Event Evaluation: The Indicators to Consider
Tweet
Published on 3rd February 2021 in Blog, Conference & Events
We hold business events aiming at particular goals. Since significant efforts and investments had been made in event planning, we would expect a proper return on investment (ROI) from the events. In that way, the organisers are under the pressure of evaluating an event properly. The event evaluation is an essential management function that supports an organisation’s internal learning and continuous improvement.
There might not be ‘universal evaluation mechanism’ for event evaluations as the process depends on the events’ objectives. However, the primary applications remain intact – performing a holistic assessment by utilising a broad range of measures and approaches to determine the added-value and impacts in an agreed context.
A systematic event evaluation would come from both internal and external views. The internal assessment of the events taps into the category of shareholder view. The managers will usually be responsible for collecting and processing the data for insights. However, externalities should never get neglected. The stakeholder view helps build the ‘good citizen’ images of organisations critical in today’s corporate social responsibility management.
In that sense, a holistic evaluation not only places a value on current events but offers opportunities for future development. Reliable indicators have become critical contributors to a viable event evaluation. Here we have included three indicator categories that you should consider when designing the event evaluation process.
Economic Indicators
As the name suggests, the economic indicators are on the basis of the benefits and costs which can be standardised into monetary units. The economic indicators primarily tap into the shareholder view. For example:
Benefit/Cost Ratio = (Returns on Attendants + Returns on Event) / (Variable Attendant Costs + Fixed Event Costs)
Average Attendant Spent = Returns on Attendants / Number of Attendants
Net Benefit Per Attendant = (Total Benefits – Total Costs) / Number of Attendants
Environmental Indicators
The environmental indicators are to measure the externalities generated from events in terms of environment protection. Since sustainability has become common for human beings, ecological concerns are persuasive in brand building. It is an excellent chance to let the audiences know that you care for society’s greater good from every detail – even when planning for an event. Such indicators include:
Digitalisation ratio of the documents
Utility usage at the venue
The carbon footprint of the supplies
Social Indicators
The social indicators stand as a mix of internal and external view. Some of the social impacts are influencing an organisation from within, while the rest act as externalities. For example:
Quality and quantity of media exposure
Social buzz index
The value created for the community (such as jobs, wages, local visits)
Again, all the indicators listed above are just examples – the indicators in such categories should be defined case by case. With the three categories of indicators standardised, a synthesis radar chart diagram will offer you a clear view of which parts have been performing and which require further improvement.
The consideration of long-term, sustainable legacies would always help brand building and development of marketing effectiveness. Always stay alert on the often neglected externalities. Be Patient and Trust The Process.
