3 Ways We Prepared Our Staff for the Return of Live Events
This spring has been a season of rebuilding at Crêpes à Latte. It’s so exciting to see that live events are finally back, and our industry is thriving once again. We are beaming with pride to announce that from Jan - June 2022 we will have supported 200+ services across 55 tradeshows and events in 26 cities!
Preparing for this challenge after almost 2 years of event cancelations required the focus and effort of our entire team. Over the last six months, we initiated several programs to hire and train our team and improve upon our best practices with one goal in mind: To continue our legacy of providing exceptional client experiences from sales to service execution.
Recruiting New Road Warriors
One of the first initiatives we launched at the start of the New Year was to increase our roster of part-time team members. These individuals represent some of the smiling faces seen working behind the hospitality counter in your tradeshow booth. However, the pandemic left us with a limited number of staff available to manage the hospitality services in our clients’ booths as events began to return. Through our effective recruiting practices and detailed training program, we were able to hire and train 50+ new recruits, bringing us to 100+ hospitality brand ambassadors nationwide! This is in addition to our full-time team of 27 working at our headquarters in the Chicagoland area. Our 100% fully vaccinated team of hospitality veterans are busy creating memorable experiences for our clients day-after-day.
Building Up Through Our Referral Program
One of our most successful tools for recruiting new staff members has been our Team Member Referral Program. Through this program our current team members are encouraged to invite qualified friends or family to join us if they feel the person would make a great addition to the Crêpes à Latte family. Team members who refer qualified hospitality ambassadors that successfully complete 3 shows receive a $200 referral bonus. This investment encourages our seasoned team members to identify people in their networks that have the skills for providing the best experience for our clients. In the past several months our seasoned team Lillian Adelle has referred us 5 new team members. Her referrals are motivated by the positivity she spreads about the Crêpes à Latte brand and her passion for supporting our clients’ tradeshow experiences.
Setting Our Supervisors Up for Success
This year we also refreshed our Supervisor Training Program. Our show supervisors are the backbone of our team on the tradeshow floor as they make sure your hospitality service are set-up to client specifications. They also support our in-booth team members with any needs that may arise during the show, so there’s no service interruption. To prepare them for this challenging role, our supervisors attended an in-depth two-day training program along with a six-month mentorship program led by our Vice President of Hospitality, Troy Heldt. The program provides our team with all the tools needed to ensure we exceed our client’s expectations.
What’s Next
With our exceptional team of hospitality brand ambassadors, we are trained and ready to take on the rest of 2022 and beyond. We look forward to helping you connect with your targeted customers and getting your brand noticed through the power of aromatic, sweet and savory experiences!
