Shale Modiba - Talent Manager | 
Thato Garekoe - Talent Manager |
Known as TRIBE, the new division is Logic's in-house staffing solution to a common problem in eventing: finding suitable freelance staff.
"To pull off a successful event, you're always going to need a whole tribe of people - people to fill bags, to 'gopher', to meet and direct guests," says Samantha Gabriel, director and owner of Logic. "You can't however, let just any casual loose at your event. Everyone on an event must be customer facing and represent the brand. You need people who are trained not only in how events work, but also about the brand they're representing."
And the best place to find such people? TRIBE.
Run by Thato Garekoe and Shale Modiba, TRIBE sources, profiles and trains intelligent, capable and efficient students from diverse backgrounds, suitable for all types of events. Already, TRIBE's teams have been called on for events such as registration at the Nike Run Jozi 2012 race, the launch of Mercedes AMG Top Gear Festival, OpenForum 2012, the Mini Cooper R59 launch, and SAB's MS&D 2012 conference.
TRIBE has a wide database of freelancers suitable for any event requirement. "One of our main sources are tertiary institutions, where we hold recruitment days," says Shale Modiba. "We also scout malls for students who work part-time in the retail environment, since they are used to representing a brand and dealing with customers."
More than anything though, the duo believes in recruiting through word of mouth. "We have cool and dynamic people in our teams who all have friends and family who're likely to be just as dynamic," says Modiba. "By bringing them into the TRIBE team, we create a close clique of people - that is, after all, why we called this division TRIBE!"
After sourcing the talent, the duo then gets down to profiling. Both Garekoe and Modiba have extensive experience in profiling, recruiting and training teams for retail brands, and have developed a sharp instinct for finding the right people for a brand.
"It's important that the people you recruit fit your brand DNA," says Thato Garekoe. "We do this by getting to know our teams through a personalised recruitment process. We can then place them with the right brand and the right kind of event."
He explains that TRIBE's aim for each event is to put together a team of people who love what they're doing. "When they're working on an event, we want them to be in their element. Rather than a mere job, they should view it as a great experience, as an opportunity to be part of a legendary production," he says.
But before the team members - enthused though they may be - even set foot at an event venue, they have to complete TRIBE's in-house training. "There's nothing worse than a star-struck student wanting an autograph from a VIP guest!" says Modiba. And she should know. She's seen it happen before. "We pride ourselves on offering professionalism and an exceptional experience at all touch points with guests or delegates, and so we manage expectations upfront when the students are briefed and trained."
"By training our freelancers, we can offer clients experienced people who understand the job and the brand, and who know what to do and what not to do at an event," she says. "This also ensures consistency of service when these same freelancers are used for the client's future events."
TRIBE trains freelancers across a range of eventing functions, from the low-profile roles like runner or collateral-bag packer, all the way through to TRIBE's registration students who work on computers, do RSVP call downs and tackle data capturing. And not forgetting that they have great people skills, TRIBE also offers a wide range of sophisticated, elegant brand ambassadors.
On site, Garekoe and Modiba are on hand to ensure that everyone's where they're meant to be, and that the whole team is singing from the same brand hymn sheet. "TRIBE lets clients sit back and enjoy their own event, knowing that all freelancers are trained, fully briefed, and supervised," says Modiba.
Gabriel sums up that as with everything to do with Logic, Tribe means there's one less thing to worry about when planning an event. "We're all about handling the logistics of an event in a way that creates a positive association with the brand," she says. "Having the right team on the job goes a long way towards achieving this."
