Fasure Company Conference Evaluation
Fasure Company amid a fierce competition organized a 4-day conference to come up with new ideas for their products and strategize on appropriate approaches to conducting business. Typically, the event objective was to re-invent its concept of home products and incorporate sustainable practices. The event was scheduled on August, and 200 invitees were to attend and comprised of executives, engineers, and supervisors. The planning for that event lasted nine months, and the total budget was estimated at $ 800,000. Post-program evaluation of such an event is essential to both the planner and attendees and forms the primary focus of this essay.
Evaluation Tools: Interview and Observation
The primary evaluation tools utilized in analyzing success and failure of the conference were two. The first was the interview that consisted face to face and issue of questionnaires to cover views from the attendees. The questions presented essential covered areas such as perspective on the programs, catering services, evening entertainment, accommodation, logistics, and amenities provided (Posavac, 2015). The second evaluation tool was through structured observation that took into account the participants' behavior and level of attendance during sessions and post-program events. This evaluation was vital and presented an opportunity for improvement to the organizer and also benefited participants in different degrees.
Planner's Perspective
In the point of view of the planner, the evaluation revealed sections that were well covered and those that needed improvements. For instance, some of the areas that the planner scored highest include the choice of speakers that was rated excellent, 76% on the morning program benefits, 70% on accommodation and services and 88% on Thursday night entertainment. Additionally, in the aspect of ideas and content coverage, 65% of the participants classified the morning program as excellent with evening session scoring only 45%. The pool and swim up bar were also classified as the best amenities that the participants enjoyed the most. The other area that depicted success was efficiency in resource management whereby the whole program expenditure was within the set estimated budget. However, some area that organizer needs to improve include catering services provided, especially the boxed lunch that was classified as awful and forced most of the attendee to order from local delicatessens. The program schedule is the other area that received a rating of not acceptable, especially the afternoon sessions and 92% on hours of events. Moreover, 85% of the participant rated transportation to and fro the resort as not acceptable. Finally, the choice of a speaker on Tuesday night was not satisfactory and made most of the attendees creped out of the hall.
Clients' Benefit Viewpoint
In the clients' benefit viewpoint, evaluation primarily focuses on the level of reach out and measurement of interaction (Povasac, 2015). In the aspect of reach out, clients' attendance was remarkable since all 200 invitees made it to the event. However, the level of cooperation from the attendees varied. For instance, most of the afternoon sessions received less attention from the attendees and even classified that program as 65% not acceptable and as much as 40% of not generating innovative ideas or plan. Additionally, the clients did not utilize the evening program as an interaction point. For example, working seat down dinner event on Tuesday night saw most of the participants walking out before the speech was over that reduced its overall impact. In spite of those shortcomings, most of the morning session was impactful and received an excellent rating as high as 76% from the clients' feedback. Besides, Thursday night dinner was well attended and most of the participants seemed to enjoy the program and stayed to the end. The participants regarding the creation of innovative ideas and plans satisfied the objectives of the conference, especially the morning session with a rating of 65%.
Recommendations for Improvement
In retrospect, the general outcome of the conference was successful. Nevertheless, some recommendations could have made the experience during the event better. The first is to incorporate risk management into the plan that will cover disappointments like for speaker on Tuesday night and lunch after kitchen tragedy. The second recommendation is to improve logistics, especially from the airport to the resort using first class transportation like the use of limousines. Finally, to include the participants in arrangements such that their ideas are incorporated into the scheduling of programs.
References
Posavac, E. J. (2015). Program evaluation: Methods and case studies. Routledge.
