From “the entrepreneur of the year“ to fancy team building activates, big corporations organize tens, if not hundreds of events each year.
However, working for a small business doesn’t mean that you are deprived of excellent company events. They have more to do with good organization than they are related to splashing out huge sums of money. If you approach the matter studiously, you have a realistic chance of pulling off a gala corporate event that will amaze all your business associates, employees, and clients alike.
Determining the theme
In order to save money, you need to focus a lot. This begins with the theme itself. Is the upcoming event formal or informal? Will only employees get invited or is it aimed at the general public? Is it a party that you need to send invitations for and expect guests to bring something like a present?
These are just some of the numerous questions you have to ask yourself in order to define the event to the last detail. By clearly defining the type of the even, it will be easier to project the budget and prepare the venue. For instance, a business conference or a seminar requires different preparations than an outdoor team building activity.
Choosing a venue
Once you know what the overall theme and nature of the event are, you are ready to select the venue. The options are endless but if the event is scheduled to take place during the summer months, perhaps an indoor shall with AC is a smart choice. There is nothing appealing in sweating in the punishing New South Wales sun!
If you have enough time, take the opportunity to browse between different venues in search of the best deal. On the other hand, if you’re working with a limited budget (hey, some business owners are outright stingy), then look for venues you can have free of charge. Perhaps you can use the office after hours or an employee will be willing to let you use their backyard free of charge.
Doing it all on your own
In order to make their events truly memorable, big corporations often hire external agencies to take care of all the organizational details. They do this because their own employees are often disinterested in the role of the organizer of company events. If you run a tightly knit business in terms of HR, then there is no need to outsource. Throw in a few extra leave days and your employees will be lining up to assume the provisional role of event managers. Unless you are organizing the Academy Awards ceremony, a highly motivated team of people who already work for you can take care of the organization on their own.
What to do for entertainment
Few events don’t require any form of entertainment whatsoever. Botha reception and a conference can benefit from a band playing in the back. There are so many different artists and especially musicians that you cannot afford not to hire one of them. Depending on the genre, background music is appropriate both for formal gatherings that include a strict dress code and for backyard parties alike. In fact, DJ hire in Sydney has become a new standard when it comes to organizing team building events. Whatever the theme of the office party is, a DJ will help spice things up and have the staff mingling around.
The power of a good speech
Just as music is welcome at any event regardless of its type and theme, so are speakers and experts always a good thing to have. In a conference, this is the keynote speaker whom you should invite months in advance so it can help your marketing campaign. Other types of corporate events should also include a short speech from a renowned expert or a CEO in order to raise morale. In fact, even a backyard party can include a short humorous toast delivered by the DJ, if you fall short on experts.
A mandatory follow-up
Once the last guest leaves, even if this happens at 3 AM, your work is not quite done. The hours, days, and weeks after the event are also an integral part of it as you should conduct follow-up activities. Internal events, like parties and team building activities, merely require the workers to fill out a short survey. In it, they will have an opportunity to grade the company event, propose future venues and themes, and point out what was mismanaged. When it comes to more formal events, apart from a follow-up, you can analyze the total cost and the long-term effects. For instance, if the point of the evening was to generate leads, you can guestimate how many new contacts were established.
As you have seen from our guidelines, even small firms can successfully organize big company events. All they need are a couple of motivated individuals who are ready to make the most of the budget they are entrusted with to keep all the guests well-entertained.
You Don’t Have To Be A Big Corporation To Have A Great Company Event
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