Lessons From Catching COVID-19: Tips for Event Producers and Project Managers

Hello, all. Lisa Marks here. I’ll start this blog with the meat of the story so you can read further with more intention: 

I caught COVID-19. 

Almost three weeks ago now. 

It was considered a mild case, and I am 99% recovered (will my sense of smell ever come back?) so yes, I am doing just fine now. I didn’t ever have shortness of breath or worry about my long term health, a reality for which I am very grateful. 

Here’s where it all gets very interesting. 

My symptoms started exactly 6 days prior to the start of a three day, in-person client event. 

I want to note, our client’s main focus through the whole planning process was safety. The events were fully private, far below restriction headcount, and everyone had the great fortune of being privately tested before coming together, including event staff. We implemented the highest possible standards of safety protocols and I can say without a doubt that we took all possible precautions. This is why events of all sizes, even virtual, should have trained event professionals at the table.

The lessons I am sharing are super valuable for clients, event producers, project managers and executive directors who are leading important projects and events (in person and virtual), who want to reduce the risk of project disruption while we ride out the pandemic rules, ensure maximum safety throughout the planning process, and eliminate client reputational risk throughout. 

My “hindsight is 20/20” learnings will likely help you avoid the potential disaster of a critical team member getting sick, reduce the spread of COVID-19 through your teams, and setting you all up to have a steady hand if the worst case scenario happens, like it did for us.

Anyways, back to the story and, more importantly, the lessons.

I caught COVID-19 a week out from a very important client event, one with a need for high touch execution, across multiple venues, back to back days, and high expectations. What are the odds, eh? The universe has a sick sense of humour.

Once I started to feel symptoms (about 72 hours prior to diagnosis, and 7 days in advance of the event), I went into isolation. Once I got my positive result, our team sprung into solutions mode, focusing our energies on activating an as-of-yet-unwritten Plan B for my physical absence, bringing newly added team members up to speed, and sharing all of the instinctive (and almost un-teachable) “things” to consider for every minute of producing this kind of live experience.

After getting sick, living in isolation for 18 days (because I live with someone so our collective term was longer), leading my team from afar, directing an event via text and FaceTime, and the long hours of work to ensure all elements were covered, here are my top 3 MUST DO’s Tips for project leaders, event producers and production managers:

Tip # 1 - Implement a blanket “no project team members in the same room” rule.

This one is hard to imagine for some team constructs but super important if you are working on a big project where your team members are critical to success. 

Businesses of all sizes including F500 and F1000 corporations mandate that no two C-Suite executives can fly together on the same private or commercial plane. This governance is in place for a reason: if the worst case scenario were to happen, the company needs to guarantee some consistency of leadership.

So, we recommend from “day 1” of an important project timeline, implement an immediate “no two team members in the same room” rule, until the pandemic isolation/quarantine restrictions lift. 

The reason this is so important is that someone can be carrying the virus without yet having symptoms, and therefore anyone that person comes into contact with for longer than 15 minutes (regardless of wearing a mask or distancing) has to go into 14 days of isolation, if that person starts to show symptoms. 

This means project leaders not only have to replace the sick person to be physically present for the event or project execution, but you have to also navigate working with the “close contact” team mates in isolation from afar. It’s a ruthless web. 

Continue to leverage Zoom and Microsoft teams etc to give the sense of being together, and tighten up your communication skills to ensure nothing is missed.

Tip # 1B - No event VIPs in the same room together while planning the event.

This is just important to note with its own section. One of our key and unfortunate learnings was - all meetings with event emcees and client VIPs should be virtual until show day. Avoid the disruption of having to sub out key parts of the event due to exposure to someone who ends up testing positive for COVID-19.

Tip # 2 - Strategically plan for staggered site visits

This is when reality starts to hit home. Right now, group site visits and walking the property or venue for an event space as a full team are off the table. Even if you’re producing a virtual show and touring a virtual event space, these thought processes apply.

Again, the restrictions placed upon those who happened to be around someone who tests positive for COVID-19 can be super stressful on the impending project and can mean you lose physical access to senior team members with no notice.

Any good production manager and intuitive event producer can navigate this no problem, and it could be the difference between smooth project execution and navigating the bumps of government mandated isolation. Not to mention, this plan will reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

My recommendation here is to strategically map out your site visits:

• Block more time than usual for the full site visit

• Venue lead + client/event producer meet and walk the venue 1:1

• Second venue rep + event ‘second chair’ meet and walk the venue 1:1 (with event producer on FaceTime if needed)

• Third venue rep + supplier/partner rep meet and walk the venue 1:1 (with event producer on FaceTime if needed)

• So on and so forth 

Plan for a virtual meeting within 12 hours of the site visits while all comments and notes are still fresh. Allow for some budget to cover more time from the venue side if needed.

This approach allows you to keep all event ‘department’ leads apart, never overlapping senior project leaders in the same room - yes, even site visits get flagged by your local health authorities.

Tip # 3 - Leaders - start to duplicate yourselves. Now. 

I totally believe that each of us have our special and unique individual strengths that bring value to clients, many of which can’t be easily replicated, especially if you are the executive director on a project.

That said, my message to executive directors and high-level project leaders is to not only NEVER do anything alone in a bubble (Microsoft invented “CC” on emails for a reason), but also to share your thought processes and instincts with key team members more often. This will enable your onsite producers or coordinators to start to adopt a wider range of view and, in theory, duplicate you onsite. 

Sit at your desk with Zoom open, on mute (or perhaps with volume on but video off) with key team members also at their respective desks, with Zoom on, to enable impromptu teachings and conversations.

Team members will surprise you, in a good way, and step into their own leadership skills when there is no safety net. It’s a powerful thing to watch.

Final thoughts:

Working through the physical pain and discomfort of COVID-19 was one thing; letting my dear clients know of the wrench that had been thrown amidst a very special event was quite another. I remain in deep gratitude for the kindness, understanding, and trust my clients showed me throughout.

To my collective of event professionals and team mates: thank you for your unwavering commitment to the project and to excellence - without each of you, we would have been enormously lost in the challenges. I am very grateful to partner with the highest level of talent and leadership there is. Much love.