7 Ways to Create a Positive Show Environment
by Jim Fuller
Published in Midwest Meetings Magazine
A flawless meeting is the end result every corporation and production company wants. One of the most important - and most overlooked - means to that end is a positive work environment for the crews setting up and running your show.
Here are some tips on how you can make your show environment positive and productive. If you're wondering why you should bother, the reason is pretty compelling: By following these tips, you will save money.
- Don't Cut Corners on Travel
Business travel isn't fun for anyone. It's not cost effective to make it more difficult than it already is.
Outgoing - To cut costs, some companies book crews on connecting flights to the meeting destination. What you save on ticket costs you may pay in time charges while the crew waits in an airport for their next flight. Bad weather or flight cancellations can strand crews en route. When it does, you pay their time, hotel, meal, and per diem charges. Rule of thumb: book crews to arrive on direct flights the day before work starts. With advance planning, this can be done at a reasonable cost.
Incoming - You may think you'll save per diem and hotel costs by flying crews out as soon as the work ends. But, when your crew works and travels on the same day, you risk overtime charges, which may consume all the money you thought you were saving. We recommend giving crews the option of when to fly. - Book Crew Accommodations On Site
The crew is in the hotel ballroom or convention center hours before and after the audience. Book them into accommodations on site or within easy walking distance. Otherwise, you'll need to provide transportation for them back and forth, and you'll have crewmembers that could be let go sitting around, on the clock, waiting for a ride to their hotel. - Schedule Time for Meals
Food is a necessity of life. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) rules require a meal break every five hours. You can either give crewmembers an hour off the clock to go out to eat or give them a half hour break to eat a meal you bring in. If you're working with union crews, and you ignore this rule, you'll pay a penalty per person for each hour past five hours that elapses before a meal break is provided. - Provide Adequate Time for Sleep
Work a crew until 3 a.m. before a show that starts at 7 a.m., and you're courting disaster. Well-rested crews work faster, smarter, and make fewer mistakes than burned-out crews. Union rules require an eight-hour break from the end of one call to the beginning of the next. Eight hours should be considered a minimum sleep break for all crews. - Complete the Show Before Coming to the Venue
The time for speech revisions and visual production is prior to arriving at the venue, not after. At the venue, the crew's job is to set up and run the meeting. Asking them to make revisions on site should be simple and minimal. After years of delivering speeches and making changes at the last minute, a client got all their speeches to us on time. I thanked the executive vice president of the company after the meeting and said, "You know, that saved you $20,000." They've completed all their speeches well ahead of time since. - Alcohol and Rehearsals Don't Mix
Avoid scheduling speech rehearsals after a social event at which alcohol is served. If this isn't possible, recommend that speakers avoid consuming alcohol until after they have rehearsed. Following this tip could save costly crew time as well as executive embarrassment. - Appoint a Buffer Between Corporate Executives and Crews
You should no more expect crews to cater to corporate executives' needs than you would expect your lawn service to baby-sit your kids. Recently, during a meeting in progress, a presenter came up to the teleprompter operator running the show and expected her to make revisions to his speech on the spot. I repeat: She was RUNNING the show at the time. Communications between executives and crews should go through a person who sees the big picture and has the authority to authorize or deny requests and evaluate complaints.
The bottom line is this: Everyone working on your show ? the technical crews, staging people, facilities staff, engineers, caterers, union employees ? deserves to be treated with respect and common courtesy.