Organising an event internally? Watch out for the regulations!

When not using an event management agency, make sure you check the regulations when organising your event!

While it is entirely possible to organise an event (seminar, birthday, excursion or gala evening) without the help of an event management agency, you need to know how to go about replacing its competencies with your own. In other words, in addition to crafting and shaping the occasion itself, you also need to know how to get to grips with the regulatory requirements that go along with it…

Civil professional liability

Organising a corporate event entails taking out civil professional liability insurance so that the company is legally covered in relation to third parties. During corporate events, material and/or corporal damage could arise, but there is also the risk that deterioration of facilities will occur, a fire will break out, clothes will be stolen from the changing room, someone might suffer food poisoning, etc. You should therefore protect against these risks, by taking out an insurance policy that is suitable for the event you have in mind.

The regulatory context for the site chosen

When you decide toorganise a corporate event somewhere other than at the company’s offices, you need to find out about the technical constraints associated with each type of establishment open to the public (or ‘ERP’, to use the French acronym). Venues such as an open-air site, a circus tent or a conference room or performance room do not all involve the same restrictions – particularly when it comes to their visitor capacity.

Note that there are also rules to follow, as regards the interior layout of a room: the corridors need to have a width of at least 1.20 m, there must be at least 2 exits, etc.

Managing security throughout the building

When it comes to security, there are several precautions you should take:

• Keep tabs on electrical facilities so as to prevent the risks of electric shock, electrocution and fire. Note that if your event requires you to install a specific power connection, you must be particularly careful.
• Check that you have enough fire extinguishers to hand – particularly if you are planning some form of entertainment that involves fire.
• Inspect the emergency exits and keep them clear.

Make sure you have sufficient mechanisms in place to provide accessibility for those with reduced mobility.

Managing the safety of the public

Depending on the number of guests attending, some security teams become mandatory (the emergency services or security guards to monitor the access points). If you do not use an event management agency, you will also have to form an organisation team to take charge of the event on the day, and to ensure that the safety rules are complied with.

The other permits and authorisations to obtain

Organising an event requires you to be able to know which things are formally prohibited and which ones require permission. For example, it’s possible to set up an extra bar in a temporary shack (inside a tent or in the open air), but you have to have permission; but as for using loud-speakers outdoors, that’s totally prohibited, and so it goes on.

Note that the rules on hygiene, whether in terms of the premises and the equipment or in terms of food preparation, obviously have to be known and complied with.

Over and above its organizational skills, event management agencies have to be aware of all these regulations, for they directly affect the work they do. In other words, with their support, you’ll save yourself the trouble of having to manage the event itself, but also of having to deal with all those side-issues that are in fact equally important!