Corporate events are a good way to break the monotony of day-to-day operations. It gives your employees an opportunity to let their hair down and relax a little without having the stresses of the work day hanging over their heads.
However, there is a lot of planning which goes into these events. Corporate events provide a comfortable platform to meet and greet with new employees and allows the new hires to learn about the core values your company instills in its employees.
Planning and attending corporate events will give the higher ups a chance to communicate across the entire company. This allows everyone to get on the same page. Corporate events can also help with boosting morale. You could use the opportunity to hand out awards to employees who have gone above and beyond. Boosting self esteem is almost guaranteed to assist the whole company.
What is the best way to schedule a corporate event without forcing your employees to attend?
Consider that your employees are at work 40 plus hours for your company. That is time away from their friends and families. Surely they would jump at the opportunity to enjoy an event which takes place during the normal business hours. Plus, it will show your employees you care about their time and value their ability to balance their work and home life.
If you must schedule an evening event and it is a black tie affair you may want to consider allowing employees to leave a little early to prepare and come in a little late the next day. No one wants to willingly spend over 12 hours in one day at their place of employment (unless they are a doctor or nurse). It is kind to give them a little time to get dressed up on the day of and allow a little extra sleep the next day. We are not saying it would be smart for your employees to overindulge, but we are also aware it happens more times than not. Those who don’t, will thank you for the extra hour or two of sleep the following day.
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Make your corporate event sound like the event of the year. Send out invitations letting them know the location of your event and clues about what the day will include. The Maine at Williamsburg provides a beautiful location for your corporate event. We have built a 9,000 square foot facility to provide the perfect location for corporate events.
Create a theme and give your employees the creative power to dress up as their favorite character from a song, super hero, decade. This is not a necessity, but it may be a way to unleash your employees.
Feel as though your employees would not be into a themed event? Try some fun team building exercises. Make sure the games are competitive, otherwise how much fun could they actually have? A good competitive game can not only boost communication, but also get your company talking about some of the strong suits exhibited in others.
The majority of your guests time will be spent around food and drink. So those are two very important factors. They bring people together all the time. Food always makes people feel more comfortable and provides them with an opportunity to make new connections. Attempt to make sure all dietary concerns are taken into consideration, but that may be impossible. There is a slue of caterers in the Williamsburg, VA area. If you let your employees know there is going to be food and what type, they are more likely to show up with empty tummies and smiling faces.
There is no better way to know how your event has gone over than to ask the guests. Find out ways you could have made the event more enjoyable or what they would like to see happen next time. There are new ways of touching base with your staff where they don’t have to fill out an index card. You could send out anonymous emails, use a pulse survey or use an online form. Of course, you are going to want to make sure these comments are kept confidential!
One of the best ways to ensure you do not forget a single detail in your event planning is to hire a professional event planner. Your planner will assist in collaborations to make sure everyone is on the same page. They will coordinate with your vendors and make sure all proper equipment has been rented. Your event planner plays an integral in bringing everything together.
