Friday, January 10, 2014

How to Plan a Corporate Party in 10 Simple Steps


Organising corporate events can be a time-consuming and occasionally stressful process. But the good news is that with the right planning and organisational skills, it doesn't need to be. Follow these straightforward steps to plan a successful corporate party.

1. It's important to think about why you're hosting the party and what your objectives are for doing so. This information will help you to determine the tone you want for the event as well as any specific themes that might be suitable. Remember, just because it's a corporate party doesn't mean it needs to be formal. If you want to give your guests a memorable experience, 'fun' will need to play a big part in the event.

2. Choosing the date for your party should come next. It's important to do your homework around what else is taking place that day before making your choice, as you don't want to send out invites only to then find it's the night of a big football match for the local team. While making a decision is important, a willingness to be flexible could serve you well.

3. Once you know what the event is for and the date, the next decision you'll need to make is regarding the budget. It's easy for costs to escalate during the planning process, so it's important you have a clear idea of costs in mind before you begin.

4. Your next step is to decide who you wish to invite. The number of people will be a crucial factor to consider - as the more people who attend, the more expensive it will be - so focus on planning your corporate party around the people you definitely want to invite and building up your list from there. Add all the names of your intended guest list to a spreadsheet that can be updated later on.

5. You now need to think about where you want the party to be held. The first element of this is about location, such as which town or city you would like the event to take place in. This may be determined by where your company is based or where most of your guests will be travelling from.

6. The second stage to choosing where to hold the party is the venue itself. Choosing party venues is a very subjective decision, based on what you like and what you think your guests will like. You may want to give some thought to what food can be provided by the party venues you are looking at, as well as the capacity and atmosphere.

7. Once you've found somewhere you like, checking availability and costs will be your next task. It's important that the venue fits within your budget and has enough room to accommodate your corporate party guests. If not, you'll need to look at alternative party venues.

8. However, if all boxes are ticked, confirm the booking and send out invites. It's important you choose the most appropriate method of communicating the details of the event to your guests, as this will be the strongest approach for getting responses.

9. Depending on the nature of the corporate party and where it is being held, you may wish to arrange 'carriages' to help people get home at the end of the event.

10. All you need to do now is monitor responses and update the spreadsheet. If you're not getting the number of responses you want, you may need to resend the invite or find an alternative method of sending it out. Equally, if you fear there are too many or too few guests agreeing to attend, you may need to rethink the venue or the date.

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