HOW TO PLAN YOUR FIRST CORPORATE PARTY

Corporate party planning can be a lot of fun, whether you are bringing together a morale-boosting team event, or bringing together a number of your clients and suppliers for a big celebration. But as well as being a great opportunity for you, it can also come with the weight of expectation.

If you want to ensure that your first corporate is a success, you should ensure that you put a focus on getting the details right. In this article, we will provide some tips and strategies for planning your first corporate party.

SO THIS IS YOUR FIRST CORPORATE PARTY – START BY ASKING WHAT IT IS FOR?

It is crucial to begin your event planning by fully understanding what the event is for and what you want to achieve from it. When PAs and other members of staff come to plan an event for the first time, they can get overwhelmed by the pressure and forget to really focus on what the company wants the event to be about.

It is worth taking the time to relax and focus on the basics first: what is the event’s purpose? When you understand what it is for, it provides you with the outline of everything else – the kind of budget that is sensible, the number of guests likely to attend, the amount of time you’ll need to stage it, and much more.

“It may sound obvious, but staying focused on the purpose of your event from the outset will help you to achieve your vision,” says Helen Alexander writing for Eventbrite. “It’s also key to identify the audience you’d like to attract, and start to think about the best ways to appeal to them through marketing and promotion.”

CHOOSING A VENUE

It is important to start thinking about the venue as early as possible. It might be the case that you already have a venue that you know is going to be available – for example, if it is part of a building that the business owns or has access to. But if you need to find a venue to hire, thinking about it early is important, as these spaces can get booked up quickly.

VENUES ARE EXPERTS IN PARTY PLANNING TOO

Emirates Old Trafford shares their expert tips on how they would deliver an amazing large corporate Christmas party for you. But their expertise covers all seasons and multitude of party ideas and themes.

“Destination Emirates Old Trafford’s Christmas Party experiences are not to be missed. Our venue can cater for up to 1,000 guests per night, as well as smaller intimate parties (or both) thanks to the variety of event spaces across our multi-purpose stadium destination.

The Point, our largest event space, provides a modern, unique and open space for Christmas party guests to socialise and enjoy the party experience together.

Our on-site 250-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn is the ideal choice for party guests. Our four-star hotel continues the positive guest experience at our parties as there is no hassle in getting home and guests can enjoy our gorgeous hotel breakfast the following morning.

Our Christmas parties are delivered by our expert, in-house event team who have the skills and expertise in hosting a wide range of amazing events across sport, concerts, awards dinners and corporate functions – so we can guarantee that your Christmas Party is in great hands.

Our event delivery and sales teams are passionate about creating a festive and memorable experience for all guests – think uplifting live performances, crowd interaction, excellent food and service, plenty of dancing and of course, all the Christmas classics to spread the festive cheer.”

SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT YOU WILL NEED TO CONSIDER IN YOUR VENUE SELECTION INCLUDE:

• Consider the location – the venue’s location should be convenient and accessible for your attendees. If the majority of your attendees are coming from out of town, consider choosing a venue near airports or public transportation.
• Capacity and layout – make sure the venue is the right size and has the right layout for your event. You don’t want your attendees to feel cramped or overwhelmed in a space that’s too small, nor do you want a venue that’s so large it feels empty.
• Entertainment – it’s worth getting quality performers as entertainment is a great way to create the desired atmosphere for your event and get guests interacting with each other. Entertainment needs to match the party, guests and the venue too.
• Technical requirements – if you plan on using any technology, such as projectors, microphones, or sound systems, make sure the venue has the necessary equipment and technical support.

BETTER BUDGETING

You need to budget appropriately for any event that you are running. You might want to make a good impression and suggest that you can run an event at a very low cost – but it is important to remember that the majority of businesses would rather spend a little more and ensure everything runs smoothly, efficiently, and easily.

“You need to know how much money you have to work with to determine what sort of event you can produce,” says Paula Fernandes, writing for Business News Daily. “Once you have a budget, knowing where to allocate most of your resources is essential. For example, if you spend more on fancy decorations than you do on a skilled tech crew or personable speakers, your event might be lacking in substance”.

PROMOTING YOUR EVENT

You need to make sure that you are doing everything right to promote your event. If you get all the planning right, but you fail to let the right people know it is happening or don’t advertise it in time, you can end up missing out on key guests, or finding it sparsely attended.

If you are managing an internal event, it is essential to make a list of all of the members of staff who need to be invited. You can then use Google Forms to create an RSVP email and send it around to everyone.

If you are promoting your event externally, you need to make sure that you are putting proper time and budget into the marketing work.

PLAN FOR ALL WEATHERS

It might be the case that you are interested in staging your party outdoors. If it is a summer party it makes sense to make the most of the sunshine and allow everyone to feel comfortable and relaxed. However, if you are going outdoors, you are putting your faith in the hands of the good old British weather. And as such, it makes sense to have a backup plan.

Hope for the best, but plan for the worst, especially when it comes to the weather. Even if you are planning for a very large party, companies that offer marquees can provide coverage for up to 500 people under a single tent. So there’s no reason to assume that your party is too large to have a covered area.

CAPTURING THE EVENT

While it might be tempting to save money and ask a friend or family member to take photos or videos, it’s important to remember that this is a professional event and you want to ensure that the quality of the photos and videos matches the professionalism of the event itself.

When hiring a photographer or videographer, it’s important to communicate your expectations and needs clearly. Make sure they understand what you want to be captured, including key moments and specific individuals or groups you want photographed or filmed. You should also provide them with a timeline of the event so they can plan their shots accordingly.

Once the event is over, it’s important to make sure you receive the raw files or final edited versions of the photos and videos. These will be invaluable for future marketing or promotional purposes. You should also consider sharing some of the best photos or video highlights on social media to help promote future events and showcase your brand.

THE ART OF DELEGATION

For those who are new to event planning, delegation is particularly important. It can be overwhelming to try to manage everything yourself, especially if you’re not familiar with the various elements of event planning. By delegating tasks to more experienced colleagues or team members, you can benefit from their expertise and reduce the risk of making mistakes or oversights.

One of the biggest advantages of delegation is that it allows you to share the workload with others, ensuring that all tasks are completed on time and to a high standard. When planning a corporate event, there are a lot of moving parts to manage, and delegating responsibilities can help ensure that no important details slip through the cracks.

Don’t let the pressure of planning a corporate party overwhelm you. Take things slowly, delegate effectively, and ensure that all of the basics are covered. The rest should fall into place as you bring the details together.