Events are an important part of the corporate world. These are some of the reasons why corporations may hold or host events:
- For staff incentives – making sure people are motivated to work hard
- To entertain clients. It’s a good way to meet with lots of people at one time.
- To network. Networking events expand the circle in which you can do business.
- Advertising a new product or service. This might be at a roadshow or exhibition.
- To celebrate. It might be something like a Christmas party or end of year treat.
- Team building. Certain events are designed to bring a team together.
- To discuss particular points, to train staff members or to make a contribution within your field. This will usually be a conference.
- Build brand awareness. Getting your company name out there is important.
It’s important that corporate event management is given priority within your organisation. Good events do not just happen overnight – they take careful planning, and not just from anyone. The right people need to be managing your events for you.
How to manage your eventÂ
Event planning does not come naturally to everyone. These are some of the key skills you will need to be good at managing events:
- Organisation
- Relationship building
- Networking
- Multitasking
- Communicating
- Writing
- Remembering information
- Negotiating and selling
- Creativity
…and that is just some of them! A good events planner will be able to do all of these things, and will naturally be the kind of person who can keep a handle on fast-paced situations that require tact, skill and understanding.
If you are a large corporation, you may have your own events planning team. This is a really good idea if you run regular events and it is important they are on brand and are representative of the business. The team will know your company inside out, so they will be able to provide the highest levels of corporate events management service.
It may be just as beneficial to engage an agency to manage your event for you. They will be highly experienced, and you will get the benefit of an entire team of talented people, for a fraction of the price of employing your own events team. They will work with you from beginning to end, planning an event and then making sure it all runs to plan. A good event manager will be at the event and will be on hand throughout, making sure everything runs smoothly and ironing out any problems along the way.
Keep a record of any events you have coming up, even if they are just in the pipeline. Don’t lose track of where you are going – have records of everything you are planning, and what you want to achieve with each event. You can then discuss this with your event planner and, most importantly, make sure they know about the event well in advance so they can begin planning. If you want to secure the best venues, caterers etc. then planning ahead is key – these people and places get booked up quickly!