The banners have come down. The volunteers have gone home. The equipment has been returned and everyone is ready for a well-earned break.
But before this year's event disappears into the rear-view mirror, there is one more valuable step to take: use what you learned this year to make next year's event better.
For community organizations and non-profits, a simple post-event review can become one of your most useful planning tools.
Hold a Year-End Debrief
Bring together the people who were directly involved in organizing your event.
Keep the conversation simple and focus on three questions:
What worked?
Identify the things you definitely want to repeat next year.
What didn't work?
Look for problems that created unnecessary work, increased costs or affected the visitor experience.
What should we change?
Turn the lessons from this year into specific improvements for next year.
The goal isn't to assign blame. It's to capture knowledge while everyone still remembers what happened.
Ask Your Volunteers
Your volunteers often see parts of an event that organizers don't.
Someone working at the entrance may notice problems with lineups. Parking volunteers may identify traffic issues. Setup crews may discover that additional equipment would have saved significant time.
Ask volunteers what would make their jobs easier next year.
Even a short online survey can uncover valuable ideas.
Review Your Equipment Needs
Think about the equipment used throughout the event.
Did you have enough tables and chairs?
Were there enough waste and recycling containers?
Did your setup require last-minute equipment?
Was anything rented that wasn't actually needed?
Did volunteers spend time improvising because something was missing?
Create an equipment checklist based on what you actually used rather than relying on memory when next year's event approaches.
Keep Better Notes for the Next Committee
Community organizations often experience turnover among board members, committees and volunteers.
That means the person organizing next year's event may not be the same person who organized this year's.
Create a simple event file containing important information such as:
- Supplier and rental contacts
- Equipment quantities
- Site layouts
- Event schedules
- Volunteer requirements
- Permit information
- Sponsorship contacts
- Budgets and actual expenses
- Notes about problems and solutions
Think of it as a roadmap for whoever organizes the event next.
Start Earlier Than You Think You Need To
One of the most common lessons from event planning is simple: we should have started earlier.
Popular dates can become busy quickly, especially during Ontario's spring and summer event season.
Once your next event date is reasonably firm, begin contacting important suppliers, entertainment providers and rental companies.
Early planning gives your organization more options and considerably less stress.
Build on This Year's Success
Every event teaches you something.
Capturing those lessons now means you don't have to learn them all over again next year.
Before everyone closes the books on another event season, gather your team, record what you learned and create a short action list for next year.
Your future event committee will thank you.
Already thinking about next year's event?
SSERC supports local community events and non-profit organizations with event equipment rentals. Getting your dates and equipment requirements organized early can make next year's planning process much smoother.
