Welcome to the final, and arguably most important, stage of event management: Evaluation and Recommendations!
Don't worry, this isn't just about finding mistakes; it’s about learning from experience so you can run an even better event next time.
This chapter connects all your hard work—from the business plan to running the event—by asking one crucial question: Was it a success, and how can we prove it?
The Core Purpose of Evaluation (Syllabus 5.6)
Evaluation is the process of judging the quality, importance, or value of something. In travel and tourism events, it means assessing the event’s success or failure against its original plans and objectives.
Why Evaluation is Essential
Evaluation is vital for three main reasons:
- To Measure Success: Did you achieve your original aims and objectives? (E.g., Did we meet our target of 50 attendees?)
- To Justify Resources: Did you use your financial, physical, and human resources effectively? (E.g., Did the marketing budget generate enough sales to justify the spend?)
- To Facilitate Improvement: What recommendations can be made for future events or for your own personal development?
Quick Tip: Always link your evaluation back to your original SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) set out in the business plan. If a goal was measurable, the evaluation should contain the measurement results!
Did you know? Even the most successful global events, like the Olympics, conduct exhaustive evaluations to ensure lessons are learned for the next host city.
Gathering Evaluation Data: Techniques to Evaluate the Event
To evaluate effectively, you need solid evidence. You can’t just say the event was "good" or "bad"; you need data. These are the formal techniques used to collect feedback:
1. Customer Feedback Methods
Collecting information directly from attendees and providers is the most common way to judge event success.
Questionnaires and Surveys
These are structured sets of questions, often delivered quickly at the end of the event or sent digitally afterwards.
- How they help: They gather quantitative data (numbers, statistics) on satisfaction levels. For example, rating the quality of the catering on a scale of 1 to 5.
- Example Questions:
- How satisfied were you with the timing of the guided tour? (Scale 1-5)
- Which activity did you enjoy most/least?
- Accessibility Focus: Keep surveys short and simple. The longer they are, the less likely people are to complete them honestly.
Witness Statements (from Customers or Industry Representatives)
A witness statement is a written or recorded testimony provided by someone who experienced the event. This usually captures more in-depth, subjective opinions.
- How they help: They gather rich qualitative data (opinions, feelings, descriptions). These statements are excellent evidence of how the event felt and the quality of customer service provided.
- Example: A manager from a local hotel attending your tourism conference writes a statement praising the efficiency of the registration process and the professionalism of the staff.
Memory Aid: Evaluation techniques break down into two main types of data:
QuantiTative (T = Things you can count: Surveys/Ratings)
Qualitative (L = Lengthy descriptions: Witness Statements/Comments)
Evaluating the Success of the Event
The evaluation must assess three key areas relating to the event itself:
1. Achievement of Original Aims and Objectives
This is the most direct assessment. Go back to the goals you set in your business plan (e.g., "Our aim is to raise \$500 for local conservation" or "Our objective is to receive an average satisfaction rating of 4.5/5 for the itinerary").
- If achieved: Explain *how* the planning and running led to this success.
- If not achieved: Explain *why* the outcome fell short (e.g., unexpected weather, lower attendance than predicted, logistical failure).
2. Effectiveness of the Business Plan and Resource Use
The business plan is your roadmap. Evaluating it means checking if the map was accurate and useful, especially regarding resources.
- Financial Resources: Did you stay within the budget? Was the estimated cost accurate? Where were the overspends or underspends? (This directly assesses the quality of your financial planning.)
- Physical Resources: Was the hired equipment suitable? Was the venue effective for the number of guests?
- Use of Contingency Planning: Did a problem occur? If so, was the contingency plan effective in solving it? (Example: The coach broke down, but the business plan included funds for emergency taxi hire, which worked perfectly.)
Key Takeaway: Evaluation is about comparing the *plan* against the *reality* across all stages: planning, preparing, and running.
Personal and Team Evaluation
A crucial part of the AS Level coursework is assessing the performance of the people involved, not just the event itself.
1. Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Team
Did the group function smoothly? Look back at Section 5.1 (Working in a team) and assess:
- Role Clarity: Did the roles (e.g., Finance Officer, Marketing Officer) defined in the team structure work effectively? Were there any overlaps or gaps?
- Communication: Was communication consistent (through meetings, group chats, etc.)?
- Problem Solving: How well did the team deal with unexpected issues during preparation or running the event? (High-performing teams anticipate and solve problems calmly.)
Encouragement: Be honest here! No team is perfect. Identifying communication breakdowns is valuable learning, not failure.
2. Personal Reflection and Evaluation
This is your chance to shine by showing critical thinking about your own performance. You must evaluate your individual contribution, focusing on specific skills:
- Customer Service Skills: How effective were you in interacting with external customers (attendees) and internal customers (team members/suppliers)? Did you resolve conflicts professionally? (Linking to Topic 4.)
- Communication Skills: How well did you explain tasks, lead meetings, or draft marketing materials?
- Initiative: Did you wait to be told what to do, or did you proactively identify needs and offer solutions?
- Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: When faced with a challenge (e.g., low ticket sales), did you analyze the situation and suggest viable, logical solutions?
Quick Review: The Three Pillars of Evaluation
1. Event Evaluation: Did the aims and business plan succeed?
2. Team Evaluation: Did the team structure and communication work?
3. Personal Evaluation: How effective were my skills and contributions?
Making Recommendations for Improvement
The evaluation concludes with recommendations. These are suggestions based on the identified weaknesses or failures, aimed at making future events or personal performance better.
Characteristics of Strong Recommendations
Recommendations must be specific, practical, and directly linked to a weakness identified in your evaluation.
Ways of Improving Planning, Preparing, and Running the Event
A. Improving the Planning Stage
- Weakness: The initial budget estimate for catering was too low.
- Recommendation: "In future planning, use three quotes from different suppliers instead of one to establish a more realistic average cost for catering, ensuring a 20% buffer in the contingency budget."
B. Improving the Preparation Stage
- Weakness: Communication with the venue management was slow, causing delays in setting up the itinerary.
- Recommendation: "Delegate a single 'Venue Liaison Officer' for preparation, whose role is clearly defined as the primary contact point, and schedule weekly progress calls to avoid email delays."
C. Improving the Running Stage
- Weakness: The queue for registration was very long at the start of the event.
- Recommendation: "For the running of future events, implement a tiered registration system by giving attendees different arrival time slots (e.g., A-M check in at 9:00, N-Z check in at 9:30) to better manage the initial visitor flow."
Recommendations for Personal Development
These should focus on skills you identified as needing improvement (e.g., time management, communication, delegation).
- Weakness: I struggled to lead the meeting effectively and talk to the finance officer.
- Recommendation: "To improve professional communication, I will enroll in a short course on basic accounting terminology so that I can delegate and communicate financial requirements more clearly in team meetings."
Final Tip for Struggling Students: When writing recommendations, use the simple structure:
"Because [Evaluation Finding] happened, I recommend [Specific Action] so that [Desired Improvement] can occur."