Registration

Onsite Registration is often a problem

Many congresses have great difficulty with registration and the process has been known to take 8 hours per person. This clearly is frustrating for the congress customers and much care needs to be taken to reduce this to a more acceptable level. A target of no more than 30 minutes per person is a sensible aim.

Why is it a problem?

• Large numbers of people arrive simultaneously
• Language difficulties where the organisers and the registrant cannot communicate well
• Prepared information is wrong or needs changing
• Disputes over money or other arrangements

How to handle it

• Plan well and try to think of all the nasty and awkward things that could happen - they will
• Do a practice run, preferably with the same team of people - either at a genuine tournament or with a lot of actors
• Allow space for each required function and let the functions flow from one spot to another with enough space for a queue between the functions. Never use one person/desk for two different functions
• Provide a special disputes area to avoid creating a traffic jam, and when the dispute is resolved fit the registrant into the appropriate queue at the front
• Provide (free) refreshments (water, cola...) if the queue gets too long.
• Do not try to handle excursions at registration
• Do not try to provide/sell lunches or dinners at registration - players will not yet know what facilities are available or what they want to do for meals

Functions required

• Registrant Details Checking
• Registrant Details Correcting
• Accommodation and key issuing
• Issue Breakfast Tickets?
• Issue Opening Ceremony tickets if required.
• Name badge
• The Bill? - How much is to be paid in total and how much remains to be paid
• Payment? and receipts
• Goody Bag with information, timetables and site maps
• National Requirements? - Eg in Russia the passport had to be handed over and a photo taken to validate the exit visa.

In Strausberg in Germany most functions were in adjacent rooms providing lots of space and registration worked well.

See other Starting points.