Industry Case Study: Event Planning and Management

Event planning might cover conferences, concerts, festivals and a whole host of other kinds of large gatherings. There’s lots to think about, from where the event is happening, to the subject matter of the day, what equipment will be required, and what regulatory bodies need to be informed, to name only a few. These efforts might take months to come into fruition too, which increases potential for schedule changes and other blips, and with a timing being so critical, you really need to have your ducks neatly in a row at all times. Let’s talk about how ProWorkflow Nexus might help you address some of these issues. 

Complex Stakeholder Coordination 

• Problem: Events often involve clients, venues, suppliers, performers, sponsors, and local authorities. 

• Cause: Multiple parties working under tight timeframes without a unified communication structure. 

• Impact: Miscommunication, duplicated work, or critical oversights (e.g., missing permits or AV requirements). 

Any event will have a lot of people involved. Managing the requirements of all these different groups can be astoundingly difficult, but by framing things in ProWorkflow you can make sure everyone is informed and accountable to the greatest possible degree. Our existing clients in event planning generally like to break out a project for each vendor, supplier, performer, etc. That way, you can perfectly keep track of all details relating to any one of those categories, whether they need to be contacted, if there is information they need, or if they are broadly ready and only need the odd check in the lead up to your event. We can also use other categorisation systems to keep track of which event a given ‘module’ might fall under, should you be preparing for several events at a time. 

Set yourself reminders to ensure you don’t miss specific form entry dates, and easily coordinate between your many stakeholders. Put in tasks for check-ins with your team, your vendors, and clients. There is also the issue of accountability, and who’s doing what. ProWorkflow not only lets your team identify responsibilities among the many tasks you’ll have on the go. At any given point, you’ll be able to see exactly what you need to do and who you need to talk with to get it done. 

Budget Overruns 

• Problem: Costs easily escalate due to scope changes or unforeseen needs (extra staff, tech, security). 

• Cause: Poor forecasting, unclear client expectations, or weak vendor cost controls. 

• Impact: Reduced profitability, strained client relationships, or scaled-back production value. 

Costs getting out of hand is a concern in any industry, but in event management, we can see these effects being to snowball due to the deeply tangential nature of the work. Nexus lets you track the cost of each individual item as you work, on both a fixed and variable cost basis. This means from the outset, for any given activity you’ll know what it costs and when it needs to be paid. With relation to paying people, you’ll know the expected costs as well as the current cost, meaning you can keep an eye on how close you are to the line at all times.  If you’ve broken each ‘module’ (vendor, client, partner etc) into their own projects as described above, it will immediately become apparent which are beginning to exceed their cost, and perhaps, worth. Having all of this information in one place simply means you’ll have an easier time flexing the plan if/when that is required. 

Tight Timelines and High Pressure 

• Problem: Events have fixed deadlines — there’s no postponing the date. 

• Cause: Compressed planning periods, last-minute client changes, or unexpected delays. 

• Impact: Staff burnout, quality compromises, overlooked safety details. 

Making sure everything happens on time is an impossibility. But, making sure you have the information on hand to adapt as the moment requires very much is within your reach. By using our Gannt charts to plan out each activity as your’e made aware of it, you’ll be able to quickly identify your busy periods. By ensuring that time is allocated per item, you’ll be able to see where your bottlenecks might occur, and ensure that no one is subjected to overwork.  

Plans do change on a whim, sometimes a vendor will need to exit at an inopportune time, and sometimes there’s little that can be done about that. But, with a tool like Nexus, you’ll be able to turn the panic dial down and make the best decision you can in the moment. 

Staffing and Volunteer Management 

• Problem: Many events rely on casual, temporary, or volunteer staff. 

• Cause: Limited budgets or short planning windows. 

• Impact: Inconsistent performance, lack of accountability, training gaps. 

As with any industry, accounting for all of your labour is difficult. This is doubly true for Events, where you may have a number of unpaid volunteers helping you. Using ProWorkflow’s allocation system not only means you have peace of mind, but so do those volunteer workers! You can create staff accounts for them with custom permissions so they’ll be able to log in to see communications, notes, assignments, postings, and anything else you might need them to see, but restrict their ability to make changes to your site or see sensitive information. If last minute changes occur, you can make those amendments in ProWorkflow and send out a notification blast immediately to ensure that all present volunteers are informed of the change. Similarly, the app provides a way for those volunteers to get in touch with you/their supervisor if any specific attention is required. This is exactly ProWorkflows central promise: that you’ll be able to know exactly what’s going on, who’s doing it, and what you need to be concerned about right in the moment.  

Event Management and Planning might not be technical work, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was! The complexities that permeate the industry can make things feel very convoluted. However, with a tool like ProWorkflow on hand, you’ll have the information to fight the clutter and wrestle your event into existence with as little stress as is possible. Reach out today and find out how we can help turn your frown wrinkles into smile lines!