In a company, the environment and people around you must work in harmony. It’d be easier to perform tasks if transactions from one person to another run smoothly. That’s why corporate events are needed so that employees get to bond outside of work.
A good working environment benefits the company, its employees, and its clients. Corporate events are an important investment to have better communication towards affected parties.
As the one in charge of making successful events, it’s your duty that everyone enjoys the activities. And to do that, don’t forget to check the list below!
1. Hire event planners
The entire event must be well-prepared. If you’re busy with work, you won’t have enough time to arrange everything. In this case, you’ll be going to need help from professional event planners. You don’t have to do it on your own if you have a budget.
Event planners will help you from the planning part until the day of the event. They’ll just give you updates on the event’s progress. Furthermore, you can just meet once in a while instead of stressing over finding the right businesses you need for the event. Isn’t it relaxing to think that you can do your work while accomplishing event matters?
2. Pick an off-site venue
Isn’t it exciting to spend some time far away from your workplace? It’s like a school field trip for working people. Make sure that the venue you picked will be something your employees will look forward to.
Moreover, a different venue has a better chance of having more attendees especially when they know that they’ll not be going to be disappointed. You can choose a venue that aligns with your theme even the non-traditional such as boats and warehouses.
3. Conduct a survey
If you don’t have enough experience when it comes to identifying the right activities and themes for the event, then it’s not a bad thing to ask for help. Moreover, employees won’t have to worry about being disappointed attending the event when they don’t have a clue about the activities.
Conducting the survey will also give you a hint of what kind of event they want to attend. For example, maybe they don’t want a formal Christmas party so you can just rent an entire bar and have a list of fun activities.
4. Organise activities by teams
Let your employees get to know each other more by having them work on group activities. They may also be teams at work but this time, they will have to release the fun side of solving exciting things together.
However, if there are instances that not everyone wants to be part of a team, you don’t have to force them to participate.
5. Make sure the activities are for both extroverts and introverts
Of course, your employees are different from each other. Not everyone’s extrovert nor introvert so you’ll have to prepare activities that they will all enjoy. The event planners can present you with a list of activities so you’ll have to choose wisely. Otherwise, you should come up with your list.
You can also consider the survey mentioned before to guide you through the list of activities.
6. Spend a weekday or two for the event
The typical work set-up is 40 hours (5 days) a week, and you should not expect them to spend their weekend for work. It’s safer to have the event during office hours so that you won’t have to worry about getting few attendees.
However, if the event needs to be done on weekends or at night, you can set up an arrangement as they can have a day off on Friday as a replacement for their weekend.
7. Serve appetising food
A unique but delicious food will encourage employees to attend more corporate events. It’s also the most anticipated part of the event, aside from the venue. If you serve meals that your employees usually eat, then there won’t be any excitement from their end.
You can try serving different cuisines around the world like Mediterranean or Japanese. Just remember to let them know the ingredients to avoid allergic reactions.
8. Have some giveaways
Who wouldn’t want to have free stuff? Make sure that a portion of your budget is reserved for prizes and giveaways. It’s even more fun to participate in games and activities if you know you’ll win something, right?
You can have gift cards, tickets, or free membership in generic stores and establishments. The bigger the value of the prizes, the more chances of gaining participants.
9. Don’t let them spend too much
It’s the company’s activity, so make sure that they won’t have to spend their money to attend. The admission, food, and venue should be covered by the company. If necessary, you can also provide shuttle services for those who don’t have their car.
For employees, the idea of spending too much just to attend your event won’t be a priority. Keep in mind that they must have spent some money on their outfits, so making them pay something for the event might be too much.
10. Get their feedback
After the event, don’t forget to ask for the employees’ feedback. You can just send them a link or a piece of paper that includes a list of questions such as:
- Did you enjoy it?
- What is your favourite part of the event?
- What other things could make it better?
- Do you have any suggestions to improve the next events?
Of course, the questions should include things to make future events even more enjoyable. Moreover, you can also rate the possibility of having more attendees next time. However, you should remind them that their feedback will be confidential so that they won’t hesitate to review it honestly.
At the end of the event, don’t forget to thank the employees who attended the event. I will inspire them to improve their work, and attend more corporate events in the future.
If you have any inspiring corporate event stories, don’t forget to share them with us by leaving a comment below!