5 Corporate Events Mistakes to Avoid During Planning!

Tips & Tricks · 23 Aug 2023

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Planning corporate events can be a demanding task that requires great attention to detail. If not done right, even the most meticulous event planner can make mistakes that can easily jeopardise the success of corporate events. From overlooking small logistical calculations or miscommunication, even the slightest mistake can have a significant repercussion. So if you are looking for some tips to explore valuable insights to avoid them, here are some common mistakes you can avoid to ensure a seamless corporate events experience!

Not Recceing The Venue Beforehand

Recce is a site inspection that determines whether a selected venue would allow your corporate events to proceed seamlessly as you planned it to be. It is a pivotal step when you’re setting up corporate events, which allows event planners to experience first-hand insight regarding the venue’s layout, acoustics, and ambience— to name a few. It is important to do venue recces in order to understand the scope and flow of the space. Nevertheless, you can also get some help from your event management that is in charge of your event.

The event manager will ensure the venue meets all the client’s specifications by conducting a thorough inspection to understand the event requirements. Aspects such as available facilities, sound equipment, and lighting are some of the few that will be inspected for your corporate events. Making mistakes in choosing a venue with bad acoustics or not having enough parking is more common than you think. So be sure to take substantial time in evaluating potential venues to ensure the chosen location fits the event’s needs and requirements.

Unfamiliarity With Local Laws

Another common mistake while planning corporate events is unfamiliarity with local laws which can pose significant challenges to your event management. Every region has different sets of rules and varying legal requirements to follow which might impact logistical aspects and planned activities at your corporate events. Failure to comply might result in complications or worse, cancellation. While the intervention of outside forces might be inevitable, there is certainly a way to plan around it.

Some of the ways include doing a thorough research of the legal framework around the area which can be done by asking the venue managers about zoning laws. Alternatively, reaching out to social media users about particular areas is also effective to prevent drawbacks during your corporate events. Aside from these two, a consultation with local experts and legal advisors is also invaluable to avoid offending local laws, making sure your corporate events are legally compliant.

Thus, understanding unfamiliar local laws is a critical aspect when it comes to event management and corporate events planning. Making it crucial to invest time in avoiding penalties and disruption simply by doing your due diligence.

Choosing The Wrong Suppliers

Whether catering, equipment, event decorations or other corporate events-related elements, suppliers play a pivotal role in delivering success to your plan. Selecting the wrong ones will have an adverse effect on corporate events, leaving a bad impression on attendees. This mistake may result in subpar service and delays despite your effort and time spent on the planning. So to avoid such pitfalls, some processes could be executed prior to the event.

Event planners should do the essentials and access suppliers’ track records to filter out inexperienced and unreliable ones. Reviews and their reputation in the industry can simply be obtained from the internet to help you make an informed decision. Having recommendations from trusted sources is also valuable in decision-making to ensure your corporate events run smoothly. Aside from carefully selecting and evaluating your supplier’s options, make sure to keep in contact with them, and provide the tentative details of the corporate events to your supplier so both sides stay on top of things.

Not Having Contingencies (Budget, Low attendance)

Running corporate events might sound easier than it sounds, but the reality is, it’s not. Even more so if you are trying to run it without having contingency plans. It can be a significant oversight, leaving the event planners vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances. No matter how carefully planned the event is, problems such as weather, technical issues, and vendor cancellations may arise that can aggravate to chaos if not promptly addressed. For instance, a huge brand such as F1 itself called off its event as the DJs went over budget with their equipment. This brings the spotlight to the importance of budgeting and keeping track of every small expense as corporate events progress.

Aside from budgeting, having low attendance is very common and also the worst fear for the event organiser. To mitigate the problem, make sure you have done enough marketing or opt for a smaller venue to avoid the corporate events feeling empty.

Not Hiring Enough Staff

Lastly, being understaffed during corporate events is the one mistake you should avoid at all costs since it can lead to a series of other challenges and compromise the whole occasion. A shortage of personnel will affect the program timeline, and efficiency and strain the existing team members.

Additionally, the limited existing staff will be stretched thin and might not be available to pay attention to details during the event, compromising the safety of everyone involved. When it comes to hiring staff, having more is better. That way they can be visible throughout corporate events and ready to offer help to not only you but your guest in case of emergencies.

To avoid being understaffed, event planners could access the requirements of their event and allocate an adequate number of helpers to each station accordingly. By hiring a well-staffed team, organisers can rest assured and confidently deliver an amazing event according to what they have planned.

Failing to Plan Means Planning to Fail

Planning and executing corporate events is a daunting task, laden with potential mistakes and pitfalls. However, these common mistakes can be avoided if prevention steps and being responsive to potential challenges are done by the event planner. By applying our and elements to carefully plan the occasion, corporate events mistakes can be avoided, making it a powerful platform for networking and organisational success.

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