1. What is important when designing the check-in area for a conference?
🛫 A successful start often depends on a flawless check-in process. Conference organizers can score points by making the right preparations and leaving nothing to chance, from counter opening times to wayfinding.
✅ Does the number of counters match the size of the conference?
A single manned counter is rarely enough for a conference. Most attendees will likely arrive on the first day, and possibly all at once or in quick succession. It is therefore important not to keep anyone waiting for long and not to overwhelm your staff. Plan for a check-in time of about one minute per person. For 1,000 attendees, you should aim to have about ten counters available.
✅ Are the counters organized by function?
When organizing your conference counters, it is best to take inspiration from airports. Instead of grouping them by airline, organize the counters by function. In addition to standard check-in counters, you could have specific ones for on-site registrations or VIP guests. Once you have your attendee list, it is also worth assigning letter groups to each check-in counter so that roughly the same number of people check in at each station.
✅ Can everyone find their way?
If only a handful of people arrive at the counters while the rest are missing, it might be because they got lost on the way. Very few people are familiar with the venue upon arrival. Help them find their way by putting up signage and directional markers. Make sure that all signs are clearly visible and not obscured by plants or other objects.
✅ Is it clear when each counter is staffed?
Just because a conference has many counters doesn't mean they all need to be staffed around the clock. The most important thing is that no counter is closed during peak arrival times. Once the rush is over, it is fine to keep only a few open as information desks where staff can help with any questions.
✅ Are the visitors informed?
The best planning is useless if no one knows about it. Use the conference website or app to inform attendees about how the check-in process will work. Also, communicate the times during which check-in is available.
✅ Are all materials ready?
Prepare everything you want to hand out to attendees during check-in well in advance. Check that the conference folders are complete. Are all name tags ready? Also, be careful not to mix up badges. This creates unnecessary effort later and will cause problems for at least two people during check-in.
2. What does the service staff need to know?
🧚 While all-knowing staff are certainly a great asset, you don't necessarily need them to be omniscient. Staff who are well-prepared for all eventualities are an excellent remedy for stress and unanswered questions during the check-in process. A good briefing pays off here in particular.
✅ Have you prepared your staff for the upcoming tasks?
There is no substitute for good preparation. For some of your staff, this might be the first conference they have supported. Having experienced colleagues on hand is helpful, but an in-depth training session is even better. This allows everyone to familiarize themselves with the technology and software being used in a relaxed setting. Are there any typical pitfalls that occurred last year and should be avoided? Address these during the training.
✅ Is the staff able to handle situations with attendees appropriately?
In addition to a friendly demeanor, your staff should remain calm even in stressful situations. It is perfectly fine not to know the answer to a question, as long as it is clear who can help instead. For international conferences, it is also important that staff can provide information in more than one language.
✅ Who is part of the staff?
The staff will likely know and recognize each other. However, it is just as important that all conference attendees know who they can turn to. Decide in advance how your staff should stand out from the crowd. This could be through uniforms or simply t-shirts in your conference colors.
✅ How do you communicate changes in the schedule?
Unplanned changes are rarely welcome, but they are often unavoidable. It is much less of a problem if everyone is informed immediately and can adjust accordingly. Ensure that everyone has the phone numbers of other team members at hand. Even better, use internal communication channels like Slack, which everyone can access at any time via an app.
3. What should be considered when printing name tags?
🖨️ Once the badges are designed, you can start printing. To ensure everyone receives the correct name tag during check-in, quickly clarify a few organizational questions beforehand.
✅ Is there a printing schedule?
When it comes to printing, you have to decide: should all badges be ready before the conference starts, or should they be printed on-site? Perhaps you are also accepting on-site registrations and therefore prefer a combination of both. If you choose to print in advance, organize it so that the finished badges are ready for you at least two days before the start.
✅ How much time does it take to produce a finished badge?
This is mainly about how the information gets onto the tags. Surely no one wants to manually transfer thousands of names from a list onto each individual badge. It is much easier to pull the data directly from your attendee management software. This is also important if a badge needs to be reprinted, for example, if it has been lost.
✅ Have you decided how attendees will wear their badges?
Whether they are adhesive, pinned, or worn on a lanyard, there is more than one way to display finished name tags. If they are to be worn around the neck, you will need lanyards and possibly badge holders. Procure the necessary materials in good time and ensure you have enough for everyone. Don't forget to have spare materials on hand!
4. How can a self-service solution be implemented?
▶️ If you need to speed things up without compromising on quality, a self-service check-in could solve many problems—provided, of course, that you have thought of everything important.
✅ Is all the necessary equipment available?
- For check-in
If you want attendees to check themselves in, you must have the necessary equipment. In addition to the software, displays and scanners are essential. It doesn't have to be a complex kiosk solution; you can also use laptops, tablets, or monitors. You will also need to decide between handheld and stationary scanners. Keep in mind that not all barcodes are the same. The codes used on the tickets must be readable by the scanner model you choose. - For badge printing
If you want to combine check-in with automatic name tag printing, decide beforehand whether the badges should be paper or plastic, then choose the appropriate printer model. If you want multi-colored prints, you must also consider the printer's technology.
✅ Is everything working as planned?
It’s even better if it stays that way. Therefore, in addition to one device per station, plan for two to three spare devices. To put the entire process to a dress rehearsal, we recommend an early check-in on the evening before the first day of the conference. Most attendees will already be arriving by then and will appreciate the opportunity. If there are any minor teething problems, there will still be enough time to resolve them by the next day.
✅ Is there help available for problems?
Despite all test runs, there may be people who are not quite comfortable with self-service and want to double-check exactly what to do before scanning their ticket. To ensure someone is available to help, it is important never to do without staff entirely.
✅ Is on-site registration still possible?
If your attendee list is not yet full, people can still decide to attend spontaneously and register on-site. Remember to have card readers ready for participation fees. Because registration takes a little longer than just checking in, it is better to set up a separate desk for it.
5. Should there be multiple check-ins?
📅 While check-in for some conferences only happens once at the start of day one, other events require further check-ins. Daily check-ins throughout the conference work well if you follow the points mentioned above. If you also want to track attendance at individual program items, the next part of the checklist will help.
✅ Are there events where you need to track attendees separately?
If a medical association has certified your event as continuing education, it means that attendees can earn CME points for their training account. However, these only appear in their account if you have recorded how long a person was present at a lecture or workshop. You must therefore scan the barcode on the badge once when entering and once when leaving the room. From a technical perspective, this is possible with a self-service solution, but not always recommended. It is easy to forget to scan, so it is better to have staff keep a watchful eye. If a person attended a workshop but forgot to scan, they will not receive any CME points at the end.
✅ Are certificates of attendance available?
All participating doctors will receive an overview of the CME points they earned at the conference if their certificate of attendance is available on the last day of the event. Attendees can either print these directly on-site in the self-service area, or they can be made available to everyone in paperless form in the personal download area of the conference website.
💡 What’s next?
Check-in checklist ticked off? Great! Here are three more tips for successful conferences:
1. Where do attendees need to go to check in? Where do they go next and how do they get there? Digital signs offer help—but they aren't always the ideal solution.
2. Many organizers are torn when it comes to self-service: it can save a lot of time, but it can also backfire spectacularly. What if the technology acts up and everything takes twice as long? We say: Don't worry.
3. Conferences run less hectically when the organizing team is more relaxed. With tools like Slack, you can achieve a state of harmony and organization within your team.
