planning your conference events
Conference events are among the most important in the company's calendar. Conference events aren't always glamorous but their functionality is essential and if management receive the right platform from which to convey their messages it makes a substantial difference. It's a very real opportunity to impact on a highly targeted audience (whether or not that's your staff) and as such critical planning is key, it's the difference between a below par event and a rewarding success
Conference Planning
You will know that an important event takes preparation and successful conference planning is no different, we're here to help of course and we can assist in 2 ways (1) venue sourcing and or (2) managing your on-site requirements.
1) Conference Planning - Conference Venues
Conference Venues vary considerably, of course there are hotels, speciality conference hotels, country houses, schools, universities, sports grounds and specialist, dedicated conference centres to name a few. The list is long, the four primary considerations are location, capacity (all rooms, including break out / meeting rooms), cost and availability. With clarity on these primary criteria, the selection process becomes a lot easier and choosing from the range of conference venues available becomes a more targeted process.
Thereafter it gets much easier, it's a case of reviewing further preferences against the potential conference venues and then selecting the most appealing conference venue for the budget. The secondary criteria you want to be thinking about are necessary facilities (including parking), catering, entertainment and accommodation.
At the tertiary stage it's a case of applying any particular requirements you have on the venue and the possibility of effective execution, eg if you have specialist audio visual requirements, additional security.If you have very specialist needs then it is likely the number of conference venues that can satisfactorily service your needs is considerably reduced, however it is often the case that what you are left with is the ideal conference venue for the budget!
We're here to help with all your needs so if the ball needs to start rolling, why not let our specialist team assist?
2) Conference Planning - on site management
Once you have the venue, a big tick towards the management conference is on the board. Perhaps the biggest challenge is over, but that done the delivery now begins ... there are of course multiple additional requirements.
These include...
- conference briefing, a prior briefing to management and attendees
- venue dressing & preparation
- production (audio visual, sound, equipment etc)
- external suppliers (if you want outside expertise brought to the venue eg audio visual, entertainment)
- delegate management (invitation, response & feedback)
- scheduling, what happens when
- accommodation and or parking coordination
- catering & refreshments
- feedback management
- event insurance (if required)
If you are happy to manage this then great, it is detailed but with enough notice is easily achievable. However CompanyAwayDays.com can provide expert help with your conference management if required, that essentially means assisting throughout the planning process and on-site during your event. Being on-site may give you additional re-assurance during your event.
