The entertainment showed up blitzed. Attendees are circling the block because the new parking garage was closed by officials due to building code violations. And to top it off, the catering company underestimated how much food you’d need, and the tacos are running dangerously low. How’s your event team holding up?
It’s no wonder The World Scholarship Vault named event planning the third most stressful job in the world. Before you start thinking about the implications of your doctor being less of a demanding perfectionist than you, let us redirect your attention to your event planning team. Your posse of party planners is feeling the strain, too. In this article, we’ll share our top tips for building an event team that thrives in high-stress events.
How Stress Sabotages Your Event Planning Success
Stress in the workplace isn’t good for anyone. And while stress may be a necessary aspect of planning some events, taking steps to mitigate its effects on your team will pay dividends. Research shows time and again that work-related stress sabotages employee well-being and company success. Consider the following effects of workplace stress.
- Significantly reduces productivity, according to this study. The American Institute of Stress (AIS) says that companies lose $183 billion per year to decreased productivity.
- Contributes to 40% of employee turnover, according to (AIS). Turnover is costly. Gallup reports that replacing any employee can cost half of their annual salary — and that’s a conservative estimate.
- Increases the likelihood of workplace accidents. That risk is real in the event planning industry, where workers coordinate large-scale décor and equipment.
The good news is that building a team that is resilient when faced with high-stress events is good for your bottom line. AIS reports that every $1 spent on mental well-being results in a return of $4. We’ve got your back with tips that are low-cost and easy to implement. We know stress is built into almost every event planning gig. Our insights focus on building workplace practices and a culture that withstand the heat. And your event planning team will thrive in the face of any event challenge when you master these team strategies.
Check Your Managerial Style
Is your managerial style contributing to your team’s stress? Supervisors have a lot of influence over the level of stress in the workplace. The way you lead your team can drastically undercut morale, increase anxiety, and actually cause event blunders. On the other hand, effective leadership styles can help event team members make independent decisions, avoid mistakes, and make your events go more smoothly.
1. Avoid these detrimental leadership styles.
The American Psychological Association points to three types of leadership styles that are “extremely detrimental” to staff well-being.
- Autocratic: You call the shots with little input from your team. You maintain control by micromanaging, and you expect your team to follow your instructions without question.
- Laissez-faire: You give your team a high level of independence, but you don’t give them enough guidance and feedback.
- Punitive: You rely heavily on negative reinforcement to keep your team in line. You frequently threaten slackers with termination, and you won’t hesitate to call out an employee’s bad performance in front of the team.
2. Implement one of these more effective leadership styles.
Rather than ruling your team like Scrooge on a double-shot of espresso, try one of these more positive leadership styles, according to BambooHR.
- Visionary: You have clear goals that align with your event planning company’s well-articulated vision. Your direct communication style means that employees are empowered to work independently.
- Transformational: You mentor your employees to help them realize their potential. You challenge your event team and inspire them to find innovative and creative solutions.
- Coaching: You treat mistakes as learning opportunities. You lead with positive motivation, such as promotions, recognition, and new projects.
Embracing a supportive leadership style will go far in creating an event team that can handle the pressure of high-stress events. However, you’ll reach the summit of leadership success when you also adopt the following habits.
Protect your team from outside pressure. Dealing with angry clients or your hot-headed boss is your job, not theirs.
3. Celebrate and reward small achievements.
Did a client praise a team member by name? Give them props in front of the rest of the team, and reward them with a gift card at one of NYC’s top hot chocolate shops.
4. Develop positive relationships with each of your team members.
An employee’s stress level plummets when they have a good relationship with their boss.
5. Promote psychological safety.
If your employee’s performance may suffer if they are in crisis, whether professionally or personally. Avoid event disaster by letting them know it’s safe to come to you for support.
6. Model calm and cool behavior.
Your event team will always take their cue from you, even when you’re not explicitly giving directions. Model the behavior you want to see.
Develop a Positive & Supportive Workplace Culture
How team members treat each other is just as important as how their supervisor treats them. Use the following tips to create a positive and supportive culture within your event team.
7. Plan team-building events.
Use your event planning prowess to boost morale and build relationships within your team.
8. Prioritize collaboration and teamwork.
Make it clear that you expect your team members to support one another and work together toward common goals.
9. Maintain high standards for respectful discourse.
An employee’s effectiveness goes beyond their competency with event planning. Don’t allow an employee’s poor interpersonal skills to derail your event team.
10. Adopt a learning culture.
Help worthy team members overcome their weaknesses. Encourage everyone to expand their event planning knowledge and skills.
Set Clear Event Planning Expectations
Sometimes, an event is stressful because team members aren’t clear on what they should do. If the event staffing agency arrives and is short two servers, would your assistant know what to do? If the tech staff can’t get the A/V equipment working properly, does the intern know who to call? Many dilemmas can be solved before they occur by setting clear expectations.
11. Create a training and onboarding process.
Make sure new team members get equipped with the training and knowledge they need to perform the job independently by developing a formal onboarding plan. SHRM reports that effective onboarding improves retention by 52% and productivity by 60%.
12. Create clear responsibilities for each position.
Ensure that team members understand their responsibilities in the event planning process, and make sure everyone knows what their role is on the day of the event.
13. Create repeatable workflows and processes.
Don’t let anything fall through the cracks when you create repeatable workflows and processes for different types of events.
14. Encourage communication through your platform of choice.
Whether it’s Slack, email, or Teams, encourage team members to communicate with each other using your chosen platform. Doing so will reduce the chance of miscommunication, create a “paper” trail, and keep everyone in the loop.
Normalize Self-Care for Your Event Team
Finally, encourage your event team to engage in self-care. Proactive relaxation is the best tonic for the stress and overwhelm of event planning. Set a good example for stress management with these tips.
15. Promote work-life balance.
Sometimes, planning a big event will require your team to work long hours. But if they continuously burn the midnight oil, they’ll eventually burn out, and their resilience during high-stress events will suffer.
16. Encourage your team to take their vacation.
Employees report leaving vacation time unused because they think management doesn’t really want them to take it. Help your event team become more resilient to stress by creating a culture that encourages everyone — including you — to take their vacation time.
17. Follow up high-stress events with low-stress projects.
If your event planning company frequently books high-stress events back-to-back, then consider adding people to your team so that you can rotate the taxing work.
18. Integrate healthy habits into the workplace.
Provide healthy snack options. Implement walking meetings. Gift your team members branded water bottles. Or host a friendly wellness challenge with prizes.
19. Partner with an NYC gym to offer discounts to your employees.
Make it easier for employees to get the stress-relieving benefits of exercise, including better sleep, improved mood, and feel-good endorphins.
Take Your Event Team to The Event Planner Expo 2025
Incoming thunderstorms on the day of the outdoor wedding? Bring it on. The bride’s great-aunt is criticizing her wedding dress? Not today, Edna. Not today. The groom’s not showing up? Get the talent agency on the phone to bring in a stand-in.
When things get real at your next event, your super-star event team will know exactly what to do. Thanks to your commitment to implementing the above tips, your event team will collectively say, “We got this.”
Why not reward them with a little R&R at The Event Planner Expo? They’ll see all of the nifty new event trends, meet and network with industry leaders, and attend seminars that will level up your event planning creds. Buy your team tickets today.
