How to Plan Your End-Of-Year Employee Recognition Event

Planning an event for your colleagues can be difficult. There is so much to consider, especially if you are planning an event in 2021. We recently came out with a fantastic guide to planning events while keeping your team safe. Today, we want to share some more general tips to help you thrive.

Start Early

If you are planning events, it’s essential to start early. When you start planning early, you can have a better choice of venues, vendors, locations, etc. It’s never too early to start putting the wheels in motion about an event.

Connect With Vendors

First, you’ll want to make a list of all the vendors you’d like to have. Here are some ideas:

  Party planning
  Location/Venue
  Catering
  Awards & Swag (why not look at Levy Recognition?)
  Decorators
  Games/Party Activities

Once you make that list, you can start finding vendors who fit under those categories, reaching out to have conversations, and getting some initial costs.

Make sure you come to each conversation with a solid list of questions. Take time to ensure that all your important questions are answered before getting off any vendor calls.

Put Together A Planning Committee

Planning an event by yourself, even with a party planner, is hard. Consider asking your colleagues to step up and help you by forming a committee. Committee members can be another point of contact for all your vendors and help you connect with other employees.

Pick Your Event Type

As you talk to your vendors, you need to get serious about the kind of event you’ll be throwing. Take your time when determining what you’re trying to plan. Here are some things to consider:

   Are you planning an awards ceremony, party, or something else?
   Will your event be online, in-person, or hybrid?
   Is the event going to be closed or open to family/friends?

Prepare Your Team For The Event

Next, you need to prepare your team for the event. Now that some of the larger details are complete, it’s time to get the entire team involved. Here are some activities for this stage of the process:

   Communicate about the event and what to expect. You might not have all the                  answers right away, so this will be a continuous process.
   Find out about allergies.
   Get RSVPs as soon as possible.

Work Out All The Details

As employees are getting more involved, you should be working out all the details with your party planning committee and your vendors. In an ideal world, you are done planning the event several weeks before the event date. You don’t want to rush to finish the planning right before the event.

Host A Fantastic End-Of-Year Event

Last, it’s time to host a fantastic event. You’ve done all the work, picked the best vendors, and now all that’s left to do is enjoy.

Conclusion

Planning an event can be challenging, but the best you can do is breathe and take it one step at a time. Do you want to make your end-of-the-year awards pop? Don’t forget to check out our latest guide that will help you plan in-person, online, and hybrid events easily. 



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