How companies plan events: Strategies and best practices
How companies plan events: Strategies and best practices
Sara Iannacone · 7/18/2023
How event planning gets done varies at every organization. This post explains how different companies structure their planning process, including common roles, workflows, operations strategies, and more.
Nearly every company in the world hosts some type of corporate event, from team offsites to an annual office holiday party—and the business case for events is only growing.
Yet, if you ask two companies how they planned seemingly identical events, you’d probably walk away with two wildly different answers. That makes things confusing when it comes time to decide how your organization will handle the complex task of event planning.
Whether you’re a Chief of Staff looking to delegate some tasks or a People Ops professional deciding how to structure your company’s planning process, this post will give you quick and easy insight into how other organizations make events happen.
With the right tools, anyone in an organization can plan a successful event—and we’re here to help you do it.
How organizations create effective event planning processes
Planning successful events requires far more than just picking a date and booking a venue. Organizations need to have a solid event planning process in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Now, what do you do if you’re put in charge of cultivating this process? We have an exercise for you to start with.
Identify the who, what, when, and how of event planning
Effective event planning begins with laying the proper foundation to determine stakeholders, goals, strategy, and project management.
To create a plan, start by identifying the who, what, when, and how of your process.
Who is responsible for major event decisions?
If you have been “voluntold” to plan the next company event, you might be scrambling a bit. The key to success is understanding that while you may be the central organizer, you are not the sole executor or stakeholder.
A committee will almost certainly have to form around you, although it may be up to you to identify who those people should be—especially if your organization has never planned an event before.
Similarly, if you’re a leader looking to build a strategy, try to anticipate the various roadblocks that may appear in the planning process. Who makes the final call between options? Who approves the budget?
Define who on your team will:
Make decisions
Define goals
Sign off on budgets and expenses
Be the doers that help make it all happen
While one person may be serving as a project manager to provide stability and clarity, there will likely have to be a committee—even an informal one—formed around them to ensure your process is successful. Make it clear which decisions are in his whose hands.
Similarly, when working with a third-party planning service, you need to identify who their main points of contact will be within your organization and what decisions they can make on your behalf.
What is the objective of our event?
The next part of successful event planning is having your team or committee determine what the goals of the event are.
We suggest leading the team through an exercise where you have three questions on a whiteboard for brainstorming, like this (with a couple of examples):
What is the goal?
How do we accomplish it?
How will we measure success?
For a client event, this might translate to something like:
Goal: Position our team as thought leaders in the industry for our clients.
Result: Build greater know, like, and trust with current clients or prospects that leads to new contracts for our new services.
Measurement: How many clients add this new service to a current contract, and how many new contracts are secured from prospects.
For a company-wide retreat, it might be more like this:
Goal: Bring the entire company together for a team building experience.
Result: Enhance communication and build community between teams rather than silos throughout the organization.
Measurement: A 5% increase in employee satisfaction, 3% increase in productivity, and 15% reduction in turnover on the next employee pulse survey.
Then, you can use these goals and desired outcomes to cultivate an agenda with activities that serve that purpose. From there, you can create a plan of action and delegate tasks.
When do we execute each step of the planning process?
The event planning timeline is perhaps the most complex piece, simply due to the sheer number of moving pieces.
What we recommend is creating a timeline that starts at the event date and working backward. This way, you fully ensure that each necessary task is completed well in advance of the event date.
You’ll want to start planning an event as early as possible to allow for sufficient time to plan while simultaneously completing day-to-day job functions. That is often the most difficult part of planning internally with teams who have other responsibilities.
How early should you start planning your corporate event? We recommend a minimum of 2-4 months, though 4 or more is ideal. This will reduce stress and save you money. Every organization and every event is different, though—there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
These are some of the activities you’ll want to ensure are on that event planning checklist/ timeline:
Send out pre-event surveys to team members to determine preferences, restrictions, and availability
Set dates and times for your event
Choose an event location
Book your venue space and reserve a room block
Create an agenda
Dedicate speakers to agenda items (and source external speakers as needed)
Book activities and entertainment
Plan meals (both with caterer if hosting at a hotel/ venue and offsite meals like dinners)
Round-up presentations
Confirm audio visual requirements
Send pre-event communications to attendees
On-site management
Send post-event surveys
Conduct post-mortem with event stakeholders
You can format your timeline in a shared Google Sheet or project management system, just make sure you track the activity, assigned completion date, who is in charge of completing it, and status.
How do we get it done?
Now that you have the who, the what, and the when it’s time for the how.
Ask yourself:
What tools do we already have? (project management software, policies and guidelines, expertise, etc…)
Where are the gaps?
What resources do we need?
And from there, you can get to work employing the resources you have to execute and sourcing the ones you need for success.
Overcome challenges to a streamlined event planning process
Now, even with this plan, challenges will arise.
Here are some of the most common:
Decision making
Lack of clarity on goals and budget
Too many decision makers
Lack of proximity to decision makers
These can be overcome by ensuring you have the right people in the room for strategy planning and permission to source the resources and support that you need to execute.
The types of roles that manage corporate event planning
This is one of the areas where companies differ the most. In this section, we’re going to review roles within organizations that commonly take on event planning duties, how it overlaps with their typical responsibilities, and what challenges they may face.
Administrative and business operations professionals
Administrative and operations professionals’ responsibilities may include managing schedules, travel management, handling correspondence, and managing the supply chain—skills which in many ways overlap with and assist you in the event planning process. Because of that, these teams and individuals are frequently brought on to help plan events.
Administrative and Executive Assistants
Since they’re typically responsible for managing schedules, administrative assistants may be tasked with things like RSVP tracking, transportation management, executive invitations, etc.
In most cases, though, an event will bring a much higher quantity of these tasks than an average day. It may get tricky to balance day-to-day work with completing tasks for a larger event, but by deploying standard organizational tracking tools and travel booking tools likely already in place, you’ll be set up for success.
Operations teams (e.g., Business ops, marketing ops, sales ops)
Since operations teams are so skilled at project management and workflows, they’ll sometimes get tasked with event planning because, at its core, the skills are the same. Setting up timelines, ensuring communication is clear, and teams are meeting for status updates ensuring everyone is on the same page, are critical to event success. Plus, these teams are adept at working across team lines since they’re typically bringing everyone together or executing company-wide initiatives.
For operations teams to be successful in event planning, it’s key to remember that you can’t only look at the big picture and that each “task” on the workflow likely has many sub-tasks to be completed.
Human resources and people operations
Human resources and people operations teams are the company’s culture experts. This naturally means that when planning an event, their insight as to how to get to the core of where employee engagement can be improved would be useful. However, these teams are generally best equipped to handle internal events like team offsites—tasking them with planning a client event wouldn’t be typical.
It’s also good to keep in mind many of these teams have limited bandwidth—if you’re adding event planning to their plate, make sure that it doesn’t come at the cost of your organization’s day-to-day operational needs.
Employee experience teams
Events are a great way to increase employee engagement and satisfaction, which is the main goal of an employee experience team. Depending on the company, though, employee experience teams may be more devoted to cultivating relationships and using data to drive initiatives than driving large, logistics-based projects like an event.
Use your experience in this role to help cultivate an engaging and exciting event agenda with unique activities, but consider delegating administrative and operational tasks as needed.
Internal event and travel teams
These teams are naturally the go-to for event planning for team offsites and retreats as they’re in it every day. The challenge here is that typically if a team does have these roles in place, they’re overextended or understaffed. Or, their focus is primarily on event marketing functions that are client-facing rather than as an event generalist.
Event production and planning teams
These teams are the experts. They know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and what resources are required for successful execution. The issue is that a lot of the time, teams will see them as an all-in-one resource as someone who can plan, execute, create content, communicate, etc., and they end up burning out quickly.
Ensuring that you have proper internal or third-party support is key for these teams to thrive, especially if they’re juggling a variety of event types throughout the year.
Travel management and administration teams
Most offsites or retreats include travel! So naturally, you want to include those who are booking travel all day long. While they can execute, it’s good to pass off overall attendee management to someone else so they can continue to attend to their day-to-day responsibilities, which in many cases is executive travel.
Leaders and executives
Executives and leadership teams are responsible for overseeing multiple aspects of a company, such as financial decisions, long-term goals, and employee satisfaction. While event planning may not be their primary responsibility, it is still important for them to understand how their team/role can assist with the process and how events play a role in the overall success of the organization.
Chief Executive Officers
For some small companies, CEOs take the reins of planning group experiences—especially if they’re a leader who’s particularly conscious of employee experience and company culture.
For other small to mid-size companies, CEOs may be involved in coming up with ideas, making key decisions, or giving final approval, but this should be handled carefully—indecisive leadership can make the planning process long, exhausting, and expensive.
The sweet spot for a CEO’s involvement in event planning tends to be providing clear guidance, establishing realistic goals and expectations, and allocating the necessary resources to ensure the success of the event. Then, it’s often best if they take a step back and make themselves available to chime in if needed. Any greater involvement typically isn’t an effective use of a leader’s time.
Chief People Officers and Heads of HR
As Chief People Officers and Heads of HR, whose job includes overseeing the company's workforce and ensuring its success, it’s important to be invested in events and employee sentiment toward them.
As successful events can have a significant impact on employee morale and overall company success, being a part of strategy and event goals is invaluable. At a smaller company, they may be calling the shots of how internal events are handled—at a larger company, they’ll generally be adding insight but not involved in day-to-day decisions.
Team leaders and managers
Team leads and managers will typically get pulled in most when the offsite or retreat is specifically for their team. They may be asked to take onus because they truly have their finger on the pulse of their team’s needs day in and day out. This could mean creating an agenda that includes speakers and activities that will provide impact and growth where their team has gaps.
For these individuals, strategy and content are valuable areas to be involved in. Logistics like contracts, transportation management, etc., may not be the best use of their time and should be delegated, if possible.
Committees and volunteers
When it comes to event planning in a corporate environment, it's not uncommon for informal committees or volunteers to be handed the responsibility. In fact, it's often done intentionally, as it helps to foster a sense of community and collaboration within the organization.
However, a lot of the time, this yields greater challenges due to limited time and resources or conflicting priorities. Even if a volunteer has an understanding of how event planning works, they likely don’t have the time to execute on it effectively without significant support. A group or committee can help fill those gaps, but they can also make an event feel like a patchwork of ideas rather than one straightforward concept.
Third-party corporate event planning services and professionals
Now, all that said, sometimes the key to success is enlisting professional support for your team if they don’t have the bandwidth or knowledge to plan a company event. There are companies that offer event planning services in all capacities, from one piece of the puzzle to the whole pie. We’re going to share a few options, along with what type of team they’re perfect for.
But, as you’re reviewing, you also want to think about what you should look for when hiring these companies, which is the same for all:
If their expertise is in the specific industry or type of event you’re hosting
Past customer reviews—these will typically tell all
How they integrate within the organization and how collaborative they are with your team
If they’re within your allotted budget and what their fees are on top of your existing meeting spend, and when deposits/fees will need to be paid
If they offer the level of support and service your team will require
So now, which should you consider?
For companies with limited bandwidth and complex or multi-day events: Full-service and custom event planning
Full-service event management companies offer the most comprehensive event planning support. They generally can offer a variety of services based on your team’s unique requirements, including:
Event concept and design
Venue selection and management
Event planning and coordination
Registration and attendee management
Budgeting and financial management
Speaker and entertainment management
Audiovisual production
Catering and menu planning
On-site event management
Exhibition and sponsorship management
Event branding and collateral
Risk management and safety
Post-event evaluation
Additional services customized to your organization’s unique needs
Most elements of your event can be managed and guided by these types of planners. Generally, the only areas they might not be able to assist with are ones that require access to your internal systems or private employee data.
How full service event planners charge
Depending on what level of service you choose, a corporate event planner will usually charge a percentage of your event budget (10-20%) or a per-person fee, as well as a flat rate for each a la carte service and sometimes an hourly or daily rate for things like on-site staff and management.
For companies who want an expert negotiator and only need minimal upfront support: Venue sourcing and booking
Venue sourcing and booking services are great for teams producing simpler events with fewer logistics, teams with low budgets, and teams that simply don’t have the industry knowledge for venue negotiation.
These services will work with you to:
Identify event goals and how those translate to the type of venue(s) you need
Understand your budget and negotiate rates on your behalf
Finalize your event contract and add in protective clauses in case of cancellation, decreased attendance, etc. to ensure that your team’s resources are protected
Negotiate additional concessions based upon spend, including things like free parking, upgraded rooms, a free room night for every 40 room nights paid, free high-speed internet in the meeting space, amenities upon arrival like a chocolate and fruit plate, etc.
Just note: these services don’t always help with overall planning, and if they do, you’ll generally need to pay a higher rate/fee. Once the event or hotel contract is signed, your team will take over planning and logistics.
How venue sourcing services charge
There are two different ways companies like this tend to charge:
· Service fees: A flat fee or percentage fee based upon contract value
· Venue commission: Some venue sourcing companies don’t actually charge you at all. Instead, they get paid a commission by the hotel or venue you book. It’s typically 7-10% of your total contract room revenue or final bill, depending on the venue.
Some may do a hybrid version of these two, collecting commission from the venue booked, as well as charging a fee for services rendered.
For companies who want their entire team to enjoy as attendees: On-site management and coordination
Whether you hired a planner from the start or handled it entirely in-house, many companies prefer to bring in day-of, on-site management so that the entire team can participate in the meeting and be fully present.
On-site coordination is typically offered directly through your planner or through a venue, and will typically come in anywhere from a couple of months to a week or so prior to the event to partake in the handoff of event agendas, logistics, etc. They will:
Oversee setup
Manage vendors
Assist attendees
Manage sessions
Troubleshoot issues
Coordinate with speakers and presenters
Manage event timeline
Oversee audiovisual and technical setup
Handle event wrap-up and handoff back to your team
How event management platforms charge
Typically these services will charge a flat fee or a daily/hourly rate determined by the number of hours their team is needed on-site and how many team members will be required. Travel, meals, and lodging expenses are generally in addition to any base rates.
For the companies that have a point person but need resources to execute: Event and travel management platforms
Now, even if you do have a point person, there will always be tech and tools that are used throughout the process. Things like booking and travel management software, project management tools, budget tracking and expense management software, and more.
Start planning your next event
If you want an idea of what goes into the event planning process and how a third party can help you simplify, check out the “How it works” video that breaks down all the moving pieces BoomPop can take off your team’s plate.
Offsites are a lot of work. No team member (even if they’re a pro corporate event planner) should have to navigate the process solo!
