If you are in charge of planning your company's annual business meeting, you will want to go out of your way to make sure your employees and sales representatives enjoy their time, while informing them about company matters. Here are some tips to help you host a successful annual business meeting..
Find Lodging
When holding a company meeting that will last for several hours, it is best to have a hotel very close by so employees do not need to worry about trying to navigate through the city after a long day of activities. This is especially a concern for those who are flying into the area from other parts of the country, as they will be unfamiliar with the area in general.
Ask the hotel to place the guests on the same floor, if possible. This will allow them to save time when meeting up with each other, if they would like to spend personal time together before or after work is done.
Consider Meals
When you are going to host an event of a large magnitude, food is a big factor everyone will be looking forward to throughout the event. Select an establishment with a fine dining restaurant on the premises if possible. If this is not available at the location where the meeting is being held, find a close by takeout restaurant that will deliver food to your participants during morning and afternoon sessions. Book a larger meal at a restaurant close to your lodging so guests do not have far to go after they have eaten.
Host Entertainment
Many annual corporate meetings will have entertainment near the end of their sessions. When selecting a corporate meeting room, consider finding one that has a staging area so entertainment can be brought in to reward participants at the end of the event. A raised up area will ensure guests will see the guest speaker or musical entertainment from anywhere in the room. Some hotels will have soundproof rooms, allowing your entertainment to speak or play at moderate volume levels without worry of bothering other guests in the building.
Give Awards
Personalize your annual meeting by giving out awards to deserving employees near the end of the event. Trophies or wall plaques can be ordered to show appreciation to those who had done an outstanding job throughout the year.
Make it a tradition to hand out a trophy to the employee who had sold the most or who had snagged several new accounts for your company. This will give employees a goal to strive for throughout the year, and they will wait with anticipation to see if their name is the one being called.
For more help, contact a center like National 4-H Conference Center.