Just because you understand business does not mean that you understand the nature of human psychology. It is amazing how many corporate leaders go to extreme measures just to try to motivate workers, while missing some very basic principles that can make it easy to do. Corporate events planning is a classic example. Planning corporate events is easy if you know how. A lot of corporate event planners resort to lavish, elaborate vacations and things like that, but sometimes the simpler, the better. You need to understand who your workers are, and you need to be able to reach out to them. Just having them have a good time is no guarantee that they will learn anything.
I have been involved in corporate events planning for years, both as a private corporate events planner and now as a corporate executive. Over the years, I have learned a lot about it. When I first started out, corporate retreats were all about going off in the woods and being men together. We would do team building activities of all sorts, and everyone had to participate. It was fun getting out of doors, but I don’t think all of the stuff we were doing really translated to the office environment.
It is strange but, as the years go by, I’ve taken a simpler and simpler approach to corporate events planning. Nowadays, I stick with the classics. That means good food, a few drinks, and a symposium to discuss new leadership techniques. I also give them souvenir corporate apparel to remember the event by. It lets people cut loose, without getting too far away from the corporate environment. This is pretty crucial. Good corporate events planning blurs the distinction between the workplace and the home life. That way, people begin to develop good habits in their personal lives, habits that can carry over into a productive work environment.
This doesn’t mean that corporate event planning can’t be festive and enjoyable. On the contrary, it should be. The more the people get carried away with the excitement of the day, the more they will be excited when they get back to work. Corporate events planning should have a more relaxed feel than the day-to-day corporate environment. People should feel free to socialize, eat, drink, and thoroughly enjoy themselves. In this way, the workers will have a more informal and personal relationship with the corporation. This is good for worker loyalty and productivity.