Your essential Checklist and tips for organising a flawless corporate conference.
You have been tasked with organising all the details surrounding an internal company conference. Everything falls to you, from getting all the role players together, to finding a venue that fits, to planning for the dietary requirements of a proper multi-cultural team!
Let us help you put it all together!
Setting up a successful internal company conference requires meticulous planning and attention to detail.
Here’s a guide to get you going and ensure success:
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Define Objectives and Audience
First, clearly define the conference’s goals and target audience within the company. Understanding the purpose and who will attend helps tailor the content, speakers, and overall tone of the event to align with the company’s strategic objectives. Whether the focus is on strategic planning, team building, or professional development, having a clear objective sets the foundation for the event. Having a strong foundation anchors your planning and decision-making.
Budgeting and Funding
Create a detailed budget covering all aspects such as venue, speakers, materials, catering, and technology. Ensure the budget aligns with the company’s financial policies and seek necessary approvals from management. A well-planned budget helps in resource allocation and avoids last-minute financial surprises. Consider cost-saving measures without compromising the quality of the event. For instance, leveraging internal resources and negotiating with vendors for better deals can reduce expenses, however, decide beforehand where you can risk saving money. Not having a source of Halaal food because of the cost implications may negatively impact a significant part of your team. Or reducing the size of the PA system may save a bit on the budget but can cause the total efficacy of the event to go out the window.
Venue Selection
Choose a venue that is convenient for all employees, whether it’s an on-site location or an external venue. Ensure it has adequate capacity and necessary amenities like audio-visual equipment, internet access, and catering services. The venue should be comfortable and conducive to learning and networking. If the event spans multiple days, definitely consider locations that offer accommodation facilities to avoid logistical challenges for employees travelling from other locations.
Content and Speakers
Curate a compelling agenda with a mix of leadership talks, departmental presentations, and interactive workshops. Breaking up the critical information-sharing sessions with more light-hearted content ensures that everyone will get be fresh to engage when necessary and relaxed enough to be creative when the time comes. Select speakers from within the company who are experts in their fields and can both motivate and educate employees. If this is in your scope, ensure the content is relevant and engaging, aligning with company goals and values. Break-up sessions will include various formats such as panel discussions, case studies, and hands-on workshops to maintain engagement and cater to different learning styles.
Communication and Promotion
Develop a communication strategy to inform employees about the event. Utilize internal communication channels like emails, intranet, and team meetings. An early announcement and regular updates can help ensure maximum participation. Create a sense of excitement and anticipation by highlighting key sessions, speakers, and the benefits of attending. Personalized invitations or department-specific communications can also enhance engagement.
Ensure that there is a response system in place to confirm that key persons were invited and confirmed attendance.
Logistics and Technology
Plan the logistics meticulously. Arrange accommodations for employees travelling from other locations, set up registration systems, and ensure all technological needs are met. A reliable event management software can streamline these processes but it is not critical. More importantly, ensure the availability of technical support during the event to handle any unforeseen issues promptly. This includes technical support for AV systems and PA systems as well as networking if you will be streaming the content out or have Hybrid/Virtual conference attendees.
Pay attention to details like transportation arrangements, signage, and accessibility to ensure a smooth experience for all attendees. It goes without saying that accessibility for disabled attendees needs to be catered for. Choosing a venue that has this as a feature both for their events areas, restaurants and accommodation will greatly reduce your planning time and stress.
Employee Engagement
Foster networking and team-building opportunities through social events, breakout sessions, and interactive discussions. Ice-breaker activities, team challenges, and networking lunches can enhance interaction and collaboration among employees. Collect post-event feedback to understand what worked well and what can be improved for future events. Use surveys and feedback forms to gather insights on the content, logistics, and overall experience.
Do not neglect the after-event social gathering. Having a poolside drink, or a smaller social event for certain groups is the perfect point where networking starts and groundbreaking ideas are shared outside the strict confines of “work” parameters.
Pitfalls
Watch out for the little foxes that ruin the harvest!
1. Lack of Clear objectives
Make sure you understand what the objective of the conference is, and then make sure you communicate that to your team effectively! Unless the objective is constantly Top-of-Mind, it is easy to quickly get off-topic and host a conference that keeps people busy but doesn’t achieve any great effect in improving the business or company goals.
2. Inadequate Budget Planning
There is a great business lesson from every father who has ever screamed “Toilet Paper costs money!” – it is the small items you forgot to consider that push your budget over allocation and cause trouble in the long run, forcing you to cut important items that would have meant a lot more to delegates getting the maximum from the event.
3. Poor Venue Choice
Pick a venue that works. Don’t try and make a venue work that simply can’t. A good venue coordinator will tell you what can be done in a venue and what will probably fail. They see it week in and week out. Don’t overfill your venue. Ensure Climate control, easy access and good sound…
4. Do not skimp on Sound
People can generally stand a substandard visual presentation, but if they cannot hear, or the sound is noisy or of low quality, irritation and tempers will run high! You do not need state-of-the-art, but you need clean sound of adequate volume from undamaged equipment. Something that sounds more than adequate in an empty venue can be less than effective in a venue filled to capacity. Speak to your venue coordinators or sound technicians to ensure quality for the price you can afford.
5. Underestimate time requirements at your own peril.
5-minute delays add up. Just ten of them and you are running almost an hour behind. That means the food could be standing ready with no one to eat it, or key persons missing transport or flights. Being early is better, but can be just as damaging to your program. Build in flexible items that can be stretched or reduced in time (or removed altogether) as time buffers. Q&A’s are great for this purpose.
6. Death by Bad Communication
Keep your team updated. Keep your boss updated. Keep the delegates updated. Communication flow is critical. If your team knows their responsibilities, if speakers are team leaders are aware of all timeframes and if your direct head is in the loop at all times, it is quick to pick up niggles and sort them before they become problems.
By following these steps, you can ensure your internal company conference is well-organized, impactful, and valuable for all employees. A successful conference not only achieves its immediate objectives but also strengthens the company’s culture and fosters a sense of unity and shared purpose among employees.
