From planning the annual holiday party, to figuring out the venue for the company picnic, orchestrating the most memorable retirement party, creating the company party, or sprucing up a standard sales meeting, local Portland, Oregon area businesses have a great resource at their fingertips when they are in need of employee appreciation events, activities, teambuilding programs, retirement parties, or other celebrations.

The basic goal of any employee appreciation event is to simply thank the people who keep your business rolling. Our company offers local employers many options when it comes to deciding the right way for an organization to show its gratitude to its workforce.
Offering options for all sizes of groups, our full service event planning staff is here to help.
Employee Appreciation Event Planning – Things to think about…

1) Decide who to invite.
This may seem pretty obvious to some employers, but to others it becomes a valid concern. Sometimes due to budget, seasonal staff, part time staff, or other various factors a company must be selective when it comes to deciding on whom to invite.
What is the right decision? It depends on the specific organization and circumstances. An organization is usually better off inviting families and spouses, as it brings in a more personal feeling to the group. However, some employers find it effective to keep employee appreciation events focused entirely around the employee. For help with your specific group, call one of our event planners – we will be more than happy to assist you with your decision.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Are you inviting employees only?
Benefit: Intimate Event, personalized appreciation.
Fallback: Some Employees would rather be with their families than at work.

Are you inviting employees and their spouse (or 1 guest)?
Benefit: Spouses get to see and appreciate their partner’s career.
Fallback: Employees with children may not attend due to babysitter issues.

Are you inviting employees and their families?
Benefit: Creates a family friendly workplace, and employees get to know each other on a personal level.
Fallback: Further Limits the dates/times which the event can take place.

Making the decision who you are inviting will make an impact on the budget required, the size of space, length of event, date and time, amount of guests, etc…

2) Pick an Event Location

Where you are holding the event will determine the attendance. Requiring people to drive 4hrs out of their way (or even 2 minutes these days) can deter them from attending an event. Finding the correct event location will help to determine a lot of other things.

When deciding on an event location think of the time of year you are holding your event. It would be crazy in most cases to hold a December Holiday Party on the beach… Unless you live in Hawaii or are planning a destination event to the Caribbean…

The point is, try to think of your climate and weather patterns when you are deciding if you are going to hold the event indoors or outdoors. If there is a specific activity, performance, or other variable that is to be included in the event- you will have to plan a location to accommodate this.

So when deciding the location consider the following:
Travel Time
Activities Planned
Climate/Date
Size of Group

3) The Date

Is the location you chose even available on the date you want? Sometimes more popular venues will be sold out well in advance, and often people adjust their dates just to make the date work out.

If you are planning an event for families- think in terms of Spouse schedules (they may work too), and think also in terms of kids school schedules… (This is why many company picnics happen on weekends during the summer.)

4) What to Eat, What to Eat?

I like food, food tastes good… But when you are planning for a group of people- you must take into consideration the eating habits and preferences of all of them . If you have one vegetarian, then the steak dinner may not work well… Selecting a venue or a menu which covers the basics is the best way to go about it.

Larger organizations may need to take into consideration things like Kosher or Halal menu requirements. Ultimately you want to make sure every guest has something to eat.

5) What to do, What to do…

So yes, you are all going to get together and eat- but what else will you do to make the event entertaining, exciting, or memorable? What activities are the best for your group?

Some companies or groups have long standing traditions like the volleyball match, softball game, or event the dunk tank. Other companies are constantly seeking new ideas which will work for the entire group.

Often these days people get a variety of entertainment options in order to ensure that there is something that interests everyone in the group.

Like any event you may find yourself planning, an employee appreciation event takes time, effort, and careful thought in order to make it a success. The decisions you make will ultimately impact the results your company achieves from the event. While it is hard to please everyone, it is important to make an effort to include every single person.
Joe from accounting may find that the most important thing about the event was the way his child keeps bringing up how much fun the bounce house was. Terri the receptionist may appreciate the fact that your vegetarian burgers tasted great. Jennifer, the part time office assistant may have always wanted to go to a picnic period. Finally the drivers may most appreciate the fact that they got to hang out with their buddies and their families, and had a great time on the bungee run!

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 6:13 am and is filed under Party Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.