sports event management - FIFA/CIES International University Network

Personnelin association withIMPACTSPORTS RECRUITMENTthe London 2012 and Vancouver 2010Olympic Games and is currently workingon behalf of the Rio 2016 OrganisingCommittee, says that the approach tosenior roles has changed significantlyover the years.“Everybody wants to benefit fromknowledge transfer and adopt bestpractice but there is also a desireamong some Organising Committees toinnovate and do things their own way.Consequently they are often looking forfresh blood with new ideas.“There are also issues aroundgovernments becoming involved in theprocess and, in some cases, insisting onusing local people rather than recruitingfrom the international talent pool.“The outcome is that, in general,the very top roles go to people withsuccessful track records outside ofevents while the middle managementtier brings the specialist knowledge ofindividual functional areas.”“The people at the top of OrganisingCommittees have to be tremendouslybright, capable and ahead of the curve.They must have experience of dealingnot only with major projects but with acomplex set of stakeholders and theability to understand the public as well asthe private sector. In addition, the oneswho do well are those who are used tooperating at a certain scale and operatinginternationally.”“Over the years the sector has becomemore appealing to quality businesspeople because it is now viewed as a realbusiness challenge.“In fact, we now spend a lot of timetesting motivation because there arepeople who apply for roles for the wrongreason. There is a lot of passion in sportand while that is important, it has to becontrolled and it is easy to get the heart/head balance wrong.Chris King of Sports RecruitmentInternational agrees that search andrecruitment in the events sector isbeing driven by the need for greaterprofessionalism across the board.“Events are such a big commitmentand the risks can be high. That meansthat leadership is critical, not justacross entire projects but in each of theindividual areas which make up an event.“There has been a significant evolutionin recruitment in the sector and a moresophisticated approach has emerged.London 2012, for example, adopted avery process driven approach to eventmanagement and in many instances hiredfor capability rather than direct experience.They recruited for the entire journey andexpected people to change jobs within theorganisation along the way.”But, says King, circumstancesinevitably differ between events.“If you to somewhere like Qatar, which ismaking such an impression on the eventsstage, they have a small population anda skills base which is still developing.They will need help to recruit from theinternational talent pool even if theappetite is, where possible, to hire locally.”Will Lloyd, founder of the onlinecareers and recruitment serviceGlobalSportsJobs is equally convincedthat recruitment is the most importantelement of the event management mix.“The important thing is to recruit forthe right blend of experience, skills andattitude across the team,” he said.“As I see it the biggest mistake, madeby some Organising Committees is tohave too rigid a recruitment strategyfrom the outset. It is vital to have aflexible attitude to allow you to deal withsituations as they arise. For example,there is a tendency for OCs to believethey are thinking globally while actuallytaking a local approach to hiring.“That may be understandable fromthe perspective of wishing to create atalent legacy. But while a talent legacy isimportant and can be a lucrative exportif approached correctly, focusing on thisrather than a successful event can havedisastrous consequences.Lloyd has three key pieces of advicefor OCs.“It may seem obvious but it is easy toforget that an event is only as good asthe people you hire to deliver it,” he said.“You have to start early, and get thebest professional advice you can todeliver a watertight strategic plan andensure that you get the good blend ofexperience, skills, attitude, languageand culture.”34 SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT