All in a day’s work – behind the scenes

08 Oct 2019

BY AIDEN HIPPENSTEEL

EVENT SERVICES FLOOR MANAGER

Does managing 150 containers, 40 forklifts and getting 265 vehicles through the loading dock to build 180+ exhibition stands while ensuring 2,500 workers seamlessly delivered 250 conference sessions sound like a challenge? For me it’s one of my team’s greatest feats.

For the last three years, I have been working at my dream job – delivering memorable events at ICC Sydney in the role of Event Operations Floor Manager. As a part of the Event Services department I am one of 12 Floor Managers, reporting to the Event Services Operations Manager. The above figures are from my time supporting the team’s delivery of Sibos 2018, the world’s premier financial services conference, and gives you a small glimpse into what my role entails.

Since joining the ICC Sydney team, I have had the privilege of being responsible for the delivery of more than 75 events – from conferences to exhibitions, high-profile business meetings to full scale banquets, while all ensuring the safety of our guests remains priority. This is addition to playing a supporting role in a further 700 events. These events have all presented their own unique set of challenges and required tailored solutions, and so when thinking about a typical day in my role, I can safely say that at this amazing venue, no two days are ever the same.

The key thing people ask me about my job is – what exactly do you do? In short, my role is to be the point of contact for clients once they are on site to ensure they are fully supported and equipped for their event. I liaise with team members across multiple departments, including event planning, security, risk management and presentation services, as well as external stakeholders and suppliers to ensure that every aspect of an event is delivered. Whilst this is often one of the most challenging aspects of the job, managing the many lines of communication, it is equally a big focus.

A key passion for me is venue safety, which may not sound exciting to some, but it is something that is essential to ensuring the welfare of our guests. As part of this, we have developed a culture of ‘risk-based thinking’ and incident reporting to help ensure we continuously maintain operational excellence, and this is underpinned through training and embedded procedures and reviews. As an Event Operations Floor Manager this really is my responsibility, and so I have developed an acute knowledge of building regulations and requirements – especially when it comes to manoeuvring valuable and sizable items in and out of spaces at predetermined times.

In addition to Sibos 2018, another proud moment for me in the past twelve months was to be named as a finalist for the 2018 Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award. To be recognised by the industry that I am so passionate about is truly flattering and it makes all the effort that I put in feel worthwhile. With such a diverse role and interesting events unfolding each week, I genuinely feel excited walking through the doors at ICC Sydney every day.

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