but indicates that the organiser takes the topic seriously. The accreditation process requires a festival to demonstrate excellence across nine performance indicators. These include Leading, Developing, Supporting, Managing, Empowering, Building, Continuous Improvement, Fairness and Diversity and Measuring. Each of these areas require some significant work on documenting organisational processes and procedures. By structuring their HR function around these nine themes, a music festival is turning its human capital into a competitive advantage and is well-positioned to achieve the Investors in People accreditation. The IIP may only be worth considering for the largest festival entities due to the additional work required to meet their standards.

For festival organisers planning their next event 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, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by geralt via Pixabay

<< Back to articles