Useful Articles
by VMS Managing Director: Saxon Mitchell
Why Local Council venues should be outsourced
Advantages of outsourced venue management for Local and State Governments
Local Councils and Governments have traditionally managed their own venues and facilities with varying degrees of success.
The venue management industry has largely been created to assist municipal facilities that were either under-utilised or suffering from mismanagement. Typically these facilities have been aquatic and sporting venues, arenas or stadiums.
However, in recent years local, state and federal governments have turned to private management companies to provide day-to-day management of their important arts, events or community-based civic venues to apply specialised successful business practices to the buildings' operations in order to maximise community engagement, increase productivity and boost the financial return to the council thereby decreasing the burden on rate payers.
In the case of these municipal bodies the conditions that often prompt consideration of an outsourced management strategy vary, but more often than not follow certain characteristics:
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The inability of government to apply free-market entrepreneurial thinking to the operation of arts/events-based venuesThe increasingly precarious financial position of many local councils and the need to make their civic venue assets achieve a sustainable return on investment
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Financial losses caused by local economic problems
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Intense competition from other local venues
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Difficulties with managing a sales and marketing enterprise with rules that apply to governmental tax or rate payer services
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Onerous labour rates due to Local Government Award pay rates and other various enterprise bargaining agreements that encompass high overtime and penalty rates when operating a 24/7 events venue
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The demand for more venue utilisation and activity
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The need to reinvest money into deteriorating venues
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The need for experienced, professional direction for new and refurbished venues from planning to grand opening and day to day operations
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The desire for a new fresh start!
Engaging a Venue Management Services (VMS) outsourced venue management approach does not mean the privatisation of a venue. Indeed VMS takes a partnership and colloaboration approach when working with local councils and governments. Contrary to what many people believe, our government clients still maintain all the rights of venue ownership, including approval of operating and capital budgets, direction and supervision of venue policy, the receipt of regular financial and management reports, a strong financial return or reduced cost of operation and the ability to terminate for cause.
VMS is skilled in the ability to develop, manage and promote civic venues and facilities. Our company's ability to identify, train and promote personnel to positions across its network of venues, solves the concerns of public facilities about locating appropriately trained and experienced personnel and management who are able to:
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assume responsibility for administering multi-million dollar venues
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deal with complicated personnel matters
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direct local and national sales and promotional efforts
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negotiate and work with a wide variety of venue suppliers
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and book and promote a diversified schedule of events
Private outsourced management offers local and state government an effective and proven alternative to the operation of their own facilities. Such management offers venue owners the peace of mind that comes from having dedicated professionals operating their facilities and achieving the objective that the facilities were built to accomplish without rate payers subsidising venue operations.
Should you be interested in learning more about how Venue Management Services could work with your local council or state government venue please contact
Saxon Mitchell on 0425 775 885 or saxonm@venuemanagement.com.au
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Why Local Council venues should be outsourced

Saxon Mitchell
VMS Managing Director