Planning Team Events as a Non-Event Planner
Our event coordinating recommendations for every corporate occasion
Depending on what kind of event you’re planning, you’ll want specific management stakeholders to take the lead. Executive Assistants and Office Managers can play a key supporting role, so we recommend working in coordination with these team members.
From our experience planning everything from improv workshops to Zoom comedy shows, we’ve picked up on a few helpful tactics for event-related decisions.
Our Laugh Breaks Membership offers unique event opportunities and a dedicated Experience Success Specialist to assist in planning out your events calendar.
At the onset of the pandemic, we saw that many office managers, executive assistants, and human resource managers were thrown into event management roles and responsibilities. Over time, department leads and other figures within the organization have assumed these planning duties.
Regardless of if you have an Events Team, every event has three different types of people involved: champions, decision makers, and executors. Here are some tips on how to navigate an event from ideation to execution:
Start early. Look at a few different moments throughout the year that would be a good time for an event. We suggest planning your event a few months ahead of the occasion so that you have more options. Check out our DEI-calendar and holiday options from last season to get into planning mode.
Treat the event as an internal “sale”. When pitching an experience to the decision-makers, you’ll want to ensure you’ve done your research. Higher level executives know the vision and the tone that events should set, whether the event is a corporate training or holiday party entertainment. Just like pitching a new software for your company, be prepared to address the “ROI” (Return on Investment) of this event - is it a professional development opportunity (better business results ie: more sales) or an opportunity to build culture (people love your company and want to stay, aka retention)?
Tap in Executive Assistants to assist. Executive Assistants are the best equipped to field exploratory calls for experience offerings. They can parse event options down, keep the info in their back pockets, and share it with executives when a need arises.
Celebrate the event and get feedback. Build excitement for the event by putting it on everyone’s calendars. Take a photo during the event and ask the group for feedback. If there was a lot of interest in this event, make sure that you are doing what works and what people like! Events are just one way to boost morale and there may be times when an event is not what your team needs. It’s important for those planning events to keep a pulse on the organization and know when it may be better to give the team a day off vs. a quick team building activity.
Feeling lost in the craziness of event planning? We got you! If you book 2 or more events with our team within a single transaction, we offer a dedicated Experience Success Specialist to help you plan your events calendar. Contact our team to learn more about the Laugh Breaks Membership!