Corporate dinners are held by many companies to celebrate their milestones or as an annual get together to relax from the demanding office routines. Apart from employees, prospects or business counterparts are also invited to a corporate dinner. Planning these corporate dinners is a daunting task where you have to manage tent rentals, caterers and decorators; and also manage many other factors that contribute to having a successful corporate dinner.
Decide The Theme For Your Dinner
That’s the first step towards planning for a successful corporate dinner. Whether it is planned for your employees to celebrate an anniversary or the launch of a new product/service or the accomplishment of a milestone, you have to decide the theme earlier because your whole ambiance will revolve around the theme and you will have to instruct corporate party rentals accordingly. Future clients and prospective employees are also key attendees for a corporate dinner.
Calculate Your Budget
That’s another bitter pill you have to swallow because no matter what plans you make they will always have to fit the budgets’ square peg. Here you are open to two possibilities; one of them is getting a dinner budget from your finance team and sticking to its restriction. The other one is a bit of an arduous task. Decide the budget yourself, and calculate the expense of keeping the venue and dinner cost per head. This way you can make desirable changes in the venue and meal plan as per your requirements.
Be Mindful Of The Time
Since you are organizing a corporate dinner it’s advisable to stick to weekdays. Monday to Thursday is considered a weekday for most of us. Another noteworthy aspect is to be particular about the time as your guests will have to leave the premises and return for work the following day and we don’t want them to be present with a dull, sleep-deprived face. A general rule of thumb is to ensure that your attendants reach home and watch the 10 pm news bulletin.
Decide The Meal Plan Especially For People With Dietary Restrictions
Since this is just going to be a dinner, the whole get together will revolve around the food that you serve. You are inviting people over for a meal and not being mindful of their preferences will leave them bad tasted.
Ask them about this beforehand or ask your caterer to prepare certain meals that can get along well with people who are diabetic or have to undertake a low-calorie diet.
Another way to deal best with this situation is to ask your guests to inform you about their dietary restrictions when they confirm their availability. Doing this will ensure that the whole serving goes smoothly without ruffling any feathers.
The Venue Should Be Within Everyone’s Reach
Whichever theme you wish to incorporate you need not move farther from your office because that will create unnecessary trouble for your guests. As people want to cut commute time, they prefer residing near their offices. If you move the venue farther they will be uneasy. Furthermore, nobody would love to travel by public transport in their party dresses.
Don’t Forget To Send A Follow-Up Email
That is the most important part. Many people love these small gestures. Whether it was your potential client or simply your employees who were there for the corporate dinner, send them a gentle reminder about whatever you discussed the previous night. This will give them a clear call to action and also serve as a reminder of the key points that they might have missed.
Don’t Jump On Your Business Ideas
That’s something you should avoid at every cost. While most of us are born impatient, willing to jump on every opportunity that nature provides us and not willing to spare even a second, but this temperament will do more harm than good. Your guests will assume that the sole purpose of this invitation was to cash it. Wait till the main course is served, or better watch the body language of your guest. If they are comfortable enough to discuss business before the serving, go ahead.
These were a few points just to let you streamline your plans to host a successful corporate dinner. Choose what works best for you, get round tables rentals Northern VA and caterers on board, and incorporate your ideas freely.
