Whether it’s a trade show, company retreat, industry conference or team building event, each of these types of corporate events requires extensive planning.
As a busy executive, with all you have on your plate, how do you find time to handle all the details involved in organizing such an event? Most likely, you don’t. Therefore, hiring a corporate event planner becomes not only a viable option, but a wise investment.
A full-service corporate event planner such as Skål Celebrations is in the business of navigating your event. From concept to execution, they pay attention to all the strategic details needed to make your job easier and your event a raving success.
Here are three reasons why hiring a corporate event planner is a wise investment. A corporate event planner:
1. Saves you time. This is probably the number one reason executives call upon the services of a corporate event planner. While you’re busy running the day-to-day operations of your company, planning an event may not be at the top of your to-do list.
Once you have a strategy session about your corporate event, discussed expectations, and laid down an outline, there are an endless number of details to attend to. Just some event-planning details to consider include:
- Locating the appropriate venue.
- Booking hotel accommodations.
- Developing and sticking to an event budget.
- Negotiating contracts with vendors.
- Ensuring deposits are paid in a timely manner.
- Researching and retaining A/V providers.
- Handling food and beverage, hiring caterers.
- Marketing the event.
- Managing and monitoring communications.
- Creating a detailed production timeline leading up to the event.
- Managing logistics the day(s) of the corporate event.
- Keeping you apprised of each of these details along the way.
You might get a headache simply reviewing the above list, but that’s where a corporate event planner comes in. Their goal is to relieve you of the organizing headaches when you hand over these responsibilities to them.
2. Saves you money. While retaining the services of a corporate event planner is an investment on your part, you’ll find that, in the long run, you’ll save money because you won’t be taking time away from your company responsibilities. Your time is spent productively attending to your business.
If you have a budget in mind, your event planner can tell you what is realistic to expect to stay within that budget. An experienced event planner has a network of vendors she/he has built trusted relationships with. They are also savvy negotiators, confidently finding you the best pricing on a venue, accommodations, food and beverage, entertainment, speakers, etc. If a new vendor needs to be vetted, that won’t have to be on your to-do list. Your planner can take care of it on your behalf.
3. Relieves you of the stress. A memorable event, be it a company retreat or an industry conference, is one that, when all is said and done, seemed effortless despite everything that was going on behind the scenes. A knowledgeable corporate event planner handles the headaches, anticipates possible last-minute concerns, and troubleshoots unexpected issues that may arise. In short, when they’ve done their job well, they allow you to relax, show up at the event and enjoy, instead of stressing about the details.
According to an article titled, “The Top 10 Most and Least Stressful Jobs” (published on BusinessNewsDaily.com in December, 2021), ‘event coordinator’ was rated #6 on their ‘most stressful’ list. It’s not hard to imagine why. From meeting client expectations and juggling budgets to ensuring meeting participants are happy and company goals are met, a heavy burden is taken off your shoulders and placed on theirs.
Experienced corporate event planners have a strong sense of self-confidence, professionalism and are adept at both stress and time management. They work hard to exceed your expectations while making sure your event is a success not only for you and your company, but for all those who attend.
Based in the Denver/Boulder metro area, the corporate event planners at Skål Celebrations are skilled at organizing well-planned, engaging corporate events – from company retreats and team building events to trade shows and industry conferences.
