Corporate events are representative of company ideology. For employees, it is their way to see how much a company cares for them. Especially, when everyone seems to be uploading their pictures on social networking website it surely adds up to whole brand management system as well. Now when the stakes are so high, it has to be a near perfect outing for everyone.
Here is your guide to plan an inspiring and innovative corporate event to make sure your employees have a memorable time:
1- Include Others to Set Goal for the Event
The planning has to start at least 3 months prior to the final date. Give yourself enough time to plan out everything from venue, cuisine to the entertainment activities which you must include in the event. Bring everyone to the table and see how they would like the event to be. After all, it is the employees for which the whole event is being planned.
Create e-mail newsletters asking for recommendation and suggestions. It will be wise to make a list for everyone to choose from as the sheer amount of suggestions might be overwhelming to take note of. Use surveys and make sure to seek feedback from managers and stakeholders to set the goal for the event.
2- Get Creative with Event Marketing
Create enough excitement in the workplace about the event. Employees should feel the buzz in the air that something special is on its way. It does not have to be a formal invite. Get creative in your marketing approach. Use fliers, pamphlets to highlight what they can expect the evening to be.
Use e-mails to send reminders, create content that excites every individual to be a part of the evening. The organizing team should be distributed in smaller teams and spread the word in every department with theatrics, play or some other funny activity to declare that date of the event.
3- Food Stations to entice taste buds
The only way to make an event memorable is to entice attendees with mouth watering dishes. Move over buffet system and instead use food stations as shown below in the picture. With food stations guests can engage in conversation and side by side taste the food.
As mentioned in the point one, include the workforce to plan out which dishes and cuisine be opted for. Accordingly go about setting up food stations at the venue. Add an international flair to the event. Go for variety with sauteed Cheese Tortellini as in Italy or Tandoori chicken for Indian Flavor. Employ a reputable catering service provider which has ample experience to know what is required to entice the taste buds of the attendees.
4- Break Ice amongst the Participants
People should enjoy the outing. It is their time to get away from the hustle and bustle of the office environment. Interaction should not be forced and tedious rather plan out entertaining activities for unique experience. Here are some easy and not so costly networking activities:
Group Activities: Games or Sports can keep attendees in right spirit and help them bond.
Virtual Reality Experience: Virtual reality has great potential to make evening all the way more memorable. A game or any VR activity can be used to break ice amongst participants.
Character Badges: Assign character badges based on individual preferences and see how many have similar taste.
Rapid fire Q/A: With a fun filled questionnaire, attendees can know a bit more about their colleagues.
Graffiti Wall: Let everyone unveil their creative side and contribute to the final piece of the Graffiti.
5- Choose a Perfect Venue
Venue has direct impact on the number of attendees. Here are some aspects of event organization that will help to narrow down the search:
Cost: While it is an important avenue to spend, do not go on splurging more than you can bargain for. Wisely distribute the funds and make sure to keep a spreadsheet of investments so as to distribute funds judiciously.
Location: Choose a most convenient location which is close by for everyone to attend. Create a mobile event app to guide attendees to the venue.
Ambience: Inspect the décor of the venue. It can either set the mood for the event or be the nuisance.
Amenities: Ask about available amenities. Kitchen or catering services, chairs or tables, cleanup crew, AV
capabilities etc are some things to clear beforehand.
Capacity: According to the number of attendees you can easily finalize the venue for the event.
Parking: Does the venue have parking lot or valet parking.
Do not hesitate to ask any pertinent questions and to avoid any hassles later on it would be wise to clear out above mentioned aspects to select as perfect venue for the event.
6- Hire Thought provoking Speakers
Find out speakers which can evoke response from the audience. Not necessarily do you have to hire professional speakers. There would be employees who have a great sense of humor or are good at theatrics. Most certainly there would be people who have some story to tell or an experience to share. Include them into the mould.
Organize an event registration desk at the time of marketing for the event. Review their abilities of the applicants or ask the stakeholders to recommend employees who have something to say about some issue or cause which brings everyone together and gives an event more meaning.
7- A De-Brief At the End
Last but not the least, hold a post event de-brief to know if the event was success and everyone had great time. If it is too hectic to carry out in the end due to time or other constraints it should be done the next morning. Everyone will be hung-over the great time they had. More importantly it will help to plan event out the next event with better information and experience of the attendees.
- Some of the questions to be asked are:
- How will you rate this event?
- How happy/Satisfied are you with the activities planned?
- How did you hear about the vent?
- Will you like to volunteer for next event?
A post event survey can be collected and forwarded to the management with insightful recommendations for the next event.
Keep the above mentioned points in mind for the next event which is to be planned. It is all about having fun and making sure that everyone is enjoying their time off office. So, make sure you do not get serious about whole management thing and get creative in your approach.
Plan your any types of event by using event planning app , Gala Pal– Create. Plan. Enjoy.