Your corporate event needs to run smoothly and look effortless. But, if you’re looking to organise a corporate function for your company, you’ll know – they take a lot of effort and time to arrange!
Whether you’re looking to organise one for your staff, clients or the general public, here are our top 10 steps to making your corporate event organisation simpler and easier for you!
#1: Give yourself time to organise your corporate event!
Events take time to organise, so make sure you give yourself at least three months to organise yours. The last thing you want to be doing is rushing around at the last minute, trying to get everything organised. By giving yourself plenty of time, you’re ensuring you have the time and space to find the best options for you.
#2: Purpose and theme
Get clear on your overall purpose and theme for your event. Are you looking to update and educate employees, clients or stakeholders, or to thank and entertain your staff? Is this event to raise funds for a charity. or improve relationships and raise awareness? The purpose will then help dictate what theme and/or format you have. For example, a summer party, charity auction, awards ceremony, business conference or seminar.
#3: Know your numbers
One of the first things you need to know is your numbers – without these, you cannot start scoping out events and suppliers. So what are your numbers? They’re your attendees, the finances at your disposal, and that all important date for your event! It pays to have a few back-up dates on hand, as well as a budget range, for when you start looking at venues.
#4: Create a to-do list and organise your team
Before you go any further, you need to get clear on what you need to do to get this event up and running. Once you start writing out your to-do list (with the help of this blog!), you’ll realise – there is a lot to do! If you don’t want to get overwhelmed, look to get a small team in place to help you with your corporate event organisation – don’t try and do it all yourself. You can then allocate out your tasks and decide who’s going to do research, visits, phone calls etc.
#5: Find the perfect venue
The first to-do on your list now needs to be finding the perfect venue. By knowing your overall theme and purpose, you’ll know some of what your ideal venue must provide – such as enough space for dining tables, a stage for performers, breakout rooms etc. Make sure you visit each venue, to get a feel for it, as well as seeing how accessible it is and the options they have available for you (designated staff, exclusivity, in-house catering etc).
#6: Decide on food and drink
Now you can make a decision over the food and drink you’re looking to provide. For some events, a simple buffet may suffice, whilst others may dictate a full three-course meal. It often helps, both in terms of cost and convenience, to opt for a venue that can also cater to your food and drink requirements. However, if you’re looking to use external caterers, check that the venue you’ve chosen is happy with this and that they have suitable space and facilities to cater for them.
#7: Event content
Once you have the venue sorted, you can focus on your event content. This is largely dictated by the type of event you’re holding – such as an auction will need lots to bid on, whilst an in-house sales conference may need training and/or presentations. However, you’ll need to get clear on the overall entertainment, music, and the speakers you want at your corporate event. You’ll then need to put your event organisation team into action, researching and contacting the necessary people, in order to book them for your event.
#8: Event itinerary
Once you have the content sorted, you can then finalise the itinerary. Make sure you include regular breaks, as well as networking time if this suits the type of corporate event you’re holding. Also, ensure you’ve left wiggle room in your timings, to cater for any overruns and technical issues etc.
#9: Invite guests!
Now you can decide how you’re going to invite your guests – and start sending those invites out! If you’re looking to send out formal invites, ensure you’ve given yourself time to have the invites printed and posted. Regardless of how you invite guests, it’s always a good idea to request an RSVP of some kind, as well as any plus ones they may want to bring, to keep an eye on your overall guest numbers.
#10: Post-event content
Finally, don’t forget to plan for post-event content. For in-house events this could mean a simple satisfaction and/or feedback survey however, for the customer and client-based events, post-event content could include email outreach funnels and follow-up calls.
Discover more about choosing the perfect venue for your corporate function here.
If you’re looking to hold your next event in a location near to London, why not check us out? Not only can we provide an environment that’s positive and productive, but it’s also beautiful, close to the M1 and M25, and close to mainline and underground stations!
We also have a selection of flexible packages to suit your needs. So, why not get in touch with our planning team – on 0208 385 3103 to find out more!