Planning a corporate dinner can be frustrating, especially if you don’t want your employees to dread the upcoming event. From choosing the right venue to finding ways of combining work with fun, there’s a delicate balance to making the dinner enjoyable for everyone who attends.

If you’re in charge of planning the next company event, use the suggestions below to ensure it’s memorable in all the right ways.

1. Find a Way to Combine Work and Fun

While most company events involve more fun than work, many business owners like to take the opportunity to talk about the company and how things are going. There’s a fine line between informing and boring your guests, so try to find ways to make this portion of the event more enjoyable for everyone.

For example, you can use this time to give out branded corporate gifts as door prizes. Periodically throughout your speech, take time to draw names and hand out prizes. The key to making this fun is to give prizes that your employees will actually appreciate and use.

2. Choose the Right Date

Unless your corporate dinner is a Christmas party, try to choose a date that falls during a less-busy time of the month or year. Even if it is a holiday party, it can be pushed out into January to avoid interfering with your employees’ family plans. While there’s never a “perfect” moment for a corporate dinner, choosing a time that’s less busy for you and your employees is the best way to make the event more enjoyable.

3. Choose the Right Venue

It’s tempting to return to the same venue over and over again, especially when you’ve received outstanding service. However, doing so can become monotonous for your guests, so try to change it up from time to time. Consider booking a venue that offers luxury amenities or gourmet food as an alternative to your go-to location.  For a more laid-back party, you’ll want to contact bbq catering brisbane.

4. Plan Good Entertainment

Most corporate dinners and events include an audio/video portion as well as entertainment of some kind. It’s important that you book a good DJ or band that caters to the age group most of your employees fall into.

At the very least, make sure you troubleshoot all technical issues beforehand to ensure the audio/video portion goes smoothly. It’s likely this portion of the night won’t be the most entertaining, but you’ll do a far better job of keeping people engaged if everything works as it should.

5. Ask for Feedback

Every event can be improved in some way. Ask your guests to leave feedback about their individual experiences at the dinner. Did they have fun? What things, if any, would they like to see changed, added, or excluded next time? These events are designed to inform your employees and to allow them to let their hair down and have a good time. It’s your job as the boss and event planner to ensure they get the most out of the dinner, and the easiest way to do this is to ask for their opinions.

It can be a challenge to plan a corporate dinner or event for a large group of people. Depending on what you hope to achieve by hosting such an event, you’ll definitely want to make it as memorable as possible for those in attendance.

If you’re planning a company dinner and want to make it a raging success with your guests, follow the tips above. From combining work and fun to asking your guests for their opinions, you can make the event a memorable time for all.

*image credits: Photo: Expect Best / Pexels