Planning a corporate company event

There's a few reasons why a corporate event is different to managing a personal event, the first being that usually a corporate event is a tool to communicate a message either internally or externally on behalf of the company. Whether it's to support a new initiative or product launch, or to inspire team and company morale by bringing everyone together and sharing updates and what's on the roadmap.

Whatever the purpose and motivation may be, there are always many stakeholders to consider and it's important to understand what the goal of the event is.

Here are our most important tips to help when planning a corporate company event.

Create an events team and list of stakeholders

While it might be your role to lead the organisation and planning, it's a good idea to create an events team or support crew around you. Try and choose people in the company who come from a range of different backgrounds. This will diversify the skill set of you team and can help to ensure that all facets of the business are fairly represented.

Be sure to have a list of various stakeholders that will steer the direction of the event, and also need final sign-off on decisions made. When you have multiple stakeholders who need to approve, this can cause delays. Having a go-to list of stakeholders for every task, and making sure you communicate with them your time expectations will help keep your schedule on track.

Develop a project time line (known as a gantt chart)

This is crucial to ensure that everything is covered when preparing for your event.  A good tip is to share this timeline with your colleagues and any stakeholders who are affected. Ensuring that everyone who needs to be across your event is kept informed throughout the planning process will save you any future headaches or misunderstandings.

Set the budget first, get quotes ASAP and forecast the spend

At the top of your priority list should be to make some time to set the budget and forecast the spend. Of course the most accurate way to approach this is to get quotes from suppliers as soon as possible. Companies are getting firmer on employees being responsible and accountable for the numbers of their business unit, and you don't want to be the one having the the awkward conversation trying to answer where the money has gone.

Confirm the type of party/event

Will it be in the day time or evening? Is it a formal event or a team building exercise during the day? How important are various factors, i.e. presentations, the opportunity to mingle, should it be formal or informal etc.

Book the venue and event hire as early as possible

Confirming the location and big hire items are some of the top tasks on your to do list. Once you have this, the rest will be easier to plan around. Check out our blog post on corporate event hire here.

Be selective with your suppliers

When planning something for yourself you may be more willing to take a gamble on a business that quotes you less or is new to the game, however it's not so easy explaining unforeseen hiccups to your boss or other stakeholders. Dealing with professionals who understand the industry and have experience dealing with corporates will make your job much easier, and less stressful.

Consider hiring an event manager

Whether it's on the day of the event only or just for the smaller bits and pieces, if you're tasked to run the entire show, investing in an event manager to help you can be very worthwhile. An events manager will be able to help you coordinate the last minute details that need a second opinion or some the input from someone with professional experience

An event manager will also free you up on the day to be more available, as their role should solely be to ensure everything on the run sheet goes to plan.