Corporate events are fantastic opportunities to present important information to your employees and clients, provide networking opportunities and foster a collaborative culture in your organization when you plan them effectively. Here are five useful tips for organizing a corporate event.
1. Hire an Event Planner
Working with a corporate event planning company is incredibly beneficial, no matter the size or complexity of your event. Event planners have the experience and skills necessary to ensure these occasions run smoothly. Corporate event planners offer several services for businesses, including staffing, venue coordination, AV production, design and decor, catering and activities management. They will also take care of administrative tasks such as registration, event website management and materials design, printing and shipping.
2. Take a Top-Down Approach
Make sure you and your event planner focus on both the big picture and the details. Not only do you need to make sure you have a caterer, for example, but you must also check whether any guests, attendees or staffers have dietary restrictions and that the vendors can accommodate those restrictions. Managing the details will help your event run as smoothly as possible. One of the best ways to manage the big picture and the details is to take a top-down approach. First, determine what you need to do and how to do it. Then flesh out each aspect of the event.
3. Make Sure Attendees Can Engage and Network
Attendees who are engaged in your event tend to feel involved and important. This makes them more likely to participate in activities and retain the information they learned during the event. Provide opportunities for attendees to ask questions and network casually. Make activities fun as well as informative. Offer friendly, fun games and competitions with prizes to increase interest in participating.
4. Choose Appropriate Speakers and Content
First, consider why you’re hosting this event and what you’re using it to accomplish. You need to develop content and choose speakers that will further those goals. If your content is clear and reflects the purpose of the event, your attendees are more likely to remember it and gain valuable knowledge or experience from it. Speakers and presenters who have experience engaging crowds and who provide diverse viewpoints can engage attendees more successfully.
5. Set and Stick to a Budget
You need money to successfully run an event. Ask your event planner to estimate the cost of your event. He or she will take into account how many attendees and guests you plan to have, where you plan to host it and how long you expect it to be. Once you set a budget, you can then allocate resources. It’s important to allocate money appropriately, so you have enough food, a comfortable amount of space and appropriate decor without exceeding your budget.
The size and scope of your event will affect several aspects of planning, including the budget, the venue, how many staffers you need to hire and whether you decide to hire an event planner. The larger and more complex your event, the more you may need to do and the more assistance you may need.
