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What Working in Events Has Taught Me About People
One thing events teach you very quickly is this: people might forget the table styling. They might forget the running order. They almost certainly won’t know about the tiny details you’ve been obsessing over for weeks.
But they will remember how you made them feel.
And that doesn’t just apply to your guests. It applies to your clients, your suppliers, your speakers, your contractors and, perhaps most importantly, your event team.
After years of delivering events in just about every format imaginable — from nationwide tours and conferences to brand activations, pop-ups and employee engagement programmes — I’ve become increasingly convinced that the atmosphere behind the scenes always finds its way into the room.
Your guests might not see it, but they can feel it
There is a strange thing about events. The audience usually sees only a fraction of what it takes to make one happen. They don’t see the early starts, the last-minute changes, the supplier conversations, the speaker who is running late, the missing box, the revised timings or the 47 other things being quietly dealt with behind the scenes.
And they shouldn’t.
But while your guests might not see what is happening backstage, they can absolutely feel the result of it. A team that feels calm, informed and supported behaves differently from one that feels stressed, exhausted or frightened of making a mistake.
That affects how they greet people. How they solve problems. How they communicate. How willing they are to go the extra mile. And ultimately, it affects the atmosphere of the entire event.
Looking after people doesn't need to be extravagant
When we talk about creating a great experience for an event team, I’m not suggesting you need lavish green rooms, extravagant gifts or endless perks. Often, it is the smallest things that make the biggest difference.
A bottle of water handed to someone before they have to ask. Making sure people actually get the break they were promised. Giving clear instructions rather than assuming everyone knows what is happening. Speaking calmly when the pressure ramps up. Saying thank you. Showing kindness when something goes wrong rather than immediately looking for someone to blame.
And creating an environment where someone can say, “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing here,” without feeling stupid for asking.
None of those things cost very much but they tell people something important: you matter here.
Pressure isn't an excuse for poor behaviour
Events are high-pressure environments. There is no getting around that.
You have deadlines that cannot move, guests arriving at a fixed time and often a huge number of moving parts that all need to come together at precisely the right moment.
Things will go wrong. Plans will change.
Someone will inevitably ask you a question at the exact moment you are trying to deal with three other things. But pressure isn’t permission to stop treating people well. In fact, I think those moments are when your culture becomes most visible.
It’s easy to be a great person to work with when everything is running perfectly. How you communicate when the pressure is on tells your team far more about you. Staying calm doesn’t mean pretending there isn’t a problem. It means dealing with the problem without unnecessarily passing the panic on to everyone around you.
Your event team is part of the guest experience
We talk a lot in events about the customer journey. What happens when somebody arrives? How are they welcomed? What do they see? How does the space make them feel? Where are the friction points?
But I think we need to think about the team experience with the same level of care. Because your event team isn't separate from the customer experience. The person checking someone in, answering a question, managing a queue, supporting a speaker or solving a problem is representing your event and, ultimately, your brand.
If you want those interactions to feel warm, confident and considered, you have to create the conditions that allow your team to deliver them that way. You can't demand brilliant hospitality from people while providing a terrible working environment behind the scenes.
Creating one team, even for one day
Some events bring together people who have never worked with each other before — agencies, freelancers, venue teams, production crews, suppliers, temporary staff, security, caterers and client teams can all suddenly find themselves working towards the same deadline.
That makes the way you lead on-site even more important.
People need to understand what they're there to achieve, where they fit into the bigger picture and who they can turn to when they need something. They also need to feel like they're on the same side. For me, that's one of the biggest differences between simply staffing an event and building an event team.
When people feel trusted, respected and included, they take ownership. They spot things. They help each other. They solve problems before those problems ever reach the guest.
And that is when an event starts to feel effortless from the outside — even when we all know it has been anything but behind the scenes.
Working in events: People remember how you made them feel
There will always be another trend, another piece of event technology and another beautifully designed space appearing on our feeds. And yes, the details matter. Of course they do.
But events are ultimately a people business.
After all these years, some of the things I remember most aren't the perfectly executed moments. They're the people I've worked alongside, the relationships that came from those experiences and the teams that somehow managed to laugh together even when everything around us was changing by the minute.
A little bit about Chelsea
Chelsea Ferdinales is the founder of Events by Ferdinales and has spent her career using events, partnerships and commercial strategy to help brands and businesses grow.
Her experience spans nationwide tours, exhibitions, conferences, brand activations, sponsorship, employee engagement and business consultancy. She has worked with global brands, supported more than 150 businesses and individuals with their growth and development, managed hundreds of brand relationships and delivered large-scale event and engagement programmes.
Her industry recognition includes Exhibition News Organiser Salesperson of the Year, Best Brand Expansion, Best Consumer Launch Show and three consecutive 30 Under 30 Best of the Industry accolades.
Today, through Events by Ferdinales, Chelsea combines that commercial experience with hands-on event delivery, helping businesses think more strategically about what their events can achieve.
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