Being tasked with hosting a corporate event is a huge responsibility. While you may be excited about the opportunity, it’s hard to know where to start. This post looks at 6 different things that will help you hold a successful corporate event!
1. Establish A Theme
Having a theme always makes a party more entertaining. Planning your event around a theme also gives a chance for the entire office to offer input on what the theme should be, decorations and food options. If you can find a theme everyone is excited about, it’s a great way to get the office fully immersed in the event.
Make sure you plan your event far in advance because you may need mascot costumes and special decorations that take a while to assemble. When executing a themed event, play close attention to detail. Going all out will always yield better results than a half-hearted attempt.
2. Pick A Goal For Your Event
Having a goal for your event makes it much easier for things to run smoothly. If the goal of the event is to educate, then you probably don’t want to serve drinks and food before the presentation. The goal of your event will also help you decide on the right venue and budget. Your event should have a goal that aligns with the company’s overall business objectives.
Leading with this in mind will help you get more buy-in from executives. If you have to sell management on the plan, make sure you include details for measuring ROI and specific ways in which the event will help the company.
3. Find Ways To Keep Engagement Going After The Event
Keeping people engaged after the event is over is the secret to a successful corporate event. If people are never seen or heard from again after the event is over, you have some work to do. Using tools such as online replays of the event, interactive games, and group discussions will help keep the event conversation going and increase your retention levels. Find different ways to engage your attendees and give them something to look forward to so they come back.
4. Be Prepared To Send Multiple Invites
One of the most vexing parts of event planning, aside from all the preparation you have to do, is actually getting people to come. It’s essential to pick a date that won’t be impacted by school breaks, holidays, religious events or large sporting events. After you’ve picked a safe date, you need to be prepared to send multiple invitations. Your physical invitations should go out a month before the event, and you should follow up with electronic reminders every week until the event.
5. Establish A Welcoming Team
Just like a party at your own home, it’s important to greet your guests as they arrive. Nothing is worse than arriving at a corporate event and being unsure of where to go and how things are working. Having a dedicated welcome team will help make your guests feel relaxed and ready to enjoy themselves. Your welcome team can do things like provide name tags, lead people to their assigned seating and deal with VIPs as soon as they arrive.
6. Remember To Have Fun
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy all your hard work. Once all the planning is done and the day of the event hits, there’s not much else you can do. Get ready to embrace whatever problems are likely to occur and just have fun. No one likes to see the host running around frantically trying to get everything right. Take the time to mingle, introduce your guest to each other and enjoy your hard work.