Organizing a corporate event, such as a conference, can be a difficult and stressful task, regardless of whether it’s an in-person or virtual event. To make the process easier, it’s important to be aware of the various event planning tips that can help you ensure that your event is successful.
From setting realistic goals to creating an effective budget, many things need to be taken into consideration when it comes to planning an event. Knowing what’s involved in the event planning process will help you avoid potential pitfalls and make sure that your event runs smoothly.
Additionally, staying organized and utilizing resources such as experienced professionals can help you ensure that all aspects of the event are properly taken care of. In this blog article, we’ve compiled helpful event planning tips to help you plan a successful corporate event that leaves everyone satisfied.
Choose an Easily Accessible Venue
Going over the top for a venue can have disastrous consequences for any corporate event, especially if the venue is difficult to reserve. Most venues come with their own unique set of logistics and requirements that must be met to successfully execute an event.
When selecting a venue, it’s important to consider all of the available options and resources that are available to maximize efficiency and ensure that all logistical demands are met.
Additionally, a venue should not be so extravagant as to draw away from the overall purpose of the event, rather than add to it. Over-the-top venues can often be counterproductive when catering to corporate events as they require more resources and management to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Set a Clear, Realistic, Plottable Timeline for Your Corporate Event
When planning a corporate event, it is essential to map out the timeline of events in an organized way. You can download free charts that contain a timeline for what should be done and when.
These charts typically provide sections for listing objectives, tasks, milestones, resources needed, each person responsible for the task and their contact information, deadlines, notes, and any other relevant details.
This helps keep everyone on track with the project by providing clear instructions on who needs to do what and by when. Additionally, it can help reduce confusion and save time as all team members can have access to the same information at once.
Using this system allows corporate event planners to make the most of their time and ensure everything runs smoothly on the day of the event.
Reserve Your Venue (Very) Early
When planning a corporate event, it is important to start looking for a venue early and reserve it in advance. Do so at least 6 months before the event to ensure that your preferred location and date are still available.
For larger events or those held on special dates, like holidays, it is best to book and pay even earlier – up to a year or more in advance. This will give you enough time to make any necessary arrangements for catering, audio-visual equipment, and other services you expect to use.
When booking ahead of time, be sure to read the contract thoroughly and understand when payment deadlines and cancellation policies take effect.
Build a Great Supporting Team of Professionals
Catering
When it comes to selecting a caterer for your corporate event, it’s important to do your research. It can be beneficial to hire a caterer you know or have experienced before as they may already be familiar with your tastes and preferences.
However, if you are unfamiliar with any local caterers, don’t hesitate to reach out and sample their food beforehand. This will give you an idea of the quality of their cuisine, as well as their ability to cater for large events. Additionally, don’t forget to read reviews from previous clients and make sure the caterer is licensed so that you can have peace of mind knowing that all standards are being met concerning food safety.
Music and entertainment
It is important to know what type of music will be played during your corporate event. Speak with a DJ before the event to get a better idea of what song selection will set the perfect ambiance for the occasion.
Make sure that they are aware of any limitations or restrictions you may have, and request that they provide you with a comprehensive playlist, so you can have an understanding of all songs that will be played.
Additionally, it is important to establish guidelines for requests from attendees, so that the DJ knows ahead of time what is acceptable and what isn’t. Doing this will help ensure that no surprises arise during the event.
Photography
When looking for a photographer for your corporate event, it’s important to seek out someone who has a vision and style that fits in with what you have in mind for the event. If possible, try to find someone who has experience with similar events or a portfolio of relevant work.
When you select a photographer who meshes well with your vision and style, you won’t need to spend as much time training them or guiding them on how to capture the moments accurately.
Allowing them to do their thing at the event will result in high-quality photos from every angle. Additionally, make sure they understand the kind of images you are looking for ahead of time, so there is no confusion once they arrive at the event.
Keep All Supporting Professionals Within Quick, Digital Reach
Most of the professionals you will contract will have a LinkedIn page.
When looking for professionals to hire for your corporate event, LinkedIn is a great resource to utilize. With the platform’s vast database of experienced professionals, you can easily find the perfect person for each service you require.
Plus, if you already have someone in mind, it’s easy to reach out with a direct message. This can help speed up the process of contracting them and ensure you get their full attention and dedication. Furthermore, your contacts page on LinkedIn gives you quick access to previous contracts, so you can stay in touch with people and keep track of past projects.
Leverage the power of your smartphone
Modern smartphones are an incredible asset when it comes to organizing a professional support team for corporate events. Using the latest technology, you can quickly and easily create contact lists with everyone you need on your team, as well as store important information about each individual such as their email address, phone number, and job title.
You can even store photos of them for reference and familiarization. Additionally, many smartphones have calendar applications that allow you to schedule calls and meetings with your team members in advance, ensuring everyone is organized and prepared for the event ahead of time.
Keep a spreadsheet of everyone’s contact information, pricing, and more
Keeping a spreadsheet of the contact information, pricing, and other details of everyone involved in your corporate event is an important step toward successful planning. This makes it easier to keep track of everyone involved and compare them with each other.
Not only should you save each person’s contact information, but also add custom fields for mutually unique data that sets each person apart from the others. These could include notes on relationship management as well as reminders about what needs to be remembered from previous contacts. As such, this detailed overview helps ensure that all aspects of the event are taken into consideration when making decisions and organizing tasks.
Send the Invites to Your Event Far Ahead of Time
When planning a corporate event, it is important to send out invitations as early as possible. Depending on the size and scope of the event, it is recommended that invites be sent anywhere from three weeks to one year in advance. This will allow guests to have ample time to plan for the event and make necessary arrangements if needed.
For large events, it may even be beneficial to send out a save-the-date card several months in advance so that people can plan ahead. Additionally, sending out reminders closer to the event is also helpful in ensuring guests are aware of any updates or changes that may have occurred since they first received their invitation.
Keep a Digital RSVP System
Using automation and streamlining tools for event planning can help make tracking who attends much easier. For example, online registration forms can be used to allow guests to easily sign up for your event, and this data can then be integrated into a customer relationship management (CRM) system. This gives you access to detailed analytics on who has attended and who hasn’t.
Additionally, QR codes and RFID scans are great ways to quickly identify attendees at the event itself and get real-time feedback on attendance rates. By automating processes like data collection, you’ll not only keep better track of those attending but also save time and resources that would otherwise be spent manually entering data.
Choose a method of keeping all of the RSVPs under one system
When planning a corporate event, it is important to have a system for keeping track of all RSVPs in one place. For example, you could use LinkedIn or Facebook event tracking to keep up with RSVPs. Alternatively, if you need more comprehensive tools and features, you could use a dedicated event management tool or app.
This will allow you to easily manage invitations, collect payments, track attendance, and create meaningful reports on the success of your event. By using such an app or tool, you can ensure that your event goes off without a hitch and that all of the RSVPs are accurately tracked.
Cvent Event Diagramming (formerly Social Tables) is a powerful online event planning and management platform that provides users with a complete suite of tools to help them plan, design, and execute their events. It allows users to create detailed event diagrams and seating plans, schedule staff and resources, manage budgets, track RSVPs, generate reports, and more.
Asana
Asana is a project management and task-tracking software designed specifically to help corporate event planners organize their workflows. It allows users to easily track tasks, assign resources, create visual timelines, and set deadlines.
Asana also provides comprehensive analytics and reporting tools to ensure that teams stay on top of every aspect of the event-planning process.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud-based storage solution developed by Google that is an ideal tool for event planners as they can easily store and share all related documents, such as contracts, agendas, and budgets.
Google Drive provides a secure and reliable file-sharing platform with enhanced security measures, such as two-factor authentication, to protect user data. Additionally, users of Google Drive can quickly collaborate in real-time on documents with multiple people simultaneously from anywhere in the world.
Slack
Slack is a powerful communication platform that makes team collaboration easier than ever. It provides its users with an array of features such as instant messaging, file sharing, video conferencing, and more, all in one centralized hub.
Slack also integrates with many third-party apps and services for even greater efficiency and flexibility. This makes it a great choice for corporate event planning teams who need to keep everyone on the same page without taking up too much time or energy.
Eventleaf
Eventleaf’s user-friendly platform makes it easy to stay organized and keep all your important information in one place. Additionally, it offers a range of additional features such as customizable presentation templates, helpful analytics and data visualizations, exportable reports, integrations with popular calendar programs like Google Calendar, and much more.
Boomset
Boomset is a leading corporate event planning solution that helps make organizing events faster and easier than ever. With a suite of integrated tools, Boomset streamlines the event creation process, enabling planners to be as efficient and organized as possible.
From registration, check-ins, inventory management, surveys, and analytics, Boomset offers an all-in-one platform to cover all your event planning needs. All this technology is backed by support teams with decades of experience in the events industry and is available 24/7 to offer assistance when needed.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is an online event management platform designed to help corporate event planners create, promote, and manage events with ease. Eventbrite’s intuitive interface offers a variety of powerful features for event organizers, such as customized ticketing options, automated payment processing, and a suite of analytics tools to track attendee engagement.
Eventbrite also makes it easy to promote events through social media channels and other marketing tools to ensure maximum reach and awareness. With its affordable pricing and simple setup process, Eventbrite is an ideal choice for corporate event planners who are looking for an easy way to manage their events.
Learn How to Negotiate
Negotiating is an essential skill for corporate event planners to have, as it can be the difference between a successful event and one that falls short of expectations. Negotiations with vendors and suppliers can help you secure the services or goods you need at the best possible prices.
Being able to negotiate allows you to maximize your budget and get more for less. This results in a higher return on investment for your event since you can do more with less without compromising quality. Becoming a successful negotiator requires knowledge of market trends, an understanding of people’s behavior and interests, and the ability to think outside the box to come up with creative solutions.
Plan a Flexible Budget
Negotiating allows you to find the best price for the items and services that you need. Before entering into negotiations, it is important to determine what items and services are absolutely necessary for the event and list them out.
Go through each item and service to determine what realistic expectations you can have for cost, then leave a cushion of at least 15% to 25% of your total budget as open expenses. Doing this allows you to be flexible in negotiations, ensuring that you don’t spend too much on one item or service while still being able to afford the necessary things.
Have Contingency Plans for Everything
It is essential to create contingency plans when planning a corporate event. This involves imagining the various scenarios that may occur and then coming up with solutions for each of them. Throughout this process, flexibility should be kept in mind to ensure that your plan can adapt if needed.
Once the initial plan has been developed, it should then be reviewed considering Murphy’s Law – which states that anything that can go wrong, will. Taking this into account, it is important to consider what potential issues could arise before finalizing the plan and make any adjustments if necessary.
It is also important to ensure that the plan is detailed and accurate, as well as has high semantic richness so that all parties are on the same page when it comes to expectations.
Personally Experience the Constituents of Your Event That You Contract Ahead of Time
When planning a corporate event, it is important to personally visit the venue before deciding on its suitability. This will help ensure that you have chosen the best location for your needs, as well as give you a chance to survey the facilities and amenities available.
Spend time at the venue
Spending time in the actual space can give you more insight into how your guests might experience their surroundings and make sure that all their needs are catered for.
Listen to the playlist
If you are hiring a DJ or live band for your corporate event, make sure to get to know their music ahead of time. You can ask them for sample playlists of past events they have performed at and take the time to listen to them.
Alternatively, if you have a specific genre in mind, then create a playlist of your own that includes some well-known tracks as well as more obscure pieces that will keep your audience engaged. For extra convenience, ask the DJ or band if they would be willing to use the playlist you create for their performance. This way you can make sure that the music played fits the atmosphere and theme of your event perfectly.
Sample the menu
It is essential to taste each of the dishes before signing off on them for your corporate event. This allows you to ensure that the food meets your expectations in terms of quality and flavor, as well as making sure it fits within any dietary restrictions or requirements.
You should have a variety of different dishes available to sample so that you can get a better sense of the full menu. Doing this will also help you make sure that the food will be properly prepared and presented when it is served during the corporate event.
Hire the photographer for a practice run
Hiring your ideal photographer ahead of time is a great way to ensure that the quality of photos taken at your corporate event will be as high as possible.
Doing a practice run with the photographer beforehand helps to pinpoint areas for improvement, or have them adjust their equipment if needed, to make sure that everything runs smoothly during the actual event. Additionally, having the photographer present for a trial run allows you to get an idea of their style and aesthetic preferences for the photos, so you can plan accordingly to capture exactly what you want from the event.
The key to successful corporate event planning is to draw on your own experiences and insights. By relying on your personal understanding of the event, rather than just theoretical knowledge that you may not have internalized, you can make quick decisions that will ensure a successful outcome.
Event planners who effectively utilize their own expertise can perform tasks quickly and more efficiently while also reducing their own stress levels. Additionally, by creating an event plan based on personal experience and intuition, you can make sure every detail is taken care of and eliminate any risks or surprises.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
When it comes to corporate event planning, having reliable assistance is essential. Whether you need one or more people, having expert help can make a world of difference in the success of your next event.
It’s wise to consider using an event-planning agency like Traveler’s Q that specializes in corporate events; it has the knowledge and resources that come with years of experience in this field.
Using our expertise will ensure that your event runs smoothly and keeps within the budget, while also providing valuable insight into trends and industry standards when it comes to planning events.
Our services will be invaluable when it comes to coordinating between vendors, scheduling staff and volunteers, as well as making sure everything is completed on time and within budget. We will be able to provide experienced guidance every step of the way, from initial ideas for the event to its ultimate completion.
With the right organization practices and tactics in place, corporate events can be optimized so that they are far less stressful to plan and execute.
By taking a few basic steps—establishing communication protocols, breaking the project down into smaller tasks, delegating responsibilities, and even delegating some of the complexity with third-party support—you can leave the hard work up to professionals who will take your portfolio of corporate events to another level. It doesn’t matter if it is a company retreat or an onboarding session, making sure to minimize stress and maximize results will benefit everyone involved.
For all of your corporate event planning needs, Request for proposal Travelers Q for top-notch guidance. Take control now and optimize your corporate events for the best possible results!
