How to Plan a Corporate Outing

Corporate outings and retreats can be a great way to motivate employees and reward those for a job well done. They can be ways to build team unity and promote retention. No matter the reason, there are a few steps to follow when planning a corporate outing.

The first step is to determine the purpose of the outing. Once you know the reason you're planning an outing, then you can start to look at locations secondly. A team building outing should be different from a reward outing and a full company outing. The reasoning is just as important as anything else in the decision making process.

The location comes next. Once you know the reason, you can begin picking a location for your corporate event planning. There are many different companies that cater to corporations looking for retreat locations. Some can be parks or in the mountains, others are cruises and beach locations. Are you taking the whole company? You might want to go to a location in town for a day or two. Is it a reward? A cruise to the Caribbean may be a great way to reward top employees for reaching certain benchmarks. Small team building? Maybe a cabin in the woods is the right location for your company. Location matters.

The total cost is the next issue. Depending on where the outing is going to be held and how many people are attending, the price can vary greatly. If you have to work on a limited budget, there are companies that can help plan a corporate outing for a specific reason and work within your budget. The company itself can plan their outing by making phone calls to various locations to determine the right combination of scenery and price. They can even help with booking all the arrangements without huge deposits.

The next step is to find out who is paying for it. Is the company paying for everything for everyone? Are people expected to pay to participate? Is it a reimbursement for the employees to pay now, get paid later? These decisions factor into the budget for the outing and figuring out how many people will be in attendance. If a company pays for the outing, it can allow more employees to attend. If the employees are asked to pay for hotels or travel, that can reduce the total number of people in attendance, thus creating a situation of the company overpaying for the outing. Knowing who is funding the outing allows the company to know how much to budget and to estimate total expenditures.

Planning a corporate outing is not difficult but it can take some time. Allow yourself a lot of time to setup the outing and give people as much information as possible when you inform the employees. The more time and information the company provides when the decision is finalized, the easier it is for the company to ensure they are getting the most bang for their corporate event planning dollar.