The Ever-Evolving Role of the Certified COVID 19 Compliance Officer

Since I became a Certified COVID-19 Compliance Officer (CCO) for live corporate events and film sets in November 2020, the role has continued to evolve at an incredibly quick pace.

It started with creating cleaning protocols, purchasing PPE, coordinating testing, and ensuring all safety protocols are in accordance with local and state regulations. Now, added to that is verifying vaccination status. As we continue to cycle through the pandemic era, it is inevitable that the role of the CCO will continue to evolve.

The distribution of several highly effective vaccines has made all of our lives much easier and have facilitated the loosening and lifting of local and state regulations. However, for event planners and production teams, the onus is still on them and their clients to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 to the crew, staff, and attendees onsite.

The manner in which organizations are handling bringing people back together ranges from “enter at your own risk” to allowing only vaccinated people to enter. Both extremes are in play right now, and I suspect lawsuits, media attention and/or feedback from their own constituents will play major roles in the evolution of these policies moving forward.

As a CCO, my job is to enforce the event protocols that the organization sets forth to honor the duty of care.* I assist them with all communications to the staff, vendors, and attendees; develop, execute, and ensure all the on-site protocols are observed, and then handle the post-event reporting.

For corporate events, it’s straightforward. You determine your line in the sand, ensure the safety protocols you put in place are communicated early and often to all stakeholders, and then hire a COVID-19 compliance team to ensure your plan is executed and observed at the event.

Since corporate events have been my space as an event architect for 20+ years, I hadn’t concerned myself with how social events would traverse the transition out of the depths of our pandemic era. But then the calls started coming in.

Brides, Buffets, and Banquet Halls

It started in March of this year. I began receiving calls from social event planners who knew I was a CCO and asked how I am handling social events, such as weddings. At the time, many states and municipalities still had capacity limits on gatherings as well as mask and social distancing mandates in place. So the early guidance was to ensure you were in compliance with the local and state regulations, double-check your venue’s own policies and how they could affect your event, and then know your audience. Much like a corporate event, your wedding or other social event may have a diverse group of attendees. How willing they are to come to your event during a pandemic and then comply with the rules are key pieces of information you need to know and weigh before proceeding any further.

The local and state regulations may have caused a great deal of stress and frustration as the planning of social gatherings got underway. However, they also provided a bit of cover, a nice place to lay blame as attendees grew weary of your reminders on what to expect when they walked through the doors.

Now the fun starts
Most of those pesky rules have gone by the wayside now, and how you proceed with the wedding, christening, birthday, or graduation party—well, it’s all on you. The good news for the social event set is you know the guest list, and you have a good idea who will be walking through the doors. Are they going to be comfortable with walking in wearing a mask, being indoors with unmasked people, sitting at a table of 8 or 10 with people they don’t know, or eating from a buffet? Will they be offended if you ask them to bring proof of a negative COVID-19 test? Will they even know how to get one? Will they be OK if unvaccinated people are in the building or offended if you ask for proof of vaccination?

Begin here

Start with the A-list, the people you can’t or won’t do the event without. That is now your event committee. Get them together and reach a consensus of what you will and won’t engage in terms of COVID-19 protocols. Then draft them, nothing fancy, just a Word document with bullets stating what you will be doing to keep everyone safe and your expectations of the guests. Then include a signature line for each person on your committee (yup, Mom, Dad, Grandma, whoever is on that A-team), and have them sign and date that they have agreed to it. Be sure everyone gets a copy when it is fully signed.

Communicate early and often

Bring the venue into your COVID-19 planning party as soon as possible and find out how they can help you implement the plan. That can include placement of tables, seating arrangements, moving the receptions and registration outside, and making the registration process as touchless as possible. They may also have a testing company they work with and other apps that will assist you along the way.

So, you have the A-team on board. Are there others who didn’t quite make that list, but you are still a little anxious about? Reach out to them personally. Tell them what your plan is and why you have put it in place. Let them know that they mean so much to you that you wanted to reach out before the save-the-dates arrived. From there you will either get buy-in or not, and if not, tell them it is OK and that you appreciate them and promise to make a date to get together soon. It’s better to have this conversation now before plans are made, airplane tickets are purchased, or worse, when they are at the door of the venue.

As for everyone else, a solid planner can help you include the language in your save-the-date and then in every other communication that is sent to your guest list. For the reply cards, whether digital or printed, have guests check a box that says they read your event protocols and agree to conform with them. This can and should be short and sweet—a simple list of what you are going to provide to ensure the event is as safe as possible and what you expect from them.

Do not buckle

By now, you have many people who have signed on: the A-team, the venue, many on the B-team, and countless others who are so glad you took the guesswork out of the occasion. At this point, it is important not to change your position for the sake of one or two guests. You asked people to buy in, they did, and now it is time to proceed.

Get help

Ensure the person in charge of your event, be it a professional planner, a friend, relative or even yourself, is fully invested. However, even with that covered, it may be a good idea to hire a CCO, or depending on the size of your event, a team of CCOs.  

Just to be clear, they don’t show up in a uniform and have handcuffs! If requested, they will simply match their attire to your event dress code and perhaps wear a pin or mask stating they are the CCO. They are key to your peace of mind so you can enjoy your event and not have to be the first line of defense if something goes awry. 

The importance of communication and advance planning reigns supreme here as well. The CCO must have a full understanding of the protocols in place, what and how they have been communicated to your guests, and the steps they will take when they encounter noncompliance issues.

No turning back now

Once event day is upon you and guests begin to walk through the doors, the bars open, and people who haven’t seen each other in a long time connect, you can imagine the COVID-19 protocols you have in place will be the furthest thing from their minds. So, incorporating the rules of engagement in your event by way of creative reminders in strategic places will be key to gently remind those who just simply, and temporarily, got carried away. It happens, and no doubt those little touches will go a long way to ensure you don’t have to escalate the matter any further.

Yet, there may be cases where the noncompliant attendee is now being disruptive or making other guests, and maybe yourself, uncomfortable. The CCO is your first line of defense and should be empowered to carry out the approved action steps to prevent the situation from escalating further. It’s important that you let that process run its course and get involved only if it is absolutely necessary.

Saving the best news for last

The good news is, it looks like we are sprinting to the finish line as the goal of herd immunity gets closer. Soon, all our plans here will just make interesting stories for the grandkids. Fingers crossed. In the meantime, it’s your party, be prepared and then remember to enjoy the simple but much-missed privilege of being all together once again.

 As always, if I can help, I’m here.

- Dayla

*The duty of care is a legal term for the legal and moral duty to make events as safe as possible for all persons. Although it is everyone's obligation, it falls particularly heavily on the shoulders of the event organizer. If any person in an event (participant, spectator, official) is injured, they may seek compensation (called damages in legal terms) by suing in a court of law.