RecFest USA 2023

Background

 

RecFest (also known as the world’s largest Talent Acquisition Festival) first took place in East London in 2014. It’s since grown exponentially and is still to this day owned and run by The Recruitment Events Co (TREC for short) – rockstars in the Talent Acquisition & Recruitment industry.

The Fair has been involved with the event since 2022, delivering the RecFest UK event in Knebworth Park on an annual basis.

After many years of dreaming & planning, the inaugural USA event finally took place in September 2023 at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville, Tennessee. It saw over 60 speakers, 30 exhibitors, 3 stages and 1000 TA peers daily. TREC tasked The Fair with the full production of the event, including creative and technical elements.

Challenge

  • Being The Fair’s first US event with a full production, there were of course challenges along the way – with some fantastic lessons learned. All procurement was undertaken over 4,000 miles away, with a 6-hour time difference meaning there was a 3-hour window where the suppliers and The Fair were all in their offices at the same time.
 
  • Other factors such as extreme weather and gun laws had to be considered when developing documentation and safety planning for the event. Also, navigating permits surrounding alcohol sales, food sales, drone footage and other elements took time to process between the two countries. Being a first-year event there were also unknown attendee demographics which impacted attendees’ mode of travel to/from the event and we had to be prepared for a range of different scenarios.
 
  • Additionally, there are all the intangible ways in which The Fair is used to delivering festival production in the UK, that were different in Nashville. Collectively, our UK industry is used to a certain rhythm, and we know our suppliers incredibly well. Onsite, we know who always shows up early, who wants ‘first go’ on the site telehandlers, who’ll need a little extra time during build offloading. All these experiences were completely new for The Fair in Nashville.

Delivery

  • 8 days on site
  • Health & safety management and consulting
  • Event liaison team chairing
  • Safety Advisory Group attendance
  • Event Safety Management Plan & other safety documentation delivered
  • Premises Licence application and the licence was granted
  • Event Liaison Team Chair & management

Results

  • 7,500 thousand happy festival goers
  • Positive Local Authority Feedback
  • No major medical incidents

Delivery

  • Full Festival Production
  • CAD site design
  • Health & safety
  • Documentation
  • Supplier auditing
  • Stakeholder engagement

Results

  • The first ever RecFest USA!
  • Exceptional feedback from the client (if you don't believe us, check it out below)
  • Raving reviews from attendees on LinkedIn, with some declaring it "the Coachella of recruitment"

“Believe it or not, my team doesn’t raise those big tops you see at RecFest!

“In 2022 we started to work with Nick Morgan and his team and honestly it’s been a business changing move for us.

“The Fair are now our no.1 strategic partner when it comes to everything from location scouting, vendor management, site planning etc. They’re the people that build the event you love so much, both in the UK and US.

“Their team are flawless and we have committed long term to working hand-in-glove with them.

“If you’re an events business and you want your event to stand out, give these folks a shout.”

Jamie Leonard, Founder of RecFest and RecFest USA.

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