Planning a corporate event
Planning a corporate event requires a special eye for detail. Some aspects of your event will be essential and extremely important in ensuring a successful and memorable night for all your guests. Based on our experience and events we have organised, we have put together a list of some of the things we think you absolutely must think about the moment you decide on delivering a corporate event:
1 - Event location
Often the location is the most important decision you will need to make for your event. The location can determine who attends, as it all depends where the attendees are coming from.
Do you want a city centre location, with lots of things to do and see or somewhere more rural with grounds for outside team building?
One question you should consider is whether the location has a good selection of venues to choose from as it’s always good to have choices!
Another consideration could be having the right support in the location, for anything that may be related to the event away from the hotel, such as offsite dinners, team building, activities etc.
2 - Attendee numbers & objectives
Your attendee numbers will definitely determine the type of venue you should be looking for - will everyone attend in person and require accommodation or will you have some live streaming to the event, for example? Is the goal of the event to bring all of your teams together?
It’s always a good idea to have your objectives set out for the event as this will inspire the attendees and give them a purpose to attend.
Whether it’s increasing awareness of your brand, brainstorming new ideas, or using team building to motivate and engage people, your event should have a clear and concise objective from the very beginning as this will assist you during all stages of the event planning.
3 - Event dates
The date of your event is another very important aspect of your corporate event planning and can be quite challenging. We always recommend avoiding holidays as well as bank holidays, school holidays and holidays in the location you have chosen. It’s essential that the set date suits everyone attending as you want as many people to be present as possible.
It’s good to have one date or set of dates in place, but wherever possible try and have a second set of dates as back up, even a third set if you can!
We sometimes also recommend sending out a poll with the available dates to all those invited to ensure you have given everyone the best chance of being there.
4 - Event catering
The type of catering you decide on will be determined by several factors, e.g. what kind of event it is, the venue, the location, budget and any special dietaries or allergies.
Most venues will cater for your event in-house or you may have to hire in external caterers depending on the venue. You may have an event where you will need to cater for lunch, dinner on site, dinner off site, and/or a BBQ if it’s in the summer.
Venues will share menus with you, and in some cases, you can do a menu tasting at the venue prior to the event which can be a big help deciding what you will serve your attendees.
One thing we’ve learnt from experience is that more often than not the one thing delegates talk about at an event is the food – good or bad! It is one of the most talked about aspects of any event, so always important to get it right.
Do you need help with your corporate event?
Those are just a few steps to consider when you are planning a corporate event as there’s so much more! We at NICE are the experts in this field with years and years of experience in our baggage, so get in touch with us and let us help you plan your next event!