Event Architects To Know in 2024 - Jillian Elliott, The Right Place, Inc.
Jillian Elliott, of The Right Place, Inc., discusses how she builds and plans meetings and events in the evolving hospitality landscape of 2024.
Luke Whalin
Aug 2, 2024
Welcome to the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series, where we highlight event professionals making waves across the events industry to share lessons learned and raise awareness of their invaluable contributions.
Name: Jillian Elliott
Company Name: The Right Place, Inc.
Job Title: Manager of Conferences and Events
Can you briefly tell us about your background in event planning and how you got started in the industry?
I studied Hospitality and Tourism Management at Grand Valley State University. The program required multiple internships and my last one in 2015 was at The Right Place. After my internship ended, I stayed on staff part-time and continued to assist with events. When I graduated in 2017, I was offered a full-time position working in events and investor relations. In 2020, I took the role of Manager of Conferences and Events.
How do you go about selecting the perfect hotel or venue? What factors weigh most heavily in your decision?
When choosing a venue, I consider the agenda, anticipated attendance, the previous year's event metrics, and attendee survey results. We also consider the venue's layout, size, and amenities to ensure it will support a smooth flow and experience for our attendees.
What does the initial planning phase of securing a venue look like for you? Could you walk us through your initial steps?
What common financial challenges often arise when organizing an event, what strategies do you use to mitigate them, and how do you avoid them?
After a venue is selected, I book a walkthrough with the on-site coordinator to verify that it provides all the space, AV, and technical needs I need for the event's programming. I typically take my marketing team so we can begin planning any additional signage or branding elements that must be created.
Since our organization is a nonprofit, the funding for our events relies solely on sponsorships, registration revenue, and sometimes grants. To ensure we make our revenue goals I work closely with our Investor Relations team to promote sponsorship opportunities directly to our investors and the companies we assist. We have a team lead who serves as the content expert for each event, and they take ownership and promote the event to their individual networks to secure registrations and meet attendee goals through email and social media posts. To mitigate the risk of not reaching our financial goals, we look to our previous events to set those goals and will prioritize previous sponsors and attendees in our promotion plans.
How do you leverage technology to boost efficiency during the planning, execution, and post-event stages? What does your “event tech stack” look like? (For example, using Survey Monkey for surveying attendees post-event)
While we are planning an event, our internal and external planning teams will use Google Drive and Microsoft Teams for updates and communication. All our registration processes are hosted online through CVENT or Constant Contact. Recently, we have been using the app Vevox during events for live polling, word cloud creation, and Q&A sessions. This app keeps our audience engaged during the sessions and is easy to teach speakers who may be using it on stage for the first time. After each event, we send out a survey through Constant Contact to provide feedback on various aspects of the event.
Do you use frameworks, templates, or other tools/documents to help you stay organized and manage the event planning process?
I use templates from previous years to create emails, invitations, flyers, and sponsorship packages. Our internal marketing team uses Monday.com to keep track of upcoming tasks, promotion schedules, and social media promotions related to an event. I use it to take planning meeting notes, track speaker and sponsor information, and stay on track with my planning timeline.
Do you have any specific strategies or insights for enhancing the attendee experience at your events?
Survey results from previous years are the best way for us to identify areas for improvement regarding the attendee experience. We consider these comments and look at other industry trends that we may be able to incorporate into our event. This could be increased branding to transform an event space, creating opportunities for networking, considering what attendees want from the content and accommodating that, or just making the arrival, check-in, and wayfinding experience as smooth as possible.
Effective communication is crucial in any planning process. How do you ensure you and your event stakeholders are always on the same page?
To align with our stakeholders, we typically have one or more of them on the planning team. Since the stakeholders are usually subject matter experts, they are fully involved with the content planning and execution of the event. They also serve as representatives of larger groups of stakeholders like our Board of Directors and Industry Councils.
How do you facilitate networking opportunities among attendees? Are there any specific tactics or strategies that you recommend?
What's your go-to plan for handling emergencies or unexpected situations during an event?
Networking is one of the top priorities for our events as we bring together industry experts from a wide variety of companies and large geographical areas. We are intentional about scheduling networking opportunities for 30 minutes or more at the beginning, middle, and end of our events. We aim to not only connect attendees but also give them the chance to further discuss the sessions they attend, keeping the energy and conversation up throughout the day.
Before any event, we identify any emergencies or hiccups that may occur. I make sure to have the contact info for my banquet captain for onsite event staff before the event begins, identify emergency exits, and communicate with my onsite team these details.
What are the typical steps you take in the post-event phase?
After each event, we send out a survey to those who attended and get feedback on things like venue, agenda format, speakers, content, venue amenities, food, etc. We also meet as a planning team to debrief the event and review survey results, changes to make for the next event, and a financial overview. I take the feedback and information from the meeting and make it easily accessible for when we begin planning for the next year.
What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you use to evaluate the success of an event?
To measure the success of an event, we evaluate the attendance and no-show rates, email and social media impressions, revenue, and sponsorship totals.
What advice would you offer someone just starting their career in the meetings and events industry?
Do the small jobs and tedious tasks and take the opportunities that may intimidate you. It will surprise you what your attendees notice. Even if you think a handwritten thank you to a sponsor or considering the placement of a coffee station seems small, it may make someone’s experience better than before. Taking the time to learn these tips and skills early in your career will help you excel in the future.