Spice Up Your Next Event: this is the kickoff to our first ever blog series! For this blog series, we will be giving you tips on how to Spice Up your upcoming events, today’s event is, Company Outings!
If your company’s last outing lacked the enthusiasm from your employees that you were looking for, let us help you. Too often company events breed boredom rather than the fun, motivating atmosphere that was planned. The first change you should consider is hiring an event DJ, such as the ones at All About You Entertainment. Our corporate event planners will not only provide a wide range of music (obviously), but we can also work with you to secure a location, food, and other essential elements. But, beyond hiring an entertainment DJ, here are some other things that you can do to make your next company event really stand out.
To Do List:
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Make it easy for your employees to attend.
Consider chartering a bus to the off-site location, so that more people will be able to come (and others won’t have an excuse to skip). If the schedule allows, plan the company outing on a weekend so that family-oriented employees won’t have to sacrifice spending time with their families; they can bring them instead!
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Show them the benefits of attending.
Instead of just sending out mass emails or posting flyers in the workroom that say “This event will be fun!” spell out what the goods will be. Get your employees involved by asking for suggestions and ideas either about where the next outing should be or what your company should do. Our planners can help you set up prizes and games to help get your employees into the event.
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Combine learning with fun.
Depending on your location, there are plenty of resorts and companies that offer team-building exercises in a fun environment. You could also rent various pieces of equipment (think karaoke meets rock climbing wall) and set them up at a larger venue. As a CEO said about his company’s last event, “Life’s too short to not have fun, and it’s too short to work for a company who doesn’t know how to have a great time. Inject fun into 50% of the off-site.”
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Keep it professional with the alcohol limit.
Ultimately, this is a company event and needs to be handled as such. If you’d like to serve alcohol, consider limiting the amount available so it’s not a focus and no one gets out of control. It’s still the workplace—just not in the usual location.
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Have a solid plan.
Make sure you nail the logistics, including budgets, the travel plan, and a schedule of events. Poll your employees after the event and ask for their opinion and suggestions for next year’s.
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Encourage making memories.
Instead of banning cell phones, create a unique hashtag for the event and have your employees tag all of the pictures they take on social media. Rent a photobooth (which we offer!). You could even get a large blank canvas or dry-erase board and ask your employees to write something they learned from the day’s event.
