Hiring hospitality staff early is one of the smartest decisions an organiser can make because it reduces last-minute stress, protects your budget, and ensures you get experienced people who can handle busy guest environments. Many events run into problems simply because staff were booked too late, leaving organisers with rushed decisions, limited choices, and higher…
Category: Case Study
Event Staffing Agencies vs. Freelance Staff: What’s Best for Your Large-Scale Event?
Choosing between an event staffing agency and freelance staff can feel like a big decision, especially when you’re planning a large event where timing, guest experience, and smooth operations matter. Many organisers start by looking for lower costs or quick availability, but the real question is what gives you stability, quality, and peace of mind…
How to Successfully Hire Seasonal Staff This Christmas
Hiring seasonal staff for the Christmas period can feel overwhelming for many hospitality and event businesses, especially when demand increases faster than expected. Venues, retailers, and event organisers often reach a point where they need extra hands quickly, yet struggle to secure people who can deliver good service under pressure. This guide answers the most…
High-Volume Seasonal Staffing for December Events
High-volume seasonal staffing becomes a serious challenge for many businesses each December because demand rises far faster than most teams can handle internally. Event organisers, venues, bars, and hospitality teams often face a sudden increase in bookings, leaving them short of the people needed to deliver smooth service. The pressure grows when multiple events fall…
Why Temporary Jobs Are More Valuable Than Ever for Students & Graduates
Finding stable and meaningful work has become increasingly challenging for students and recent graduates. With graduate vacancies declining and competition rising, many young professionals are turning to temporary jobs as a smart and flexible alternative. These roles, ranging from hospitality shifts and admin support to event staffing and marketing projects, allow students to earn income,…
Top Things to Do (and Not to Do) While Working at an Event: Corporate Event Etiquette Essentials
Working at a corporate or branded event is more than just showing up and doing a job; it’s about representing a brand, creating memorable guest experiences, and maintaining professional standards at all times. These events are often high-profile, involving clients, sponsors, and key decision-makers, so how you present yourself directly affects how the entire event…
How International Students Can Find Event & Temp Work in the UK: Licensing, Visa & Working Hours
Finding part-time work as an international student in the UK can feel confusing, especially with visa limits, right-to-work checks, and employer rules to follow. Many students want to earn money to support themselves, gain experience, and meet new people. However, misunderstanding work restrictions can lead to serious issues such as visa breaches or lost job…
Festival Season Staffing in the UK: What Students Need to Know
Festival season in the UK brings excitement, energy, and opportunity, especially for students looking to earn money and gain experience during the summer months. From Glastonbury to Reading and countless smaller festivals, these events rely on temporary staff to keep everything running smoothly. Behind every great show is a team of bar staff, stage crew,…
How to Choose the Right Event & Temp Staffing Agency for Your Event
Choosing the right event and temporary staffing agency can make or break your event. Whether you’re running a corporate function, festival, exhibition, or private gathering, the staff you bring in directly affects guest experience, efficiency, and brand perception. Many events struggle due to poor staff choices, issues like late arrivals, untrained team members, or mismatched…
What to Wear and How to Present Yourself for Event & Hospitality Temp Roles
Working in event and hospitality temp roles can be exciting, rewarding, and full of opportunities to grow your skills. However, how you present yourself plays a huge part in your success. Your attire and behaviour don’t just reflect your personal style, they represent the client, the agency, and the event as a whole. Whether you’re…
10 Transferable Skills You’ll Gain from Working in Event & Temp Hospitality Roles
Event and temporary hospitality work is more than just a way to earn extra money while studying or between jobs. It’s a fast and practical route to building essential skills that employers across all industries value. Working at events, conferences, or hospitality shifts gives you real experience in communication, teamwork, and time management, all while…
Flexible Work for Students: Balancing Events & Hospitality Shifts with Study
Balancing study, work, and personal life can feel overwhelming for many students, especially when finances or career ambitions make part-time jobs a necessity. Event and hospitality work, however, provides one of the most flexible and rewarding options for students who want to earn money while developing useful career skills. The flexible hours, variety of roles,…
Event & Temp Work for Students and Graduates: How to Get Started with Hospitality & Event Staffing
Finding a job as a student or recent graduate can feel challenging, especially when you need something flexible that fits around lectures, exams, or personal commitments. Event and temporary hospitality work can be the perfect answer. It offers you freedom to choose your shifts, earn consistent income, and gain valuable skills that employers appreciate later…
10 Scheduling Hacks for Stress-Free Event Staffing
Efficient staff scheduling is one of the most powerful ways to keep an event running smoothly and on budget. When shifts are well planned, every role is covered, staff stay motivated, and guests receive the best possible service. Poor scheduling, by contrast, leads to costly overtime, tired team members, and last-minute stress that can spoil…
Hire Bilingual Event Staff in London: Why and How to Find the Best Multilingual Talent
London hosts international conferences, music festivals, exhibitions, and sporting events that attract visitors from every corner of the globe. Organisers face the challenge of welcoming guests who speak many different languages while maintaining smooth operations and a warm atmosphere. One practical way to meet this challenge is to hire bilingual event staff in London who…
Hire Event Staff for Large Events: Expert Guide for Successful UK Events
Planning a large conference, festival, or corporate celebration can feel overwhelming when every detail matters. Guests expect seamless service, smooth check-ins, and quick responses to any issue, yet many organisers underestimate the number of people required to keep everything running well. Hiring the right event staff provides a practical solution by putting experienced professionals in…
Why is staff retention important? How to attract and retain the best hospitality staff
High staff turnover is one of the biggest challenges for hotels, restaurants, and event venues in the United Kingdom. Recruitment costs rise, guest service suffers, and managers spend valuable hours replacing employees rather than growing their business. The good news is that improving hospitality staff retention is achievable with the right approach. By understanding why…
How London Event Staffing Services Improve Guest Experience
Planning an event in London can be exciting, but it also brings a heavy load of responsibilities. Guests expect smooth registration, welcoming hosts, and prompt service at every turn. Yet even the most organised planner can struggle to deliver a seamless experience without the right support team. Professional event staffing services step in to fill…
What Is Hybrid Event Staffing? Managing Staff for Hybrid Events
Planning and executing an event that reaches both in-person and virtual audiences can be overwhelming without the right team in place. Organisers often struggle to balance live interactions, online engagement, and technical operations all at once. This is where hybrid event staffing becomes essential. Skilled staff ensure smooth coordination, seamless audience experiences, and timely problem-solving,…
Event Planning Checklist: How to Organise Any Event with Confidence
Planning an event can feel overwhelming without a clear structure. From finding the right venue to managing staff, handling logistics, and keeping track of the budget, many details can easily slip through the cracks. This is where an event planning checklist becomes an essential tool. It brings order to the process, ensures deadlines are met,…
How to Choose the Best Temporary Staffing Recruitment Agency
When deadlines loom and teams are stretched thin, businesses turn to temporary staffing agencies to keep operations running smoothly. Even if it’s hospitality, admin, retail, or events, selecting the best temporary recruitment agency can significantly impact your organisation’s productivity and service quality. A strong partner will provide not only vetted and trained personnel but also…
Bar Staff Training – The Complete Guide to Building a Skilled and Reliable Team
Training bar staff properly is essential for running a smooth and profitable venue. Whether you operate a bar, pub, restaurant, or events-based business like Brightsparks, a well-structured bar staff training programme ensures high performance, customer satisfaction, and compliance with legal standards. This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of bar staff training, using proven methods, factual…
Where are they now?
Episode 7 I think Sarah says it all so, in her words!: “My name is Sarah, I’m 25, Irish and a big fan of Brightsparks! I worked with Brightsparks for nearly 4 years while I lived in London. I was working full time but on a temporary basis in a primary school so Brightsparks was…
Conference/ Exhibition, Promo & Box Office Staff
A great feature of the Brightsparks brand is that we attract candidates who are full of energy, who know how to conduct themselves professionally and can communicate with guests in an engaging manner. That is why we are able to offer our Brightsparks to work in roles beyond hospitality. We have had great success placing…
Brightsparks beyond London!
Traditionally, we have provided fabulous Brightsparks hospitality staff predominantly in and around London but now, due to our amazing tech developments, we are now able to offer Brightsparks in key cities throughout the UK! This Summer, we have been busy at festivals & events up and down the Country. Our fantastic teams of bar and…
Where are they now?
Episode 6 Jonny worked with us at a range of amazing events as well as going on to work directly with one of our clients as part of their F1 hospitality team! Jonny: 2008 – 2012 It might be nearly a decade since I last worked with Brightsparks, but the work I did with them…
Where are they now?
Episode 5 Naomi is currently working as a receptionist and said that she re-lived some really nice memories whilst writing the below! Naomi: December 2011 – June 2015 If I’m to be very honest i had no desire to work in hospitality before Brightsparks. I had just left college at the time and was desperate…
Where are they now?
Episode 4 In his year with us, this Brightspark had the opportunity to work at The Rugby World Cup, Corporate Dinners, Christmas Parties and Coldplay, throughout his time at university. Andrew: October 2015-October 2016 “Brightsparks enabled me to see the value of teamwork and showed me that if everyone pulls their weight in a team,…
Why Brightsparks?
Our Service Our recruitment, assessment and training process is rigorous and second to none within the industry. As we appeal largely to the Student Population, we focus on candidates’ soft skills including Work Ethic, Communication & Team-work and Presentation rather than CVs as we understand many candidates may be coming to us for their first…
Meet the HQ Team
Isobel – Junior Account Manager With over 8 years experience in the hospitality sector, as well as a degree in Event and Festival Management, Isobel can provide bountiful amounts of information when it comes to bar and waitressing work; with previous experience in managing multiple bars in her time as well as dabbling in restaurant…
Christmas Events
Brightsparks at Christmas In late 2017, Brightsparks completed 1568 shifts at Christmas Parties ALONE – that is 14654 hours! We provided waiting and bar staff for Google, ITV, JP Morgan, Freshfields, TK Maxx, the Ministry of Sound, Wellington College and the Police Ball. Brightsparks is one of the main staffing agencies that we use because…
Festivals
Brightsparks at Festivals Brightsparks has employed thousands of students and recent graduates, exactly those people who love festivals and know what makes them great. Our Brightsparks have the energy, time and enthusiasm to provide the best service in a busy, dynamic environment. We have experience recruiting, training and placing Brightsparks at a plethora of festivals and concerts. Brightsparks is committed…
Where are they now?
Episode 3 This month, we look back to a Brightspark who also joined us at 18 and, over the next 5 years, he returned to us regularly when he was back from the States; he worked at venues we still support today including: Lords, Goodwood, Wembley, Twickenham and the Paris & Farnborough Airshows. Will: August…
Where are they now?
Episode 2 The next instalment comes from a Brightspark who came to us at the tender age of 18 and remained working with us for 3.5 years whilst studying at Kings. Jack: Oct 2012-March 2016 “I work as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher at a large, high-achieving secondary school in the south of England, teaching…
Where are they now?
Episode 1 We often wonder what our Brightsparks go on to do when they move on from us. We have so many talented Brightsparks that it is not surprising that so many go on to do amazing things. We have contacted some past Brightsparks to catch up with them and see how their time at…
Royal Ascot
Brightsparks at Royal Ascot 1,128 VIP hospitality shifts in 5 days 9,000 online training modules completed 60,000 miles commuted Overachieved on consistency Brightsparks impressed with exceptional quality staff 30% increased booking for 2017 300,000 visitors in 5 days £6.58million in prize money 6,000 temporary staff 39 kitchens operational 400 helicopters 2,900 lobsters 50,000 macaroons 160,000…
Summer Events Season
Working with Raymond Blanc at the Chelsea Flower Show The team’s objective is always to bring an element of joie de vivre to the, sometimes dry, world of corporate hospitality together with exceptional food and great conversation and to deliver an experience reflective of Raymond’s passion for seasonality, locality and great quality ingredients Our client…
Prestigious Events & Venues
Houses of Parliament Working at this famous landmark and place of huge current and historic importance is an honour for Brightsparks chosen to represent us on the hospitality team for Banquets attended by influential individuals. Exclusive Caterers Brightsparks works with a number of exciting caterers who provide exquisite menus and experiences to their clients. Our…
A bespoke campaign with the pace of le Tour
“We, as a team, have been bowled over today by the professionalism, the experience and the talent Brightsparks have found for us. Brightsparks attracted several hundred CV’s and expressions of interest, telephone interviewed almost 100 of them and invited 36 to attend the day. 27 showed up and we have invited 11 of those 27 for…
Rugby World Cup 2015
Providing Events and Hospitality Work Rugby World Cup 2015 The largest sporting event of 2015, staged at 13 stadiums across the United Kingdom. As quality providers of events and hospitality work, Brightsparks were asked to lend their expertise. The Tournament was seen live by 2.4m people attending matches, with a further 1.5m fans entering zones across…
Goodwood – Home of the Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival & Qatar Goodwood Festival
Working at Events Brightsparks & Goodwood The spectacular estate of Goodwood is the home to the world famous Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival & Qatar Goodwood Festival. Helping to get people working at events and venues is not uncommon for Brightsparks. With over 400,000 visitors attending the venue each year, Brightsparks routinely supply accredited events &…
Volvic – Have you #GotTheBottle ?
Brightsparks – Providers of sport event jobs Here at Brightsparks, we help to successfully provide people with sport event jobs and more. Here’s how we were asked to help Volvic and Tough Mudder: Objective As part of a three year brand activation activity plan between Volvic & Tough Mudder. Brightsparks were asked to bring the…
Velocity – Helping people access the world’s best restaurants
Brightsparks & Velocity Brightsparks, providers of jobs in hospitality and more, teamed up with Velocity to address their staffing problems. Here are the details: The Brand Velocity provides insider access to the best dining & hospitality experiences globally, including over 1000 restaurants in New York, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Toronto & more. Having…
Do the KIND thing
Brightsparks & KIND Brightsparks, providers of promo staffing jobs and more, teamed up with KIND to amplify their snack bars in the UK. Here are the details: Objective Raise awareness of KIND snack bars in the UK Enable as many people to try the bars as possible Educate consumers about the KIND brand & bars…
Evian – #BeatTheHeat Campaign
Brightsparks – Evian & TFL Brightsparks were asked to amplify the brand awareness of the Evian & TFL partnership over the summer… Objective Raise brand awareness of the Evian & TFL partnership Keeping passengers hydrated on their journeys with Evian Planning & insights Logistically difficult due to the nature of both Underground sites & time…