Conferences Organization Manual – Section 13 | 
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13.0 THE REGISTRATION COMMITTEE The overall responsibilities of the Registration Committee are the following:
In addition to the Chair, the Registration Committee should have at least one or two secretarial or clerical assistants. The Chair and his assistants will be bonded for the duration of the conference via the IEEE Insurance Plan. Their duties are to handle advance registration and registration and ticket sales at the conference. The Conference Treasurer will prescribe procedures for the processing of cash, credit cards and other receipts. The primary purpose of the registration committee is to insure the registration process runs smoothly. It is the most visible of functions, and the first that the attendee encounters. Therefore, it is imperative that registration be efficient, orderly and friendly, as it tends to set the tone for the conference. A second and very important function of the registration process is to give accurate and up-to-date information on anticipated attendance at all the social functions that will take place at the conference. The Local Arrangements Committee depends heavily on the Registration Committee for its food and beverage guarantees for all the social functions. The Finance Committee also depends on the numbers and projections of the Registration Committee to make forecasts and adjustments to the budget, if necessary. A third purpose of the registration function is to gather data on the attendees for future use. The information is used for member solicitation purposes and future conference mailings. Future conference committees use statistics on registration patterns.
Details of some of these functions are given in subsequent sections. The most difficult and important task to be accomplished early on by the Registration Committee, and the task that requires the most interaction with other committees, is the development and design of the registration form. The deadline for the production of the registration form forces all other committees with input to the form to define, schedule, and price events that will take place at the conference. The Program committee has input regarding technical events. The Local Arrangements Committee has obvious input regarding all the social events that are available to attendees. The Publicity Committee is responsible for the dissemination of the form, and its schedule in part determines the deadline for production of the form. It is advisable that the entire committee proofread the form very carefully, as small errors can prove time-consuming and costly. The items below should appear on the registration form:
Note: Under no circumstances should you have your bank information posted anywhere on the conference website. If you accept wire transfers have the attendee contact a committee member for instructions. Some guidelines for the form design: Separating first and last name character boxes greatly reduces the possibility of transposing first and last name, also reducing the likelihood of printing an incorrect name badge. An incorrectly inputted name in the computer causes delays at the registration desk on-site, because the registration packet will not be easily found, and the attendee will rightfully request that his name badge be reprinted with his correct name. Most fields have a reason for being formatted in the way they are formatted, and should not be altered. It is recommended that all published registration forms be identical (the only exception to this is the on-site registration form from which the early registration rates should be deleted), and coded to identify source -- that is, early publicity, various publications, the advance program. Interaction with the publicity committee is required. All events and items on the form that require payment should be priced in round currency units. This makes calculations simpler and precludes the need for coins during the conference.
13.3 PAYMENT METHOD AND CURRENCY
Unless a
conference is using IEEE Conference Management
Services to collect on-line credit card
registrations, it is strongly recommended that
the conference ensures that the 3rd party processor
(includes software used by the conference) is
compliant with the new payment card industry
security standard. All questions regarding credit card processing should be forwarded to IEEE Conference Services.
13.4 NAME BADGES
Clear plastic clip-on badge holders are the most commonly used type, and can be used by both men and women. However, a few pin back holders should be available for those people who may not be wearing a jacket or lapelled blouse or dress. Both types of holders must, of course, fit the size of the badge. If identifying ribbons are to be used, the different colors and categories must be decided early in the planning phase. Coordination with other committee members on the types of ribbons required is essential. It is recommended that the quantities ordered of each type of ribbon be greater than the anticipated need, particularly if the ribbons are not being supplied locally.
13.5 ASSEMBLY OF REGISTRATION PACKETS
Invariably, there will be material from other committees that will need to be stuffed in the pre-registrants packets, and in some cases in the packets of the on-site registrants. Deadlines for submission of material from other committees should be communicated well in advance so as to avoid an extra round of stuffing envelopes. Items such as Spouse's Hospitality information, Speakers' Breakfast information, and various invitations can and should be prepared well in advance and not given to the Registration Committee at the last minute. It is important that the name of the attendee appear in the upper right corner of the packet, so that when the packets are assembled in cartons or bins (easily transportable to the conference site), the name will be easily readable. Packets should be arranged alphabetically.
13.6 SUPPLIES
13.7 ASSIGNMENTS CARRIED OUT DURING CONFERENCE
The registration system must be tested, the registration personnel trained, and the registration materials double-checked by the time registration opens, preferably one day prior to opening day of the conference. The registration area must be organized for ease of access, and a mock run-through carried out to see how well traffic flows behind the registration desk. The registration packets and other materials should be arranged in such a way as to facilitate movement and access. The advance registration area could have several queues, alphabetically separated. Appropriate registration packets should be located at each queue position. The on-site registration desk may have one queue, as in a bank, to allow the registrant to proceed to the next available on-site station. A special information desk should be set up in the registration area, and be highly visible, and preferably be situated in such a way that the attendee sees this desk before the registration desk. If this is not possible, questions about sessions, tours, the social events and the like can be referred to the information desk by the registration staff. This will lessen the amount of time it takes to process each registrant. The screeners should roam the lines to assist and answer any questions that attendees may have, and to insure that the attendee is waiting in the right line. A printout of all attendees by last name, first name, and company should be given to the screeners, who can check names of attendees. The busiest times at the registration desk are the opening evening and the following morning, with a sharp drop-off after that. It is critical that the desk is fully staffed at both times. When the area is busy, the screeners and other registration personnel should be advised to politely ask registrants whose needs are not immediate (name changes, refunds) to return when it is less busy.
13.8 FEEDBACK FORM
13.9 ASSIGNMENTS CARRIED OUT AFTER CONFERENCE
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