How to Swiftly Schedule and Organize Corporate Events

by Kerry Leigh Published on July 19, 2022

Are you in charge of planning a corporate event for your business? If so, you may be feeling a little bit overwhelmed, to say the least!

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With 97 percent of marketers believing that in-person events have a significant impact on achieving corporate outcomes, it is not hard to see why they require careful planning.

Corporate events, from product launches to corporate meetings, have a lot riding on them. There are a specific set of goals you need to achieve, and to do this, everything needs to run smoothly and be organized to perfection.

So, with that being said, in this post, we are going to reveal everything you need to know about event staff scheduling and how to organize a corporate event.

Set your objectives and goals for the event

There is only one place to begin when planning any corporate event, and this is with goal setting. What are you hoping to achieve from the event in question?

Figure out what your main objective is going to be. Are you looking to create a team-building event that will help new hires to integrate? Maybe you want to create an event to encourage sales in your new product launch?

No matter what your ultimate goal is, establishing it will make sure that there is a real sense of direction throughout the planning process. Everything you do will be for the purpose of achieving the said goal.

At the same time, you will be able to measure the success of your event with ease. You will know whether you reached your target and you will be able to learn from this so that you can make progress in the future.

Put together a plan for your corporate event

If you read any guide, you will see that having a plan is critical. Once you have determined what your main objective is, the next logical step is to work on your plan.

Even if you are bringing in outside help, creating a brief plan that outlines the most critical information about the event can help.

Some of the different elements you can cover in the event plan include event objectives and goals, the message(s) you wish to share, your event budget, expected ROI, event theme and format, and your audience and the number of attendees.

Also, plan out the strategies that will work best to sell tickets for your corporate event. You can pick a ticketing platform, consider the ticket type you want to offer, and determine your ticket design and other essential marketing hacks to sell more tickets online.

You can leave event logistics out of your initial plan in terms of entertainment, food and beverages, vendors, technology, and location. At this point, it is simply about getting a framework in place in terms of what the event is about, why you are hosting it, and the costs entailed.

You can then work on the details after this. Of course, if you are hiring a corporate event planner, they will take care of all of the logistics for you.

Source event management and event staff scheduling software

There is nothing worse than an event that feels chaotic because staff members do not know what they are doing and they have not been given the right roles for the event.

One of the best ways to make sure this does not happen at the event you are hosting is to make the most of event staff management software. Such event staff scheduling tools will provide you with scheduling features, time-tracking, and mobile employee management, ensuring everything runs smoothly on the day of the event and leading up to it.

You can manage schedules and availability to ensure that the right people are available at the right time. You can also ensure communication runs seamlessly so that everyone is on the same page.

Determine roles and responsibilities

Once you have chosen the right event management software for your needs, you will be able to assign roles and responsibilities to your team. Event staff scheduling won’t be a hard task with the right people.

Some of the most common roles in an event team include head of events, marketing lead, event and marketing coordinator, customer and sales lead, event/marketing technologist, or operations, on-site lead, and experiential designer.

Of course, whether or not you need all of these roles will depend on the nature and size of the event.

Either way, you need to ensure that you are clear about everyone’s roles and responsibilities so people know exactly what they are going to be doing during the event and in the lead-up to it.

Choosing the perfect location for your event – the three Cs

When choosing a location for your event, there are three Cs that you need to consider; the Cool Factor, Climate, and Convenience.

So, let’s take a look at each one. The Cool Factor is an important one. If you throw your event in a unique location that people have never been to before, it can tempt them to come to the event because they’re able to mix a little bit of work and pleasure by seeing a new part of the world.

Climate is also something you need to consider carefully. Never underestimate how much of a difference the weather can make in terms of the success of your event. Needless to say, this is even more important if your event is going to be hosted outdoors, even if you simply have an outdoor check-in line. Make sure you are prepared with reliable AC and umbrellas for unpredictable changes in the weather.

Finally, Convenience is the third C, and it is a big one. Your venue may be impressive and incredibly unique, but if it is a nightmare to get to, choose somewhere else. Think about your city of choice carefully. Is it easy for people to get to? Are there public transport routes people can take? Are there plenty of hotels in the area? You need to ensure that it is as easy as possible for people to go to your event.

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Make it easy to RSVP

Getting the invitations right is an important part of the process to consider if you are wondering how to organize a corporate event effectively.

If you are hosting a small event, three weeks of notice is sufficient. However, if you are hosting a big event, especially a large B2B event, your attendees should receive notification a year in advance so that they do not book anything for the same date.

This is especially important in the B2B environment because businesses tend to have long purchasing cycles, and it can take a few months for employees to get approval on their education and travel budgets.

If you are hosting a small event but you know that the date is in-demand, we would advise giving a bit of extra notice.

Not only do you need to get the timing right when it comes to your invites but making it easy to RSVP is vital. After all, people are busier than they ever have been right now, so convenience is key.

This is especially important because you need to have an accurate guest count so that all of your spending decisions are informed.

One of the easiest RSVP options is to have a one-click button CTA in your email. If you have sent out mailed invites to people or businesses, include a stamped and pre-addressed envelope.

Another popular option that works well is giving people the ability to RSVP via mobile. They can simply text a YES or NO response to the number you have provided them with.

Consider taking a class in the art of negotiation

One thing that will put you in a good position both now and for future corporate events is taking a negotiation class. This is something you can easily do online nowadays, so it does not need to take up much of your time or move your current planning efforts behind schedule.

The truth is that there are a lot of different areas you can negotiate when planning a corporate event, for example, audio-visual services and catering. So, taking a class can help you to acquire the skills to negotiate effectively, know when to try and haggle on price and how to do so in an effective and professional manner.

Some of the different tactics you can use here include securing quotes from competing businesses, committing more business at a reduced rate, and waiting a few days so that the supplier is compelled to offer you a better deal to secure your business.

Treat sponsors like gold

When you are putting together a plan for the smooth running of your corporate event, it is also imperative to consider how you are going to handle sponsor relationships.

Sponsors are like gold for businesses, and so you need to make sure you treat them this way.

Of course, you are going to want to receive feedback from them once the event has finished. At the same time, you should provide them with a report outlining the impact they have had on your corporate event. After all, relationships are supposed to be a two-way thing.

If you help them to capture and track leads at your event, you are enhancing the value you bring and increasing the chances that they will want to renew their sponsorship with you in the future.

Other steps that you can take to boost this relationship include sharing post-event survey answers that are relevant to your sponsors, interviewing some of your participants and getting quotes about the sponsor, and showing the sponsor’s brand awareness growth by reporting any coverage they received on social media as a result of the event.

Put together a solid marketing plan

You need to make sure that you not only market your event effectively but that you use your event as a marketing tool to drive more interest in your business.

There are many different marketing techniques for businesses to make the most of today. In order to determine the best approach, you really need to consider your target audience. Who do you want to be interested in your event?

This demographic will dictate the forms of marketing you use because you will be able to understand what appeals to that group of people and where you can find them online, for example, what social media channels they are most likely to use.

Again, you need to make sure you have a method in place in terms of tracking your efforts when marketing an event. This will enable you to discover what forms of marketing were effective and which techniques you should scrap ahead of your next event.

You also need to consider how you are then going to use the event to market your business in the future. For example, you could video the event and use this as marketing material. Think about how you are going to follow up with attendees as well. All of this needs to be considered and planned prior to the event taking place.

Do your due diligence on suppliers

If you are going to be using a supplier for the first time, make sure that you conduct plenty of research so that you do not end up falling victim to a rogue business.

Read reviews and feedback that has been left by people who have used the supplier in question before. Make sure that they have a great reputation and that there are no comments referring to reliability or quality issues.

Doing as much research as possible will help to minimize the chances of something going wrong.

Put together a backup plan for the things that are essential to your event

While we would all like everything to run smoothly in life, it has a habit of throwing unexpected problems our way. This is why we would recommend having a backup plan for the most essential elements of your event. This is one of our most important tips when it comes to how to organize a corporate event!

Think about the parts of your event that are integral to its success of it. Make a list of all of these essentials. Now, put together a backup plan if you find that something goes wrong.

For instance, what happens if your main speaker falls sick and is unable to come to the event? What if your event furniture supplier does not fulfill the order? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself.

You may feel like you are wasting your time if non of these scenarios come to fruition. However, having a backup plan can be the difference between your event running successfully and not running at all.