Before you hire staff for an in-store promotion, a conference, a festival or a sporting event, it pays to ask the agency a few questions. The answers help you avoid the most common problems, such as someone who doesn’t turn up or can’t explain what you sell. These are the seven we would ask, after more than 20 years of putting teams together.
1. Who chooses the people, and how?
Ask them to explain. Normally that means looking for people who have worked on similar jobs, who live nearby and who speak the languages you need. If the answer stops at “we have lots of people”, keep asking.
2. Are they employed and registered with Social Security?
Everyone should be employed and registered by the agency. If the store or venue asks for health and safety coordination paperwork, the agency should prepare it.
3. Who trains them, and when?
Before the first day they should know your brand, the space and the schedule, and what they have to say or do. Ask whether you can give them a session or send them a document with the key points.
4. How will you know they are there and when they arrived?
Today you can see it in real time. At A10 everyone clocks in on their phone from their station and the app checks their location, so you always know who is working and how many hours they have done.
5. What happens if someone drops out?
Ask whether they have reserves in the area and how long one would take to arrive. The more people the agency has in your city, the easier it is to cover a last-minute absence.
6. Who coordinates during the activity?
You need the name and phone number of someone who will answer. If the team is large or spread across several points, also ask for someone to coordinate on site.
7. What do you receive at the end?
At the very least, the hours worked by each person. If you agree it in advance, also a report with photos, contacts, samples handed out or sales, and any incidents.
If you have an activity or event in the diary, tell us the dates, the place and how many people you need, and we will prepare a quote.
More guides: in-store promotions, major sporting events, conferences and festivals.