A corporate event is a great opportunity to celebrate successes, engage in team-building, and pay your employees back for the contributions they make on a daily basis. It also contributes to a great corporate culture, which is highly valuable to any enterprise.
In fact, poor corporate culture is blamed for around $223 billion lost in turnover each year. In the following article, we give you seven tips to make the most of your next corporate event.
1. Pick the Right Venue
First, determine the type of business event that you plan to host. Will it be a large spectacle with live entertainment or something smaller featuring a short list of guests?
From there, brainstorm a list of places centralized to your invitees. A logistics company throwing a driver appreciation event, for example, would want to expand their geographical circumference while looking. A small sales office, on the other hand, might do fine with a small recreation center.
2. Work Out Technology Issues Ahead of Time
When answering the question of what is a corporate event, you’ll inevitably come to the topic of presentations or entertainment options. This requires technology.
Ahead of the event, make sure you’ve checked out the options for audio and video. Test PowerPoints or live music to troubleshoot any potential problems before they happen during the event itself.
3. Send Invites in Plenty of Time
Again, you’ll want to consider the audience and the purpose. A large annual event might require more lead-time than a small corporate mixer. On average, the time is about three weeks, but feel free to adjust it based on the size of your team, distances they will need to travel, and nature of the event itself.
4. Make It Easy for Invited Guests to RSVP
Technology makes it super-easy for you to get a read on who’s going, who’s not, and how many are considering it. However you arrange your event, be it email or through a social media channel, make sure it’s simple for the invited guests to communicate their intentions with the click of a button.
5. Form Partnerships Where Applicable
Forming good partnerships is also important to a successful event. Pooling your resources with other entities can help you cut back on costs and expand networking options. It’s also easier when it comes to pooling resources to find help with things like event planning and corporate event catering.
6. Get Close to the Logistics
We mentioned event planning in No. 5, but be careful with this. You’ll want to stay plugged into the logistics of the event, so there are no unwanted surprises.
Do your due diligence even if you’ve empowered someone else to arrange the participants. You can find all kinds of help online with things like how many chairs are available, whether you need to bring tables and tablecloths, or whether the venue will supply it for you. There are also these tips on choosing a catering service.
7. Contingencies and Assessments
Choosing a variety of possible corporate event venues will help you adjust your plans as necessary in case something comes up with your first choice. You should also follow up on the outcome of the event. Ask attendees what they liked, where there could be improvements, and what they would like to see for next year.
Corporate Event Success Depends on Planning
Your corporate event success will be as successful as you are at planning it. By committing to the seven tips we’ve provided here, what could be a stressful day will go much more smoothly. For more marketing and business tips, check out some of our additional posts!
