| You've been tasked with organising another major | | | | With the venue agreed, event planners can save you |
| event: a conference, training, a roadshow or | | | | lots of work on the run-in to the event. Event |
| specialised corporate entertainment. What are the | | | | marketing, delegate management, booking speakers |
| main steps to consider when planning it and how can | | | | or facilitators and managing event finances all have to |
| event planning companies save you time and money | | | | be co-ordinated and managed. With the event date |
| and take the stress out of running successful | | | | and venue set, the clock's ticking, your event budget |
| events? | | | | is on the line and there's no room for delays or |
| Determine the event's purpose | | | | oversights. Specialist suppliers are used to managing |
| Without a clear idea of what your event must | | | | the complexity of event organisation - and have the |
| achieve it's hard to start planning. Once you've | | | | experienced teams to do so. Compare this with the |
| decided on this (and prepared a brief to guide you | | | | time and worry of handling this yourself on top of |
| and your suppliers) your decision will determine the | | | | your normal duties...once again, independent help |
| subsequent course of events - whether you handle | | | | makes perfect sense. |
| the planning yourself or outsource it to special event | | | | Run the event |
| planning experts. | | | | Events planning leads seamlessly into running the |
| Choose between in-house or outsourced event | | | | conference, meeting or corporate event. Leading |
| planning? | | | | event planning companies can handle all aspects of |
| Depending on the time and budget available you may | | | | this, as well as event catering, on-the-day |
| choose to manage the events planning process | | | | co-ordination and tasks such as delegate reception - |
| yourself ('in-house' planning) or outsource to a | | | | it leaves you with more time to spend with |
| professional planning company. The latter is popular | | | | delegates, customers or colleagues on the day. |
| because it frees your time for other business | | | | You may ask yourself though, do I have the time or |
| activities and takes the pressure off overloaded | | | | skills needed for the management of a major |
| internal departments. What's more, for the same | | | | conference or one-off corporate entertainment? |
| reasons that you'd outsource accountancy or other | | | | With so much at stake and growing demands on |
| professional services, outsourced planning can deliver | | | | managers' time, organisations increasingly outsource |
| a better result more efficiently than trying to do this | | | | event management. Below are some of the things to |
| yourself. | | | | look for when choosing a professional planner. |
| Find a suitable venue | | | | How to find professional planners |
| Next comes your choice of venue. Maybe you | | | | The decision to hire professional event planning is a |
| already have a preferred venue. If not, your | | | | vital one. The right supplier can save you valuable |
| corporate event planning partner can help - and some | | | | time, ensure a better event than would otherwise be |
| event planners even have their own venues. | | | | possible and build your reputation. Buying-in these |
| Whether you need a well-equipped conference suite | | | | services needn't be prohibitively expensive either. As |
| or a mud-spattered quad biking day on a Welsh | | | | with any specialist service, the cost of hiring event |
| hillside, event planning companies can find exactly the | | | | planning services is often low compared to going it |
| right venue for you. | | | | alone - and you get priceless peace of mind from |
| Organise the event | | | | knowing your event is in the hands of professionals. |