Hosting a corporate event is a business decision, and you need to ensure that it has a positive ROI. While this ROI can’t necessarily be measured in sales or numbers, it is still there, and it’s definitely worth your while. Still, in order for all of this to hold true, the corporate event in question needs to be seen as a successful one. Here are several tips to help you make this happen.
Plan the Logistical Aspect
The first thing you need to focus on is figuring out the logistical aspect of the event. First, you need to start by setting the main objective for this event. Some of the most common corporate event goals are:
- Improvement of workplace culture
- Strengthening teams
- Promoting creativity
- Boosting morale
Next, you want to consider the invitees. You should start by considering whether it will be a closed or an open party. Are you just going to host an event for your employees? Are they allowed to bring over friends, relatives, and partners? Is it an open event that any of your investors or clients can attend? These are just some of the questions that you’ll have to answer. Once you know the answer to this question, you can start making a list (or, at the very least, an estimate in a scenario where it’s an open party).
This will help you figure out how big a venue you actually need, which is pivotal for your budget, organization, and scheduling. According to veterans running event center Minneapolis, finding an opening in the schedule of some of the most popular venues is not a simple thing. The sooner you act, the better.
Travel Arrangements or Lodging
The commute to the venue of your choosing is not an insignificant thing to decide on. First of all, you need to keep in mind that whether or not you choose to serve alcoholic beverages will also have an impact on the commute. To ensure that your guests get safely home, you’ll have to ensure that they have suitable transportation, designated drivers, or, at very least, lodging.
Sure, some may argue that this is not your concern, but what if you have people traveling great distances (partners from other states) who would find it difficult to organize this independently. Some of these people would give up on attending for this very reason. By deciding to organize this on your own, your effort will not just increase the attendance but also serve as proof that you really care about them being there.
Like with the venue and invitations, these things should be handled as early in the process as possible.
Take Photos and Recordings of the Event
Not everyone will be able to attend the event. However, this doesn’t mean that you should miss out on this audience. You can take photos and recordings of the event and upload them online so that those who didn’t attend can see them. This can also be done in order to maximize your social media impact on platforms like Instagram. This could perhaps create a form of FOMO for the next time and slightly increase your attendance.
The value of imagery taken here can be repurposed for every following event. Sure, you can make a list of events, features, guests, and entertainment for the day, but it is far more impressive to show than to just tell or retell. Namely, by showing images where people are having an immense amount of fun, it will be a lot easier for them to reach a higher level of immersion.
Livestreaming the event is another feature that you should never underestimate. This gives more people a chance to attend the event. It is also much safer in situations like the one we are facing now (COVID-19 pandemic). With the emergence of technologies like VR and AR, the possibilities for remote immersion will be immeasurable.
Measure everything
A corporate event is not the same thing as a social event. Namely, while it is true that your subjective impression is important, you need to realize that a corporate event is an actual project. As such, it needs to have clear objectives, as well as measurable KPIs. Some factors like the attendance or the impact that certain events and activities had on your audience can be measured on the spot.
On the other hand, the majority of your goals (examples of which we listed in the first section) will take some time to come to life. In other words, your job is not over immediately after the event wraps up. Remember this is not the last time that you will host a corporate event. For this reason, you need to keep track of everything that happens (both good and bad) so that you can use it as a learning experience.
Hire professional help
Planning a corporate event is such a complex issue that there is no guide in the world capable of covering every single detail. After all, there are so many variables, ranging from the venue, the team, the agenda, the attendance, and, as of lately, even the epidemiological situation in the region. This is why it is the safest to hire professional help.
Having a professional consultant will ensure that the likelihood of missing a crucial detail is down to the minimum. While it is always a good idea to work with professionals during the first corporate event you are hosting, this is paramount. Some avoid this to reduce the cost of the event organization. Seeing as how you already have to pay for the venue, catering, decoration, is this additional cost really going to offset your budget by that much? Also, remember that hiring a professional event manager is a business investment and, as such, has its ROI.
However, if you don’t want to hire someone, you can still do it yourself and get assistance from event planning platforms. Event app costs can vary, but the best thing about them is that they have multiple packages with unlimited usage.
In Conclusion
All in all, if there are two most important tips that you should receive on this topic, these are:
- Start planning in time.
- Hire professional help.
Sure, this takes time, money, and effort, but it is definitely worth it. Also, remember that this is not the only or the last such event that you’re going to host. So, use everything that happens (throughout the entire process) as a learning experience.