There is often an element of sarcasm when it comes to the corporate events.
Some people think that the corporate event is for suit-dressed geeks or misbehaving executives.
And... in some cases they are right.
However, the corporate events can be important tools to boost productivity through team building methods.
The actual catering is only a minor aspect of the corporate event.
Some fun-team activities and group sessions can further boost the productive spirit of the employees.
In order to manage the small scale corporate events you only need venue and few good ideas from your executive team.
However, for large scale corporate functions, you need a proper corporate event management setup.
The corporate event management is a group of people who have an extensive experience in running corporate functions.
They can design event and execute a set of activities, which may impress many skeptical (and even sarcastic) employees.
What is the best option for the corporate event? This is one of the biggest headaches of the Human Resources Management (if you have one) or secretaries (in case HR is too expensive for the business). The corporate event management team always strive to have a function, which builds the team spirit. There are many options in this category:
However, there is a problem with the above. What if some members are not fit and/or find certain games offensive (e.g. shooting)? Also, how much value does each corporate event bring? For example, a paintball shooting is a great fun but hardly it will improve the staff experience. The next set of ideas is about artistic approach. This includes:
These activities certainly are great for artistically and scientifically minded people.
However, those who are too shy to take the center stage will also find these corporate events annoying.
For this reason you can always try the simple team building activities.
The ice-breaker techniques, self-assessment methods and the reduction of tension points are a very important and inexpensive way to bring the corporate events to another level.
Most team building activities are designed for employees who work for specific departments or projects (e.g. software engineers, scientists, teachers).
As for the executive corporate events the idea of the simple team building games may raise some eyebrows.
However, even executives and the top management needs more for their corporate event than just a "food munching activity" of the expensive menu.
The corporate events which aim to celebrate major holidays and company success are purely for fun. You do not have to force your management to run around forest and get shot with paintballs. Neither you need to flock well dress office ladies into kart competitions. In this case you have a choice of:
Here, the corporate event management team aims to offer a pleasant and fun evening. For this reason you should avoid to have the corporate event in the office. Yes, it is cheaper to use the workplace for corporate events but hardly anyone will be relaxed in such surroundings.
No matter how you maneuver your budget, you will still end up paying at least $45 per person. The team building corporate events are cheaper because the overhead costs are minimal (mostly you need 1 event coordinator). Restaurants and cruises can be expensive. For these reason you should book them in advance. For Christmas and the New Year celebrations the prior booking is absolutely essential. Some corporate events companies impose late penalty rates, which can be 200% of the initial fee.