While virtual happy hours and online team activities nearly serve their purpose as  a team building experience for a company, there’s something special about reconnecting face-to-face. After a prolonged period apart, your remote teams are eager for in-person corporate events, expecting nothing but the best in venue, technology, and safety measures.

From summer office parties to annual town halls and companywide sales kickoffs, employees anticipate engaging and safe events. These gatherings will shape their perception of the work environment and reignite a sense of teamwork and camaraderie.

Well-planned corporate events can really boost employee engagement, improve retention rates, and drive overall business success. But how do you organise a tech-savvy event that boosts morale and equips teams for success?

Introducing our checklist – your go-to guide for organising the ideal corporate event that energises your team and lays the groundwork for a successful year ahead.

6 Corporate Events Planning Tips for HR Professionals

Here are some event planning tips HR professionals must follow for a successful event.

Find the Perfect Corporate Event Venue

In today’s fast-paced world, finding the perfect venue can feel like a high-stakes race. With tasks ranging from price comparisons to technology assessments, securing the ideal space before it’s booked adds to the pressure.

Whether organising a grand town hall or an intimate office gathering, every event brings its own set of challenges. Luckily, offer a solution to some of these hurdles. These tools streamline the request for proposal (RFP) process, ensure compliance with safety standards, provide valuable event data for future planning, and create innovative experiences for attendees.

These solutions simplify the sourcing journey from start to finish, from arranging travel for corporate affairs to sourcing conference rooms worldwide for stakeholder meetings.

Key considerations include ensuring the venue is technologically equipped, strategising seating arrangements for optimal comfort and safety, maintaining communication with audio/visual partners, and confirming contactless check-in options for attendee safety.

Weed Out the “Boring” From Your Content

Once you’ve secured the venue, the focus shifts to crafting compelling content for your event. Whether it’s a companywide gathering or an internal conference, your leadership aims to disseminate valuable information. However, balancing depth and brevity is key to keeping attendees engaged.

Here are 5  effective strategies to prevent presentation fatigue:

Tailor your content delivery strategy to suit your audience’s preferences and habits.

• Utilise professional video production or collaborate with an A/V partner to ensure high-quality content capture.
• Engage your content agency early to ensure seamless integration of design requirements.
• Consider live streaming options for remote teams involving streaming providers in the planning process.
• Simplify content navigation and engagement by selecting an event planning platform with a unified global content hub. This enables customised content delivery tailored to different teams, roles, and regions, enhancing overall accessibility and engagement.

Make Memories Through Your Event

As your corporate event draws near, it’s paramount to ensure a memorable experience for all attendees. With employees eager to reconnect after a period of remote work, the event serves as an opportunity to reintegrate into the workplace and reignite camaraderie.

Rather than simply sending out invitations, consider making a personal announcement to build anticipation. Offer a sneak peek into the exciting activities planned, ranging from interactive Q&A sessions to dynamic workshops and spirited happy hours.

Moreover, partnering with an event management firm like Showplace can streamline the planning process. With expertise in event structures, exhibition trailers, and more, they can handle logistics while you focus on enhancing content and engagement. By leveraging their services, you can ensure a seamless and memorable event experience for all attendees.

Bring in Your Event Technology Partner Early On

Picture this: Your event is about to start, but your keynote speaker is stuck in traffic, throwing off the agenda. How do you swiftly communicate this change to attendees scattered throughout the venue? How do you seamlessly transition to a backup speaker?

Mobile event apps with live notification features are here to save the day! This will help the attendees navigate the event easily by providing all the important information such as- agenda, maps, session details Etc to ensure a flawless event. 

And so, collaborating with a seasoned event technology partner can ease stress and help you focus on attendee satisfaction. Get them involved in discussions with the venue to ensure seamless coordination.

Equally vital is ensuring top-notch production quality. Inadequate lighting, sound, and A/V equipment can strain audience engagement.

While the venue may provide basic equipment, enlisting an on-site event technology platform ensures that tech and production seamlessly integrate with the event’s overall structure, guaranteeing a polished and immersive experience.

Track Insights from Your Event 

Internal events represent significant financial investments, whether a companywide gathering, sales kickoff, or holiday party. While positive word-of-mouth is gratifying, collecting tangible feedback is essential from an HR perspective. Assessing and presenting the return on investment (ROI) is paramount and requires careful pre-planning.

Utilising engagement tracking and scoring enables you to monitor various data points, providing insight into event dynamics and measuring ROI effectively. By tracking attendees’ interactions throughout the event, you can identify engaged teams and potential retention strategies.

Analysing which teams excel and which face challenges yields valuable insights into overall business performance.

Additionally, evaluating event feedback aids in refining future event planning and execution. Understanding what worked well and areas for improvement ensures continual enhancement of internal events, optimising their impact on employee engagement and organisational success. 

Always Be Prepared for Emergencies

Organising a stunning internal event may seem daunting, but you don’t have to tackle it alone. Embracing technology can elevate your event and safeguard against disruptions or downtime.

When choosing an event technology partner, avoid following the latest trend. Take your time to select a partner tailored to your needs, one that enhances your events and delivers value.

Remember, even the most meticulously planned events can encounter unexpected challenges. Always have a backup plan ready to seamlessly transition to a virtual format if necessary. With the right technology and preparation, you can ensure your internal events leave a lasting impact and run smoothly from start to finish.

Conclusion

As HR professionals, organising successful corporate events is crucial for fostering engagement and enhancing organisational cohesion. Amidst the transition from remote work to in-person interactions, these events are vital opportunities to reinvigorate team spirit and celebrate achievements.

By implementing the tips outlined above, including meticulous venue selection, engaging content creation, and strategic event technology integration, HR professionals can ensure that corporate events are not only enjoyable but also impactful.

Leveraging insights from engagement tracking and feedback evaluation allows for continual improvement and optimisation of future events.

Moreover, proactive contingency planning ensures seamless execution, even in the face of unforeseen challenges. By prioritising attendee experience and effectively leveraging technology, HR professionals can orchestrate corporate events that leave a lasting impression, fostering employee engagement and contributing to overall organisational success.

Guest writer.