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How to design the best experience for your staff events

 

Whether you are a small business or a huge international company when it comes to looking after your staff it’s important to get it right. Staff entertainment, parties and conferences are key here. Whilst the overall cost may seem high the cost per head represents true value for money. These points will help you decide what will work best and most important how to make sure your money will go as far as possible.

Deciding what’s best: Think about your message and what you would like to communicate. If it’s a key business message perhaps a conference is best, however a thank you to make staff aware of how well the business is doing may be best said with a unique experience or party.

What do people want: It’s important to analyse what the staff really want from the events. A conference may deliver a message but if staff want to feel involved perhaps interactive sessions and smaller breakouts are key. Equally if a party is about creating a buzz then a slightly more informal set up and lots of entertainment may create excitement.

The venue: The venue that you choose is very important as it sets the tone for the event. For example a conference doesn’t have to be held in a conference venue, how about a disused warehouse, a cool nightclub or a skyscraper bar. The venue should inspire and excite and ultimately represent your business and message.

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The lead up: How your guests feel from the moment they get invited to the event should be considered. If they feel enthused and excited from the first they hear of the event it bodes well for how they’ll react on the day. Quirky desk drops, well designed e-invites or a plush hand delivered invite all work well to create excitement for the event.

During the event: From the moment that your staff arrive to the event the experience should run smoothly. A friendly face on arrival, clear instructions and slick organisation sets a positive frame of mind. Also detail is key – everything at the event should relate back to the message you wish to communicate – for example your logo can be recreated with a vintage touch for stickers on the pick and mix bags, your company colours can subtly be worked into the flowers or table linen – always think about how you can reinforce the message, especially in a fun way. Even if there’s no business message other than ‘just fun’ that’s ok too, it should be just as well considered.

After the event: Thinking about how your guests will feel the day after the event and even better how they will feel two weeks after the event is important. For a huge party maybe a smoothie or bacon sandwich the following day will be very well received. Or for an important conference key messages communicated in an interested and inclusive way will be effective.

Sure, creating the perfect event can be a lot of work, but don’t let that put you off as you can easily enlist the help of creative events agencies such as Story Events.