No event is ever perfect, but there are certain ways to make it as seamless as it can possibly be. After years of being in the field of corporate events in Singapore, we’ve managed to collect several learning experiences that we would like to share with you. We swear by the effectiveness of these tips and hope that it’d be helpful to you too in running a successful on-the-day team building event.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
1. Assign an Advance Party
If you’re organising a small event in town, you may get away with sending off an advance team hours ahead. But if you’re planning to hold it out of town or out of the country, better send them a day or two before the actual event. This allows an ample amount of time to make sure everything is fully prepared, including the venue. You may also use this time to work on last-minute errands.
2. Double-Check Your Checklist
Have you had your registration materials prepared? Do you have your program equipment and other necessary props ready? How about the food? Are you sure it’s all secured? Make sure you double-check all your lists hours before the actual event. Better yet, triple-check them! There’s no harm in being 101% sure that every single thing you need is all set whenever you need them.
3. Always Be Ready With Your Plan B
Make sure you have a fully thought-out plan B ready as well. What if the sound system unfortunately acts out? What if the food arrives late? Or what if it rains? What will happen to your scheduled outdoor activities? The event won’t stop just because of emergencies, unfortunate incidents, or uncalculated delays like this. You have to have an alternative plan always ready to cover it up.
4. Start Early
Speaking of delays, one trick we’ve learned with regards to combating unforeseen delays is by starting ahead of time. This is helpful most especially if you’re renting out a venue. Most often than not, spending extra hours beyond what you have just actually paid for will cost you additional expenses. So what you can do is to prevent this from happening is by commencing early and alloting a window for setbacks.
5. Be Clear on Your Communication Strategy
How does your team plan to pass on messages when needed? Whether it be by the use of walkie talkies or cell phones, make sure it’s all clear to the members of your team.
6. Prepare a Petty Cash
It’s all about being prepared, so be sure to have an accessible amount of money ready in times of emergency as well. This can be used for instances such as miscalculated amount of food for registrants and the like.
These are just few ideas that we’ve gathered from our personal experiences. In laying out these tips, our main point is to help you prepare a smooth-sailing on-site event management strategy by briefing you on how to easily cope with sudden changes. If you need help with your upcoming team building, feel free to check out Team Music’s musical-themed programs for corporate events here in Singapore.