Choose the right organising model
Hire an event employee or commission a project?
Your event workload keeps growing and someone asks whether to add a person to the payroll or bring in project help.
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The short answer
Hiring an employee builds a standing capacity that stays after the event and can be directed day to day. Commissioning a project buys a defined piece of work for a set period, with a handover at the end.
Test the workload over twelve months. If events and tasks fill most of a full-time role all year, an employee is worth costing. If the work peaks around one or two events, commissioning a project or a dedicated temporary manager is usually the closer fit.
What you are really choosing
The two routes buy different things: continuity and direction on one side, flexibility and scope on the other.
| Area | Hiring an event employee | Commissioning a project |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Steady hours, whether or not an event is near. | Concentrated around the project period. |
| Direction | Your manager directs the work daily. | Works from an agreed scope and checks in at set points. |
| Knowledge | Stays in the organisation if the person stays. | Delivered as handover documents, decision logs and supplier files. |
| Flexibility | Slower to scale up or down. | Scope can be agreed per event or phase. |
| Buying consequence | You take on employment obligations and ongoing costs. Contract, benefits and statutory matters are for HR or an employment adviser. | You buy a result for a period. The commercial basis and any end date are for you to agree in writing. |
When an employee is the better route
- The workload is steady across the year, not only around one date.
- You can brief, supervise and develop the person.
- Event knowledge needs to be built inside the organisation.
- The budget supports an ongoing role.
When commissioning a project is the better route
- The work peaks around one or two events.
- Nobody internally has the time or experience to lead the plan.
- You need results quickly and cannot wait for recruitment.
- Finance prefers a scoped cost with an end point.
Middle routes
A dedicated temporary manager working with your team for a period can cover a peak and then step back. A project lead can also set up plans and files so a future hire starts with the foundations in place.
Employment questions are for the right adviser
Whether someone is an employee or a contractor, and the cost, contribution and tax consequences, are for your HR or employment adviser to confirm. Use the question list below to gather the facts first.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional professional body compares two routes
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
The Persatuan Fiktif Akauntan Komuniti has a two-day annual conference and a smaller regional forum. The secretary counts 26 weeks of event work in the year, concentrated in two periods.
The committee finds that the work does not fill a full-time role. It decides to commission a dedicated temporary project manager for the conference period, to set up the plan and files, and to review in six months whether a part-time hire makes sense.
Use this yourself
Hire or commission question list
Answer these before deciding. If most answers show steady, year-round work, cost an employee. If they show peaks and gaps, price a project.
- How many weeks of event work are there in the next 12 months, and when?
- Would a full-time role be busy between events, with what work?
- Who would brief, supervise and review this person?
- What knowledge do we want to keep inside the organisation afterwards?
- What is the approved budget, and is it for a one-off or a standing role?
- How quickly is help needed, and can recruitment meet that date?
- What would HR or an employment adviser need to confirm before hiring?
- What handover documents would we expect if the work were commissioned?
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- The workload is steady all year.
- You have a manager ready to supervise a hire.
- The budget supports an ongoing role.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- The work peaks around one or two events.
- Nobody internally can lead the plan now.
- You need results before recruitment could finish.
Need dedicated help for a defined period?
An embedded event project manager can work with your team for an agreed period, taking on planning and coordination while your people keep the decisions. If dedicated capacity is not available for your dates, a conference project lead can coordinate the main event. Use the engagement selector and bring your twelve-month workload count.
Questions organisers ask
Is commissioning a project cheaper than hiring?
It depends on the workload. A steady year-round role can cost less per hour of useful work than repeated projects, while a peak-driven workload is usually cheaper to commission. Compare on your own twelve-month count.
Can a commissioned manager become a permanent hire later?
That is for you and the provider to agree. Settle it in the contract before work starts, and take advice if needed.
What if we hire and the workload drops?
That is a risk of a standing role. Check the workload honestly first, and look at a dedicated temporary manager if the peaks are the real problem.
Related resources
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