How to Plan a Successful Company Event

A company event can be fun.

Whether the company event involves 50 people or 1,500, many of the preparations are the same and a handy checklist can be followed every time you are lucky enough to be the coordinator.

Things You'll Need

• Paper and pen
• Computer

Instructions

1. Start with an announcement to round up your volunteers. Make this an open invitation to all employees. This will get a few folks moving but you will likely have to do some individual campaigning for support for your MVPs from the prior year. Choose those people who know how to get things done.

2. Conduct a kickoff meeting that includes refreshments. Even if your crew is busy, they may be enticed by the smell of fresh baked goods. At the meeting, have a tight agenda where you delegate as much work as you can to others. If you are a staff manager, assign work for event planning to your right-hand person and make these events part of their job description. At the kickoff, set up a followup meeting schedule and get consensus on dates, times and details.

3. Keep the decision making for the food, activities and budget in your back pocket. This part you might want to keep to yourself or gradually give pieces of it to your coordinator if they are capable of handling it. When you do your annual budget, be sure to count this event in and add 5 percent year to year.

4. Attend meetings and assess progress. Provide feedback and give praise to those who are on target with their objectives for the event. As needed, meet with others such as the caterers and entertainers to finalize plans. Keep line managers in the loop on when and where the party will be held.

5. Notify employees and send invitations to the event at least six weeks prior if possible. If RSVPs are needed, include the date to return responses. Have your staff coordinator devise a mechanism for collecting this information. Use administrative staff as much as possible for the grunt work.

6. Conduct your final planning meeting one week before the event. Make sure a weather date is communicated if needed in your area. Finalize counts, decorating tasks and other last-minute duties with your group.

7. Enjoy yourself at the event. Find time to search out your volunteers and thank each individually for all their help. Socialize as much as possible with your management team and get feedback from people on how they liked the event as well as suggestions for improvement.

8. Send out thank-you letters to all the volunteers and have copies placed in their personnel files after the successful event concludes. If extra freebies are still available, distribute them among the helpers. Keep a folder of all the details in your files and update it with new ideas.

Tips & Warnings

• The key ingredients of any successful event are food, music, entertainment or activities, and company communications or message.

• Add to this list as other specifics occur to you and keep it in a file for the next similar event.

References

• OneEntry.biz: How to Plan a Corporate Event