Having recently joined the Accredit team as Head of Major Events, Edwin brings with him a broad and deep understanding of accreditation, developed through a career spanning 10 years implementing accreditation software and procedures for large scale international sporting events including the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, 2015 Rugby World Cup, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, London 2012 and the 2010 UEFA Champions League.
What are the key ingredients of a great accreditation process?
You must have a clear plan of what you are using accreditation for, and what you need your accreditation procedure to achieve. Understand who the accreditation process applies to, and why it is needed. Finally, you need to know how you want the physical accreditation to look and operate for the event.
What difference does a great accreditation procedure make to an event?
Everyone knows what is happening. Organising staff, contractors, volunteers and media all have a clear idea of the entry procedure and access requirements for the event. Without this, there will be confusion and changing requirements, presenting a lot of challenges for your operational, security and event management teams.
What are the benefits of a great accreditation process?
It keeps things simple. Your project is clean and organised, your data is in a single platform, your event is safe and secure, and by automating labour intensive tasks, it drastically reduces the amount of manual intervention required to deliver the event.
What should you look for when selecting a new accreditation software supplier?
Get a demo and make sure the system is intuitive and easy to use. Ask what experience they have with similar events and make sure the system is secure and easy to access. Find out how well they work under pressure and what level of support they offer. Check that they are future-proofing their product with continuous development and that you’ll benefit from regular upgrades. Finally, try to speak to someone else that is using them and ask for honest feedback.
How do you prepare for a smooth opening day?
Pre-empt what to expect for the day of the event. Evaluate what issues or challenges might be presented. And ensure you have contingency plans in place in case unexpected scenarios happen.
Finally, what made you join Team Accredit?
After using the Accredit Platform for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, it was clear to me that it is the leading accreditation software out there for large-scale events and sporting tournaments…and their constant development makes for an exciting future. It’s rare to come across a product as smart and as flexible as it is, with a team who execute as well as Accredit do. I’m hugely excited to combine my experience from my previous roles as ‘the client’ with their innovative approach to accreditation as we work with large scale event and competition organisers to improve their accreditation procedure.
