Blog

Ready or not, fall of 2022 is here

August 22nd, 2022 by Kenneth Abrahams

Since August 2020, we have been back on the road doing live events. Fall 2020 was, to put it mildly, a very strange time. Leading up to that, there were so many discussions on how to program safely in that type of environment. A number of people purchased these things that looked like giant 6-foot Hula Hoops that they laid out on the grass for outdoor events. You and your pod could stay in your circle, and other pods were 6 feet away from you. Some schools bought giant vinyl dots that they placed on the ground 6 feet apart, so as people waited to participate, they were socially distanced. Still others used a ticketing system, so that guests arrived to participate at a specific time to allow for social distancing. We worked outdoors almost exclusively and stayed outside, even in New England, until late November. There were still many schools fully or partially remote, so we had a mix of both virtual and hybrid events.

By fall of 2021, there was a vaccine, and many schools took full advantage of that. Students, faculty, and staff were required to be vaccinated on a lot of campuses. In many cases, vendors and other visitors that were spending any significant time on campus were required to show proof of vaccination. Some campuses wouldn’t allow you on the property if you didn’t have a copy of your vaccination record. Events were more open with less restrictions than in the previous fall, but it was far from “normal.” We still had spikes and outbreaks. Schools still required students to test regularly, and quarantine, if positive. Several schools still made masks mandatory while others felt their community was safe since everyone was vaccinated. Although, our staff, for the most part, remained masked, it was nice to see people’s faces again. From the conversations and reactions, it was clear people enjoyed being back on campus and seeing old friends while making new ones.

In Higher Education, it was a strange time. After more than a year of struggling through and riding out the pandemic, many people either changed jobs or left the field. It has been hard to watch. Few schools in fall 2021 were fully staffed in student activities and residence life areas. This just put additional strain on an already taxed system. Many student leaders had graduated or chose not to stay involved after more than a year of hard work with little to show for it, other than a litany of student, parental and staff criticisms. As a company, we too had lost some staff but with a reduced demand the workload was manageable. We, like so many of our clients, got through the academic year of 21/22.

Our college clients are continuing to be challenged. They are trying to rebuild their student leader corps while they are often short of professional staff. Many students are getting their third or fourth advisor over the last 3 years. As people continue to change jobs or leave the field, many schools are scrambling to fill vacant positions just days or weeks away from opening. It is going to be a wild, bumpy ride.

Many people continue to make comparisons between fall 2019 and fall 2022. Trust me when I tell you, that there is no comparison between the two years. Yes, outward appearance would have you believe that they are similar. Not only have colleges returned in full force, but corporate events are coming back, as well. Calendars are filling again, and the entertainment world is back in business. That, as far as this writer is concerned, is where the similarity ends. This is not 2019 on many levels. In many industries the lack of available staff is a huge issue. Everyone has a theory on why there are staffing shortages, and, frankly, it doesn’t matter why people aren’t working, it is just important that they aren’t. We are also still faced with supply chain issues and increased costs. Despite gas prices dropping none of our suppliers have reduced their costs and one would assume that their suppliers have also not rolled back their prices either.

Some in our industry have changed their policies and will only accept work if it meets a minimum monetary requirement. Others have switched from being full-service organizations to drop off only. Several inflatable companies that used to offer staff and supervision for your events, have gone to a drop off only model. They will drop the stuff off, set it up but you are responsible for running and supervising it. Many companies have reduced their product inventory getting rid of things that were too expensive to insure or they simply didn’t get a big enough ROI on. No, this is not 2019.

There were times over the past month or so, as we prepared for this fall, that it was like drinking out of a firehose. Things were coming at us so quickly, that it felt overwhelming. One minute a date was wide open, and a day or even hours later, we were turning down work for that very same date. We, like so many others in our industry, are facing a help shortage. We have been lucky in that so many of our crew have stuck by us, but we have lost some really good key people. For some, it was simply time to move on to a different opportunity, for others, they needed steadier employment at the beginning of the pandemic and just couldn’t wait for things to open up again. We are slowly rebuilding our crew, but it takes time. When we talk to people about the fact that we are busy but struggling to staff all the requests we are getting, they respond that is a good problem to have. Respectfully, I disagree. There really is no such thing as a good problem to have, it is, in fact, just a problem. We never like to disappoint our clients. It is hard to say to someone, whether they are a longtime client or a fresh new face, that we are sorry and can’t help them. That is not easy or fun.

We have also had to make changes in our operation that impact both our staff and our clients. With limited road staff, we are pulling people from all areas of our organization to pitch in and work jobs. Members of our sales staff, operations team, support staff and financial operations have all pitched in and gone out to do jobs. Honestly, without so many people pitching in we couldn’t pull this off at all, but there is a cost to our team and our clients. Paperwork isn’t getting out as quickly as it should. Calls are not being followed up on in as timely a fashion as they we normally would and people are being asked to work crazy hours.

It may sound like I am complaining but that is not the case. If you ask me if this better than March of 2020, when we didn’t know when or, frankly, if we would be back doing live events, I will say absolutely, but that doesn’t mean it is easy or comfortable. This is going to be an interesting fall to say the least. It isn’t the first challenging time nor will it be the last. Be patient as you go through this fall. Not only with those that you do business with but with yourself as well. One big plus is that students are getting a fuller more robust experience as they head back to campus this fall and that is worth a lot. You may not hear it enough but we appreciate all that you are doing on your campuses. Have a great fall and if you need help or simply to vent remember we are only a phone call away.

About the author:

Ken Abrahams has been in this business for almost 40 years. During that time there have been a lot of changes but nothing like the wholesale changes brought about by COVID. Hopefully, he will see you on the road as he travels this fall.

To find out more about the company go to our website www.funent.com you can also go to this link to sign up for our newsletter which comes out about 6 times a year https://funent.com/subscribe-to-the-funny-pages/.  Our newsletter will tell you more about the company and the products and services we offer as well as some games, things to do and the occasional cooking tip.