How to run a successful workshop or event in a COVID-19 world

Understanding how to run a successful workshop or event comes with experience; however, if you wish to fast track your skills and learn from the experience of others, this article was made for you. If you’ve run workshops or events before, you know that there is a lot involved before the day. You strategically plan a series of steps that include clearly communicating the value of your workshop or event, liaising with the venue, attracting sign-ups, and preparing resources and reminders to ensure they turn up on the day. That’s all before you run the actual workshop or event! 

In my view, the key foundation of how to run a successful workshop or event is to deeply understand your target audience. While you will no doubt have that covered for the workshop or event itself, in this article, we share the issues that often put a spanner in the works for the event organiser. These issues can impact other's perception of you, your business and your workshop or event. They can also be the difference between you seeing your event as a success or feeling like events are too challenging to run regularly. These helpful events and workshop tips are shared with you to help you protect your reputation and that of your business and make your event a streamlined and enjoyable affair for not only your attendees but for you as well!

As I write this we are not entirely ‘out of the woods’ in this era of living with COVID and the restrictions and interruptions that it can bring. This article will help you learn what to look out for with both online, in person and hybrid workshops and events.

1. Registering attendance & agreeing to your terms

When a person registers for your event or workshop ticket, it is helpful to use ticketing platforms like Eventbrite to easily attach terms to their event listing, even if you are not charging for the event. Platforms like these allow you to add your own terms and conditions and easily manage the attendees.

Adding your event terms and conditions at this early point ensures that, as part of the registration process, your attendees agree to the terms you have detailed at the time they book. For example, a guest will know whether or not they can cancel the ticket, and if they can, they will know the cut off date for cancellation. When your terms and conditions are clear and included in the process, there can be no argument. You can simply refer to the terms included at the point of registration and purchase.

2. Refunds, credits & transfers

In addition to cancellations, also included in your terms and conditions should be specific details about refunds, credits or transfers of tickets. 

The terms of your refund policy are up to you. You might decide not to offer refunds at all. Alternatively, you could give a refund of up to fourteen days before the event. Whatever you decide, it should be clear to the people buying your event ticket. Since we're still living with COVID, there are a lot of COVID clauses in events' refund policies. The reason for the increasing usage of these clauses is apparent. As event dates near, guests may test positive for COVID, preventing them from attending the workshop and causing some people to request (or demand) a refund. Your event refund policies should address such specific circumstances. 

For example, you can create terms that dictate the timeframe COVID positive guests should claim a refund. Additionally, you can create terms that require COVID positive guests to present a PCR test to be eligible for a refund. 

If you wish to offer a credit instead of a refund, that will need to be clear about that as well. Then, have policies in place for postponement event ticket credits. If you offer credits to your guests, it's a good idea to limit the amount of time credit is valid rather than having it go on indefinitely. For instance, you can set a limit of six or twelve months after the event that the guests must use the credits. 

Another alternative that we’re seeing a lot of is the need to adopt different formats such as a hybrid event or moving an in-person event to an online event. A hybrid event is when you accommodate both in-person and online events for those who cannot attend in person. This can be more to manage however the flexibility in delivery can be a good way to ensure that you don’t lose attendees and also has the added benefit of being more accessible for audiences who would normally not be able to attend due to proximity.

Apart from refund and credit ticket policies, you may also consider whether or not you allow people to transfer tickets to another person, after purchase. Whatever option you choose, ensure that your guests know the terms regarding the transfer, including time frames with which to change attendees. Depending on your event or workshop, it may be important to know details about the person and their needs in the lead up to the event. So, the transfer might need to include them to fill out a questionnaire or sign other paperwork. 

The best part is that you can handle these refunds, credits, and transfers electronically using software like Eventbrite. That way, you won't be on the phone with customers all the time, reducing the administrative burden on your business. 

3. Photography and Videography

One thing that hasn't changed, even after the impacts of the pandemic, is photographing or filming your workshop or event. Many times people will have a photographer or videographer at the event to use for future training materials or to promote their business. 

Before doing this, ensure your event terms include a consent and release clause as your guests may appear directly or indirectly in the photographs or footage, which you will want to use for promotional or other purposes.

It is important to cover a number of elements in relation to photography and videography in your event terms and conditions. The terms should also state that:

• you won't pay or reimburse guests if you use the footage. 

• you have the absolute ownership of the photos and videos, which means you decide who to share them with, when, and where. 

After all, you don't want guests requesting the photographs or event footage for their own use, or requesting they be removed from footage later on. That will only create issues for you such as rendering some valuable visual assets unusable. 

4. Guarantees & protecting your intellectual property 

Disclaimers are essential in protecting your business against issues and risks associated with your workshop or event. It is important to be clear that you do not make guarantees relating to the event. For example, when you're putting on an event where there are speakers, or you are delivering the information, they need to know from the start (included in your terms and conditions) that there is no guarantee that they will walk away with the knowledge that improves their business sales or personal circumstances. Such disclaimers limit your liability and protect your intellectual property and resources from the event. 

Limiting Liability

For in-person events, your terms can also provide that your business is not responsible if guests fall or hurt themselves at your event (provided you haven’t been negligent in your set-up). As a result, you can avoid potential legal obligations should anything happen to an attendee at your workshop event. 

Your event terms can also help you manage more significant issues that can arise with guests before they become worse. For instance, offering refunds to unsatisfied attendees if they lodge a dispute. People can, and do, wrongfully blame businesses for faulty services if your advice or solutions don't work for them. In this case, you could limit the issue to a refund rather than a lawsuit that may leave you further out of pocket. The Australian Consumer Law regulates this area of law and disclaimers about no guarantee as to the outcome of attendance at the event or workshop help you avoid this issue.

5. Variations to accommodate pandemic-related constraints

For the last two years, we've seen people move their events online or postpone them due to COVID. This year, what we're seeing with our clients who run events of all kinds is that people running events again. But the events are different. People are dropping out at the last minute because of COVID-related issues or speakers can’t attend. This means that there is a need to swap event speakers and/or change the format of the event or workshop.

That brings us to event variation terms. Your business terms should reserve your right to vary the event depending on the COVID-19 circumstances or other scenarios beyond control. These terms ensure you retain complete control of the event, and for this reason, it's essential to include the terms in your ticket listing or on your site. 

With event variation terms, you can easily switch the workshop format to suit a specific situation. For example, you can quickly swap things around if COVID restrictions change in the state or territory the venue is in, or change to another speaker if the originally planned speaker was to test COVID positive and cannot present. As mentioned above, you can also move an in-person event online instead or have it partially online in addition to hosting a physical space (hybrid).

You should have terms and conditions that allow you to create a hybrid event when necessary, amend the event schedule or format of the event, and replace the workshop facilitators. That way, you enhance absolute discretion to allow the event to still occur on the planned date in a COVID-safe way. 

Comprehensive terms to protect you and your business

If you plan to run a workshop or event, you will know how to run a successful workshop from a content perspective. If you are planning an in-person event, you may have the support of the venue to bring your vision to life. However, ensuring that the elements that create unforeseen issues like these set out above are often overlooked and if things go wrong it can add a sour note to what would otherwise be considered a successful event.

Ensuring you have comprehensive event terms and conditions makes the process far more straightforward if clarification is required about what needs to happen in a specific situation and to protect your business against liability. Comprehensive event terms eliminate ambiguity and provide consistency for all event guests. Your guests have a great experience from start to finish and you save yourself the headaches of having to manage these issues in the lead up to the event. And finally, by having these terms clear you boost your transparency and avoid damaging your business's reputation when issues do arise.

Related Articles: Do You Charge for Speaking? 7 Reasons Why you Need your Own Speaker Contract

If you are interested in our Event Terms and Conditions template, it is drafted for Australian law and is available online. It is suitable for business owners and event planners running both free or paid workshops and events. It contains crucial policy clauses around advice disclaimers, protection of intellectual property, privacy and credits clauses, as well inclusions relating to COVID cancellations. It also contains terms that give the event organiser the authority to change a physical event into either a virtual or hybrid event. Take a look at our template here and if you have any questions about your specific workshop or event needs, you can contact us for more information.