Best Practices for Event Leaders

To help you grow or start an educational group that can effectively meet the needs of today’s BDSM communities, here are ideas about best practices that have been successful for other groups around the US. This guide covers a range of basics to consider, from security issues to protocols on recruiting volunteers.

Note: It is up to individual leaders to adapt our recommendations to their membership realities. Use this as an aspirational guide (what you could achieve in a perfect world.) Don’t expect perfect results. Your group or location may make some things impractical, even impossible.

Make a Team Pledge

Everyone who works for an event should be on the same philosophical page about that event. Here are some basic issues you want to cover with people before you recruit them unless you feel you know them well enough (a close confidant, friend, partner, etc.) to be sure they already do. Create a quick pledge and ask them to sign it.

They accept diversity and will demonstrate tolerance to ALL, no exceptions
They agree this event is being put on for the people who attend, not for the leaders’ ego boost. Every event is a service to the Community — staff is a service team at the event.
They will intervene with people whose scenes/fetishes involve racism (Nazi players and Race Players) or the wilder edges of RACK (gun-play, scat, shitting in diapers, asphyxiation, consensual non-consensual, questionable bondage safety, etc.) and agree to ask them to please restrict their play to private rooms

Set Up A Security Team

Setting up a Security Team to handle things at an event of any size is the first priority for leaders. Create this team before you line up your educators and schedule meetings for them where they can discuss how they would handle both common problems and rare emergencies.

Why you need a Security Team

Anything and everything can go wrong when you are running a group event, from broken toilets to bad scenes. While you can’t predict which particular problem will strike, a Security Team (from 3-20 people, depending on the size of the event) can quickly resolve problems as they arise. Otherwise, the event owner/sponsor will find him/herself running ragged trying to put out fires and dealing with questions and problems flying at them in dozens of different directions. Instead, appoint Security Personnel who report back to the event organizers or touch base with them on an as-needed basis.

There should always be one or more DM’s in play areas (depending on the size of the dungeon) to keep an eye out for clear SSC/RACK violations.
A designated Security Person should be available in your registration area in case of emergencies. That person should know how to direct people to any First Aid or medical equipment services on premises, plus have phone numbers and directions to a doctor or hospital in the unlikely event that someone has a medical crisis. They can also handle any security questions or complaints about the venue and have a direct line to venue staff in case a public facility needs an emergency repair, air-conditioner adjustment etc.
A designated Security Person should monitor class/lecture areas to keep an eye on human traffic through halls and in and out of classrooms. That person can also escort people who are rowdy, drunk, or otherwise unwelcome off the premises or handle any security-related problems for both educators and their audiences.
Your Security Team should deal with any law enforcement problems in the unlikely event that someone called the cops. Be prepared to have your most articulate and law-enforcement-friendly people interface with any outside agents so you can handle things quietly and with dignity, without throwing attendees into a panic.
Your Security Team is charged with ensuring that no one leaves your event feeling hurt, disenfranchised or freaked out. That means they may be called in to deal with people in Nazi uniforms, with Adult Babies and others who may violate sanitary norms in public areas, and sympathetically responding to legitimate BDSM worries (including the possibility of predatory, homophobic, transphobic or sexist behaviors) quickly and decisively.

Even if you are running a small event (20 people or more), make sure you have at least one Security Team leader who can quickly deal with problems as they arise, including accessibility issues or keeping the right doors open or closed at your venue.

Finally, make sure your Security Team is EASY to identify for attendees. Make them stand out. A security t-shirt or bright-colored hat is preferable to a badge because it will help attendees spot them quickly. If you don’t have the budget to print shirts, print out BIG stickers and slap it front and back on their clothes so they are easily identifiable to attendees. You can also make them stand up at the opening speech/orientation so everyone knows what they’re wearing. It will reassure your audience that you care about their safety.

Qualifications for Being on a Security Team

Be picky when it comes to selecting Security because screw-ups will come back to haunt you and your group.

1. Safety trained. The ideal candidates will know the ins and outs of SSC and RACK. Medical background is a plus.
2. Respectful to ALL attendees. This is a requirement. If you want people to return to your events, your Security Team should treat every attendee l with courtesy and respect, regardless of their demographics.
3. Able to follow directions given. This is extremely important. If people can’t or won’t follow the will of the designated leader(s), replace them. No room for big egos!
4. SSC, with an emphasis on sane. Pick low/no-drama and experienced BDSM people so that you can count on getting things done without in-fighting or power plays.
5. Keep those who manifest any prejudice or bigotry of any type away from your events.

Build A Planning Committee

Before you start making a lot of independent plans, start recruiting trusted friends and colleagues to sign on to a Planning Committee. Planning committees should include local and outside people for the best ideas.

Every leader should also pick a “second in command” person who can fill in with them and discuss confidential issues that may arise. The leader’s second-in-command should be a persistent detail person who can keep track of what everyone’s saying, follow-up with people on deadlines, and help the leader to be more efficient overall.

Why you need a Planning Committee

Having several people contributing ideas across a variety of BDSM styles, identities and interests will help you in four important ways

They can introduce new ideas and creative solutions to your project and give you the input every leader needs to make good decisions
They can share the workload or take over some areas, and generally keep everything on track should the leader have family or health emergencies to deal with.
A committee makes you look more professional. It conveys the sense of organization, commitment, and a community of voices making decisions. It’s very reassuring to attendees to know you are professionally organized.
The more demographically diverse your Planning Committee, the more input, the better your chances of creating a truly inclusive event.

Important Considerations for Your Planning Committee

Ideally, a group should begin a year ahead of time before a BIG event to begin planning for presenters, venue, publicity, advertising, volunteer coordinator, vendor coordinator.

Once you have recruited your Planning Committee, create a mechanism so you can all review documents together. Use Google Drive or DropBox so you can share with your Committee members. The event leader should have easy access to every planning chart, contract, release, speakers’ list, budget charts, and all other documents related to the event. Committee members should have access to anything that is relevant to their duties but only the leader (and if there is a second-in-command, that person too) should be able to see everything.

The most successful committees run on a top-down management style, with a clear leader who inspires people to honor their commitments and stick to the script. A leader needs to be able to have veto power over ideas and people too. This is a tricky thing because each person brings in many independent ideas that could clash … and did we ever mention BDSM power issues and personalities? Divas do not make good team-players. Keep it real and let your leadership shine.

Unfortunately, events often attract people who want credit but won’t actually do the work. The head honcho needs either to motivate them or replace slackers quickly. Otherwise, they are a deadweight on the committee and will become a source of resentment for the hard-working volunteers.

Since events need to have an air of professionalism about them from all involved – from the leader to the humblest volunteer — the leader is also responsible for keeping drama and infighting to a minimum. Even if it slows down progress at the beginning, you are better off building a reliable planning committee than accepting people who will cause problems for you down the road. The reality is that most things do not go as planned on event day. Your committee will need to work together, to be flexible and to bring you solutions, not just new problems. Event day is not the time for tempers to flare or nerves to shatter. The last thing you need at your event is an argument at the registration table between committee members for all attendees and hotel staff to witness.

This is also not the time to draw the line between Dominants and submissives unless you are producing a high protocol event. Service to the Community levels the playing field: regardless of identity, everyone should be expected to carry their load. There is a big difference between attending an event and being on a committee or group that produces an event. The work doesn’t stop for volunteers when the event begins! Volunteers need to understand not to come with the expectation that they’ve already worked hard and now you get to just sit back while others work the event. Good events have an “all hands on deck” mentality and good leaders should have a plan to deal with people who don’t take their job seriously.

Finally, no one benefits when the top banana(s) are overworked and running on fumes. People who try to do it all themselves end up either exhausted or disorganized and usually both. It takes a small army of eager, motivated BDSMers to produce a great event. Make sure you schedule in breaks for yourself. If you pick the right people to work with you, they can fill in when you need a break.

Volunteers

Both training your volunteers and holding them accountable are keys to success. A volunteer coordinator needs to be able to check on volunteers, manage schedules, and have those difficult conversations if necessary (with respect and professionalism).

Create a specific chart of needs – know how many person-hours are required for each task so you will know how many people you need to fill all your spots. Then add 10% more as “runners” to cover your bases in case you have no-shows.
Be sure to assign people to tasks they are able to do. Remember, just because someone has a physical limitation or a mental difference, does not mean that they cannot volunteer.
Have a specific plan for perks. How many hours = a free entry, or a specific $ discount on costs of the event. Be clear in the sign up as to what is expected from a volunteer before they commit to anything.
Have a sign in table for volunteers where they report to sign in 5 minutes before the start of their shift, and return to sign out at the end of their shift. It’s a simple pencil & paper system to track volunteer attendance.
Have someone available to make rounds to ensure that volunteers are at their posts (a trusted second in command type person).
There are volunteer scheduling apps you can purchase which may be useful if your budget permits

Effectively Motivating Staff and Volunteers

Consider motivating your people with perks! While some people may be satisfied just by doing the work, most people want to be acknowledged publicly and given credit for the work they did.

Ways you Could Show Them Gratitude

Thank them all by name in your event brochure, listing their names and (if they wish) how others may contact them via the Internet (email, FB, Twitter, etc.)

Throw them a pre-event social gathering, closed to them only. Add some non-alcoholic beverages, cookies or home-made casseroles to show them food love.

If you have the budget, create a vest-pin, buttons or sash to show their flair with pride.

Offer a certificate of participation they can hang on a wall.

If you’re a team leader, stand up at your staff/volunteer meeting, and thank them as a group.

If you’re a team leader, walk around and personally thank everyone who worked for you.

Ask team leaders to take a bow at orientation or at the closing event for special recognition.

Wind-down or After-Event meeting

After it’s all over, consider hosting a final, low-key meeting for staff only. Ask someone to take notes which will go into a folder for future event planning. Use this time to decompress, to talk about what worked and what did not, and to share stories and celebrate your successes together. If problems arose, solicit opinions. Could you have handled it better? Were there any people who should be barred from the next event because of rule violations? Did you spot any people who would be awesome volunteers or educators? Did you see anyone that might be a solid addition to the planning board? Write it all down in your notes so you can refer to them when you plan the next event. Once the business part is over, leave a little time for fun — a group swim or a group toast — so everyone leaves feeling relaxed and in a good mood. They — and you — deserve that.

Prepared and written by the Founding Board of BED, February 2018