Lauren Batterby has built her career on ensuring events run as smoothly as possible for the greatest benefit of the organization. As founder and CEO of Life Event Staffing, Lauren and her team provide trained experts to run large events. Hiring professional event staff can make all the difference in the flow of the event and guests’ overall experience. The guests’ enjoyment can directly impact the amount of charitable donations received and their likelihood of returning for another event. The team at Life Event Staffing offer a variety of services tailored specifically for the needs of the client. They have extensive knowledge of the ins and outs of running an event, including guest relations, bidding technology, check-in procedures, and auction execution. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits to hiring professional staff is to integrate the network of volunteers also working the event. Volunteers want to help the organization succeed, but they sometimes lack the knowledge, experience and training required to do so. By pairing volunteers with expert staff, they gain necessary knowledge and training for optimal efficiency. The people working events are the heart of any organization, and onboarding professional staff to help get the job done is one of the best ways to set everyone up for success.   Main Topics Early development of Lauren’s company (02:00) Current trends for mobile bidding agencies (07:45) Building profitability into event staffing (11:43) Training to build auction experience (14:00) Evaluate reasons for staffing (17:00) Optimizing volunteers at events (22:00) Strengths of professional event experts (23:50) Best ratio of staff vs. volunteers (25:15) Challenges with technology (32:00) Expertise to answer guest questions (35:20) Episode Links https://lifeeventstaffing.com/  If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and leave us a review in the Apple podcasts app. Listen, rate, and subscribe! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts