Event Management as a Profession

           Shreshta Srivastava
 Executive, Amity Communication

Every time when you saw a program like 'Filmfare' awards or those pop concerts and beauty pageants you would have wondered how people managed to set up such brilliant shows. Every tiny detail from your entering the venue to your going out is a result of rigorous planning. Well…that's event management for you.

One of the fastest and the most glamorous upcoming professions today, it means rubbing shoulders with who's who of the crème-de-la crème layer of the city.

It does mean big money, but it also involves lots of discipline and meticulous planning to be in this profession. So if you are thinking you are that type then go ahead and take the plunge. Planning an event is an event in itself. Your job as far as organizing an event begins with the very basics. The client comes to the event manager with a vague idea in mind…it is entirely upon the event manager to work on the idea and turn it into a reality.

Industry: Event Management is a multi-crore industry with mega shows and events hosted regularly. In India personal functions like marriages and birthday parties have become important social matters, and have to be professionally managed. The growth of sophisticated and mega companies have brought forth a spurt of meetings, seminars, exhibitions, conferences, product launches with everything being a matter of class and style. Then comes the innumerable celebrity shows, international artists shows, shows for a cause, road shows, competitions, that India has seen of late.

More than 300 companies have forayed into events. The early 90s has seen events spend at a mere 20 crores but now it has increased to over 1800 crores. Growth is therefore 200% annually. The FICCI has estimated event management to be an 1800 crore industry by 2007 . But surprisingly, research showed that there was no formalized education to teach event management and Companies found their executives not up to the mark to handle events. It was not so easy to train because event management includes organizational skills, technical knowledge, P.R., marketing, advertising, catering, logistics, decor, glamour identity, human relations, study of law and licenses, risk managements, budgeting, study of allied like television and other medias and several other areas.

Education: According to academic definition Event management is the application of the management science of project management to the creation and development of festivals and events. It is a powerful tool of communication.

There are an increasing number of universities which offer Graduate Degree/ Diploma in Event Management. In India following are the Event Management Institutes:

  • Amity Institute of Event Management; New Delhi
  • Event Management Development Institute; Mum bai, Pune, Kochi , Bangalore , Hyderabad , and Coimbatore
  • National Institute of Event Management; Pune, Hyderabad , Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Delhi
  • The International Institute of Event Management; Mum bai, New Delhi
  • Empire institute of Learning ; Mum bai
  • National Academy of Event Management & Development; Mum bai
  • College Of Event Management; Pune.
  • International Centre for Event Marketing ; New Delhi

Career opportunities are in the following Industries:

  • Event Management Firms
  • Event Management Consultancy
  • Hotel, travel and hospitality Industries
  • Advertising Agencies
  • Public Relations Firms
  • Corporations
  • News Media
  • Not-for-Profit-Organizations

Skills Needed: There are a host of other qualities, which are essential for a person to be well-equipped in this field. These include:

  • Analytical/Critical thinking and problem solving - Analytical thinking, critical thinking and problem solving are abilities that are a must in this field. You should be able to acknowledge a problem, recognize that it has to be solved then and there, and always think on how the situation could be avoided in future.
  • Client/Customer service orientation - Client/customer service orientation is the ability to be client focused and committed to meeting the needs of your customer. An event manager has to be client focused, he must attempt to know the client's needs, he must be able to put them at ease while interacting with them, build trust and respect with customers and clients.
  • Good negotiation skills - It is a general opinion that negotiating means underestimating the seller. On the contrary it is a skill in business which, when developed, makes you an astute minded businessman.
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines - An event manager should be able to handle pressures and deadlines at ease. Inspite of meticulous planning and arrangement, a small error or miscalculation can wreak havoc and disrupt the entire schedule. At such testing times, you should be able to remain calm and cool and perform your role as though everything is under control, so that others are not adversely affected.
  • Teamwork, facilitation and co-operation - Needless to say, one of the most important things here is the ability to work as a team. You should not only know how to lead a team but also work with everyone and get the job done. You should be able to build efficient teams of people and facilitate their effectiveness. Always remember, "There is no 'I' in Team".
  • Planning, co-ordination and organization - This involves the ability to effectively coordinate and organize oneself, others, information and/or situations at a personal and/or organizational level.
  • Good networking skills - An event manager needs to build up his own network and the number of contacts he has the more successful he will be. Any kind of business can be only expanded through contacts and you must therefore have the skill and aptitude to go out and talk to people.


Joining an event management company: A person who enters into this field has to first join as a trainee. This person becomes the promotion co-coordinator. Event management companies nowadays hire lots of young people for this post. A very basic job in promoting the event is given to them. One could do this on a freelance basis also. The next job in this field is event co-ordination. The main job of an event co-coordinator is to supervise the various stages of planning in event management. After having few years of experience depending on skills & learning capability of Individual you will be Manager Events and even can start your own event company. Few premium Event Companies in India are:

  • Stance Media
  • Wizcraft
  • Show House
  • Arclights Eventz Network Pvt. Ltd.
  • Jagran Solutions
  • Entertainment Solution Providers ( India ) Private Ltd.
  • Scorpio Event Management

Remuneration: Remuneration in this field varies according to the type of the event managed. It is a field with great options. The sky is the limit for a successful event manager. After a course in event management, fresher's can earn Rs 500-1000 per day. The starting salary for professionals can be anywhere between Rs. 8,000 and Rs. 10,000. Once they establish themselves and have enough experience in the field, event managers could command fees from Rs.50, 000 to Rs.1 lakh or above per event depending on their client.

In Short , this is a profession which demands perfection, challenge of meeting deadlines within a stipulated time and budget and the patience to pay attention to every small detail of things that go into the organizing. It keeps a person on his toes, and ultimately provides a great deal of satisfaction and emotional contentment of having organized a successful show which is appreciated by the audience. Of course, one also needs to be prepared to handle any mishaps that may just happen at the last minute despite perfect co-ordination and arrangements.

Ready to take plunge!!