Stagehands march thru the streets to draw attention to their plight in 2020
Recently I reached out to a few AV partners for support on a small event. Some companies were apologetic, some didn’t even bother to reply. Ultimately, it was the eighth company that I contacted, that was able to execute the event. Included among those that turned me down was the venue recommended preferred provider. They all had the same reason, no crew. They had plenty of gear sitting on the shelves, but no drivers to operate the delivery trucks. No crew to load in or set up. No technicians to run the show.
With live events coming back strong, I’ve seen this scenario play out in every aspect of the events industry. Build companies unable to find carpenters, caterers unable to find staff, the list goes on and on.
Everyone is asking the same question. “Where the heck is my workforce?”
There’s more than one answer to the question.
First and foremost is the sobering realization that as of this writing, the US has lost 1.1 million people to COVID. The last time we lost such a large number of citizens in a short amount of time was World War II. 16 million Americans served in WWII. Of those 16 million, nearly 420,000 US citizens never came home.
The impact on the workforce helped the feminist movement gain momentum, as most of the 16 million service people were men, and women stepped in to fill the gaps in the workforce. It also had an effect on civil rights. Jobs that may not have been open to people of color, suddenly were.
Second, and complicating matters, the pandemic shutdowns caused many gig workers to reexamine their career choices. The freedom of choice with freelance employment was replaced with the grim reality of little to no income or security. While the top tier of skilled freelancers in our industry managed to cobble together an income, many chose to leave the industry for something with fixed hours and more secure income.
While the more experienced freelancers, those with a wide network and long history have come back as the industry opened back up, the younger generation have made different choices.
Third, with the rising cost of living and the 2022 economy in general, the only way we are going to be able to entice these young freelancers back into the industry, is with higher wages.
With every other aspect of the events business suddenly costing more, making smart choices about where to spend your event budget, and how to make that budget matter, is more important than ever before.
Have you read the report? An Outlook on Events in 2022
In the report you'll learn:
→ Key trends for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events in 2022
→ The biggest challenges for event organizers in 2022
→ Why investments in event technology this year are critical for creating efficiencies and better attendee experiences
When you're done reading the report, scanning the web for more info, and feel like you are armed and ready, give me a call and we can discuss how to connect the dots.