How to Plan the Perfect Corporate Event

Pulling off a memorable corporate event is never easy; a company retreat, summit, product launch, or something as simple as an employee training day. These events are significant for companies as greater employee morale and team-building skills can be cultivated throughout their duration.

To prevent your company's disastrous skiing trip from making waves in the office gossip circles on Monday morning, here are a couple of things to keep in mind when planning your next corporate event.

1. Purpose, Theme, & Location

Defining the event's purpose and objectives should always be your first step. Once you've decided which kind of event will resonate the most for your intended audience – i.e., a weekend getaway following a busy period in the workplace –  set goals and expectations for it.

While giving your employees a chance to switch up their daily routines is always beneficial, you cannot lose sight of the event's purpose. Curating an engaging and meaningful experience is just as important as giving them a breather from cleaning the company's overloaded databases and dealing with their annoying bosses.

Selecting a venue that brings out the best of your ideas also becomes paramount. While you don't need to buy out the entirety of Madison Square Garden for a small team-building event, you can't go wrong booking a venue with a vibrant atmosphere whose location is conveniently close to your attendees. They'll have no reason to make up an asinine excuse and miss out!

2. Logistics & Budgeting

Whether it be deciding if hiring a personal driver would be responsible for your company's infamous holiday parties or debating where to sit those two IT specialists – who have a strong dislike for one another – at the dinner table, tackling logistical matters must be a priority.

Every successful event involves careful identification, vetting, and hiring of the most qualified event specialists – photographers, caterers, decorators, security, etcetera. Additionally, booking prominent figures or speakers to be the basis of the event's promotion would also be wise while keeping the constraints of your budget in mind.

When deciding the event's budget, every possible expense – accounted for and unaccounted for – must be considered. Resource allocation has to be a carefully thought out process, where you cut costs and get the best bang for your buck in every area possible.

3. Embrace Technology & Marketing

While it's easy to want total control over all the moving parts of your next product launch, letting event management software do some of the heavy lifting for you will only make the experience smoother. Using one of the thousands of event apps out there can considerably streamline planning, allowing you to devote more of your time to other pressing areas – one of them being the event's marketing.

Whether you're hosting an internal or external event, time and money will need to be poured into getting the word out – ramping up excitement in your employees and other invited guests is crucial to boosting attendance and delivering a show. Use your company's communication channels  – whether it be social media, company email, or internal communications platform – for promotional purposes and to generate hype in the buildup to the event. 

Just make sure you deliver on your promises and don't go for something ludicrous in your promotion a-la-Fyre Festival.

You're All Set!

Creativity, organization, and flexibility will all be necessary when planning a corporate event. There are infinite things that could go wrong, but with these pointers, we hope you are one step closer to giving your next event's final paint strokes.