6 minute read
HOW ARE YOUR CREW?
STANDON CALLING
Time to focus on welfare
Alli Scott, an event professional and freelancer, has been working in volunteer management, wellbeing, and crew welfare for more than 10 years. Here, she discusses changing attitudes to staff welfare and why it’s time for organisers to have real conversations about wellbeing
The industry will always have its rotten apples who think staff welfare is a side joke, but over the last 10 years, I’ve seen a lot of change at the top,” says Alli Scott, an accessibility and crew wellbeing consultant.
Scott has been working the festival circuit for 20 years and “fell into” welfare. She has been working in volunteer management, accessibility, wellbeing, and crew welfare ever since and now works on some of the most respected festivals in the country, including Glastonbury, Green Man, Big Love, and Standon Calling.
When StandOut chats with Scott, it’s clear that she has a real passion for looking after people and it’s the variety within her role that she enjoys so much. “I never know what’s going to happen, but I know I can always make a cup of tea, and sit down and chat with people,” she says, candidly. “I’m usually found checking people have had
ALLI SCOTT
dinner, have dry socks, and have a coat, or I’m by the campfire helping to put the world to rights.”
CHANGE IN ATTITUDE
More recently, Scott says there has been a shift in attitude towards staff and crew welfare. Management teams and owners are starting to see the benefits of a happy workforce. She explains: “In the last five years, I’ve seen the attitude totally change. The empathy and levels of genuine care going into nurturing a healthy workforce are now magnificent!
“Post-COVID, there is a much bigger understanding of how a community can bring people together and what isolation can do. I’ve seen cranky site crews throw parties and hug people, and I’ve seen volunteers walk in through the gates and cry at the thought of a tent full of sofas. People want to be comfortable and happy!”
However, this summer was an “eyeopener” for Scott. The pressures of the event season were evident, and the stress was clear for everyone to see. This summer was hard work, emotional, and overwhelming for many event professionals. This year, more so than any other year, it was paramount that Scott – and many other welfare professionals –
were back in a field making sure events crew and volunteers were taken care of. But not everyone gets it right.
“Without naming and shaming, there have been a few new events this year that have made the mistake of thinking that because they can do one-day events quite well, they can translate that to a four-day camping festival,” she comments. “I would love to never see a festival site without water again,” she adds. “My experience made me go home, turn on the taps, and make a donation to a refugee community in Greece where showers are a luxury.”
SEE A NEED AND FILL IT
According to Scott, fully understanding your audience and the nuances of the event you are delivering is rule number one. Thankfully, her recent bad experience is not a common one. She continued: “Over the years, I have had lots of lovely small interactions, which have made me feel good about a festival. This year especially, I saw events say, ‘thank you’ to their crew not with a crate of beer or a meaningless donation to a distant charity, but by sitting down over dinner and having a laugh, by having a dog or family-friendly build and by buying paddling pools for every team during the hot weeks!”
Such moves are important if crews are to feel like they are heard, valued, and appreciated. This year was tough, and many industry professionals believe that 2023 will not be without challenges. Scott argues that costs, wellbeing, and retention will be the big issues – as an event organiser, can you afford to organise an event, are you able to manage the wellbeing of your build and operational teams, and can you retain your best crew?
Scott explained further: “In terms of the welfare, mental wellbeing, and retention of crews, I feel organisers need to make space and time for a realistic conversation that should start with: ‘Do we need to bring in someone to focus on this for us?’ rather than saying we can’t afford it, it’s not needed, or mental health issues don’t exist. Just accept that it exists and look at using someone who isn’t trying to make operational and financial decisions while organising catering and a SAG meeting!
“See a need. Fill a need. That’s the motto I’ve been banding about for years. If you walk into your crew catering and see exhausted, emotional, hungry people who don’t have time to queue or can’t eat the food, you’d change it wouldn’t you?”
So, what’s Scott’s one piece of advice for event organisers looking to improve their welfare provision? “Get someone to talk to the staff and bring back that information to you,” Scott concludes. “Give people the space to talk openly without fear of job loss and you will find out all you need to know.”
THE EVENT EXPERIENCE SPECIALISTS
Do you recognise this man?
"Where do I recognise you from?" is the question Simon gets asked most often. With over 17 years live on stage delivering conferences, unique team building activities, award ceremonies, galas dinner, virtual and hybrid events, it's a hard question to answer! Simon launched Introducing Events in 2022 after seeing a real need to inject energy and FUN back into live and virtual events, and the business has already gathered huge momentum. The team has a real passion to transform events from dry, dull gatherings into amazing memorable experiences!
Here's some hints to where you may recognise Simon Howard from: CHS Leeds 2022, CHS Birmingham 2022, Event Buyers Live 2022, Event Tech Live 2021/22, Bradford Christmas lights switch on 2021, Eat in The Park festival 2022 plus hundreds of corporate events!
MUSICAL EVENTS BUSINESS CHALLENGES COMPETITIVE GAMES DESIGN & BUILDS TEAM AWAY DAYS CHARITY BIKE BUILDS MOVIE MAKING
GAMESHOWS RACE NIGHTS QUIZZES GAMES NIGHTS CASINO EVENINGS CRAZY GOLF MURDER MYSTERY
CONFERENCES CHRISTMAS PARTIES AWARDS CEREMONIES THEMED EVENINGS AWAY DAYS A.V. EVENTS CONFERENCE MC AWARDS HOST FESTIVAL HOST COMPERE VOICE OF GOD VOICE OVER
GAMESHOWS RACE NIGHTS MURDER MYSTERY BESPOKE EVENTS TEAM BUILDING CHRISTMAS PARTIES
CRAZY GOLF FAMILY FUN DAYS GIANT INFLATABLES TREASURE HUNTS COUNTRY PURSUITS SPORTS DAYS
