Corporate event planning: a 19-step checklist for success
Planning corporate events can be overwhelming—even when you know what it takes to bring events to life. Scratch that—especially when you know what it takes.Event managers, conference coordinators, office managers and all other event planners know what it takes to turn event ideas into reality—and it’s no small task. It involves planning way in advance, scoping out venues, organising catering and entertainment, and so much more.Corporate events call for precise organisation and planning, and the best way to ensure you don’t miss a thing is to create a corporate event checklist. It doesn’t matter if you’re coordinating an employee getaway, entertaining key stakeholders, or schmoozing potential customers—you need to plan.We’ve put together this free corporate event checklist to take the guesswork out of planning and free up your headspace. Download yours now, and read on to find out how you can use it to make the most of your next corporate event.• Set event goals and desired outcomes
What do you want participants to get from the event? How do you measure the success of your corporate event? Try and consider what will define your event as a ‘success’—that way you have something to work towards.• Decide on the event type
Are you organising a get-together for employee engagement? Is it a formal corporate event to connect with stakeholders? Is it an offsite for C-Suite executives to plan the year ahead? You need to know what your event is before you can move on to any of the next steps.• Define your target audience
Similar to the last step—this helps you make decisions further down the line. Decide who your attendees will be.• Consider accommodation options
Skip this step if your attendees don’t require overnight accommodation of any kind.You don’t want to pull the trigger on an event space before checking if it’s nearby to other essentials—like accommodation options and travel hubs. A beautiful and fit-for-purpose location is useless if attendees can’t stay nearby.The TravelPerk events management solution can help you with this step. You can easily look through accommodation options near your desired location to find high-quality accommodation with the facilities you need—whilst also ensuring you remain within budget.• Book and pay for your venue, accommodation and travel
Once you’re certain you’re able to find accommodation and travel to the chosen venue, it’s time to lock it in. We suggest setting aside some time to do this all at once to ensure you’re all sorted. Although unlikely, you could find that from one day to another certain options are no longer available.Booking this using the TravelPerk events management solution enables you to manage everything from one platform. You don’t need to flick through tabs for your location, accommodation and travel—it’s all in one place, along with the necessary attendee details.• Share invites with attendees
Your attendees are your target audience, remember. They need to know when they’re expected to attend, what they can expect and how to find out more.For some attendees, the event is part of their job obligations—read: mandatory. For others—for example, external stakeholders—it’s a choice to attend.You can invite your attendees to the event using the TravelPerk events management solution. They can then respond to let you know if they’re planning to attend with a yes or no selection—much like they would a regular calendar invite. Plus, the TravelPerk solution enables you to nudge invitees for an answer if needs be.• Reach out to sponsors to chat about collaboration
Having sponsors at your corporate event can bolster your budget and lead to exciting opportunities. Reach out to your network to find out if anyone is interested in collaborating on the event.• Source and book entertainment
Entertainment is a broad category. This could be daytime entertainment—such as speakers for the event or event-focussed excursions—or it could be evening entertainment—such as a show or meal.Whatever your event type and needs, you want to consider your entertainment options ahead of time. This ensures you’re not scrambling to find decent entertainment, and also gives you time to book any necessary travel if the entertainment is coming from another location.• Build and brief a team (if necessary)
You want to make sure that you’re ready for action when the event comes around. Having a team ready to help ensure the event’s success is a must. This, by no means, needs to be dedicated event specialists or contracted event managers—all you need is a reliable group of individuals you can count on to help out on the day.Corporate event planning with TravelPerk
Our number one item on any event planning checklist, however, is to ensure you’ve got a powerful corporate event planning tool on your side. This makes every step of the corporate event planning process a whole lot easier.TravelPerk’s event management solution can help you take your corporate event to the next level. It allows you to get all your attendees and employees from wherever they are right to your event–safely, fast and seamlessly.With TravelPerk’s event solution, you can manage everything you need from the same platform:- Manage invites: invite attendees and track their responses and status of their bookings
- Keep everyone in the loop: share trip details like attendee names, logistics, agendas and everything needed for the event to run smoothly
- Every detail matters: keep attendees and participants updated with real-time information and changes to the plan
- Visibility and tracking: view attendees’ travel plans, including arrival and departure times and accommodation details
Forget the constant back and forth, and rest easy knowing your team events are under control.Get in touch with the TravelPerk team today to find out how you can start mastering your corporate event planning process and more.?)
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