Managing Coordination Between Music Festival Staff and Contractors.

Music festivals always appoint numerous contractors who they need to make events possible. Contractors have specialist knowledge and experience in their field and organisers are buying in this expertise. How can organisers manage the relationship between festival staff and contractors to ensure that everything happens on time to an acceptable standard.

Many festival entities run their businesses with minimal staff and few assets primarily relying on a plethora of contractors to supply equipment, services and specialist knowledge. Festival staff must manage and coordinate all their contractors to ensure that operations and logistics run to an agreed plan. If any contractor fails to deliver their service, it can have a severe impact on the event’s ability to hit specified deadlines. Organisers must clearly define lines of responsibility amongst festival staff, so they know exactly which contractors they are managing. What steps are involved in fine tuning coordination between contractors and festival staff.

Types of Contractors.
A large festival taking place on a greenfield site could have up to a hundred contractors supplying every requirement to make the event possible. This can range from supplying temporary structures and stages to backline equipment and lighting rigs plus medical facilities, for example. Other key contractors could be fencing and ground preparation companies plus power generator suppliers and waste management service providers. Contractors can also be appointed to manage site security along with complex CCTV system installations, for example. Less obvious contracted services can include the provision of backstage hospitality and welfare for staff, artists and crew.

Planning Process.
Planning a large-scale festival can start between a year and 18 months in advance of the live dates where organisers start producing detailed requirements to fulfil their event objectives. The early planning phase may include the expected number of festival-goers, number of artists to be booked, and the site location with an estimate of infrastructure requirements. As the planning process progresses, it becomes clear what equipment and services will be required, and operational staff will be given responsibility to source contractors who can fulfil timely delivery and quality of service all within specified budgets. Festival staff will need to fully document the scope of work required which can be distributed to selected contractors who, in turn, submit their proposals. This is part of the selection process is often audited to ensure fair contractor selection. Once appointed, the responsible festival staff will provide contractors with detailed schedules, site access rules and accreditation processes along with communication protocols with clearly defined reporting lines. It is essential that all contractors participate in the organisers plans for emergency procedures, so they are fully aware of protocols and evacuation routes, for example.

Communication.
Effective management of festival contractors requires great two-way communication to ensure that equipment and services are delivered as specified. Many organisers use sophisticated event management software platforms like Festival Pro that enable comprehensive documentation and scheduling along with real time notifications. This software has a dedicated module for contractor management enabling the recording of contracts, safety certifications and schedules along with links to the accreditation processes. In the site build up phase and during live event dates organising staff and contractors should hold regular face-to-face briefing sessions and maintain communication using walkie talkies, messaging apps and phone calls. Having strong communication links between contractors and responsible festival staff can help build stronger relationships which can contribute towards delivery of great services.

Logistics and Operations.
Managing the overall festival site logistics can be challenging, but using event management software can ensure that schedules for delivery are logical and follow the critical path of activities. Contractors should know exactly when they can make deliveries through which gate along with how much time they will be given on-site for installation and set-up. All contractor staff must go through the accreditation process to ensure that appropriate passes are issued to anyone expected to be on site. Contractors should know exactly who to contact should they encounter any problems or issues so that organisers can take remedial action. The responsible festival staff can then escalate issues raised within the organising entity if necessary. During the post event phase, it is essential that contractors and festival staff conduct a review of services provided. This should identify exactly what caused problems or delays so they can be addressed for future events.

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.

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