Hiring a Pro Event Planner by Committee
Darryl Scotti 2 April 2018
A few years ago, many companies stopped hiring professional event planners for corporate events and laid the responsibility of event planning on volunteer committees. The companies thought that they’ll be able to save money by not working with a third party for organizing events, but this, in many cases didn’t work.
Why?
Volunteer committees were able to handle small office meetings, but when it came to planning and organizing large corporate events, they experienced costly, time consuming pitfalls. The reason is that volunteer committees lack the expertise to handle large events and can’t follow through on every detail of the event. Moreover, volunteer committees make costly mistakes as they don’t have the skills required to plan and manage an event.
But, there’s good news and a way volunteer committees can play their part in organizing an event and help make an event successful. That is if they hire a professional event planner to take care of complex event planning tasks and work alongside the ‘pro’. This way they’ll have an experienced pair of hands to help them plan and organize an event.
So, in today’s post, we’ll demonstrate how a professional event planner can work alongside a volunteer committee to plan and organize a successful corporate event.
1. The Professional Event Planner Plays the Role of a Project Manager
A professional event planner can serve as a project manager and guide the volunteer committee in the right direction. A professional planner can set up a comprehensive checklist for the event that includes tasks, individuals responsible for completing each task, and the time in which each task must be completed.
A professional planner will not let anything fall through the cracks and will follow through on every little detail of the event. He or she will watch over the members of the volunteer committee and ensure that everyone is completing the tasks assigned to them.
2. The Professional Planner Understands the Requirements
A volunteer committee can share the goals, budget and objectives of the event with a professional event planner and leave the rest to him/her. A professional will understand the requirements and then plan accordingly to ensure that the corporate event meets the goals and objectives of the company and is on budget.
A volunteer committee can evaluate the professional by his/her experience, professionalism and how well he/she understands their requirements. Not all professional event planners are equal. There are those who are committed to providing excellent service and then there are those who are only interested in making money and don’t care about customer satisfaction.
The volunteer committee is responsible for selecting the right event planner for the job, otherwise, if an event fails, they will be held accountable for it.
3. The Professional Event Planner Makes the Vision a Reality
A volunteer committee can present the vision of the company for a corporate event to a professional event planner and he/she can make it a reality. Professional event planners use their connections and experience to make it happen, while keeping the budget under control.
4. The Professional Event Planner Makes Recommendations
A professional event planner respects the members of the committee and values their opinion. He/she listens to them and also makes recommendations. A professional event planner gives suggestions that can make a corporate event better and increase the satisfaction of the guests.
As professional event planners work many different events each year, they’re well aware of the things that can increase the appeal of a corporate event. All the ideas and suggestions given by event planners are according to the budget set by the company.
5. The Professional Event Planner Does the Heavy Lifting
With time comes experience and with experience comes connections. As professional event planners work in the industry, they develop connections with producers and suppliers that volunteer committee don’t have access to. These connections allow them to get better rates, flexible negotiations and top-tier service.
When a volunteer committee works with a professional event planner, they’re able to save more money because the professional planner negotiates the best rates on food, venue and entertainment. A volunteer committee alone can never get low rates on these things as they have not networked enough.
6. The Professional Event Planner Does the Management
Members of a volunteer committee are assigned the task of looking over an event, but they also want to be a part of it and enjoy the time with their colleagues. They don’t want to spend their time worrying that the caterer is late, they wish to network with guests.
When a volunteer committee works with a professional event planner, they can rest assured that the professional planner will look over all the important tasks at the day of the event to ensure that nothing gets missed.
While the professional event planner takes care of managing the event and ensures that the event runs smoothly, committee members can enjoy the event with a peace of mind.
7. A Volunteer Committee Can Always Hire the Same Professional
Perhaps the best part about a volunteer committee and professional event planner working together is that the committee can rehire the planner, if he/she makes their corporate event successful the first time.
A professional event planner that has work alongside a volunteer committee to plan a corporate event will be well aware of the company’s culture and overall goals. He/she will also give ideas to plan out interesting and diverse events in future.
The Bottom Line
In a nutshell, a volunteer committee should always work with a professional event planner if it wants to plan a successful corporate event. Without an experienced planner on their side, a volunteer committee is prone to making mistakes that can potentially ruin an event and affect the reputation of their company.
When it comes to corporate event planning, there’s no one else to trust but The Great Event. We can work alongside a volunteer committee to plan an event according their requirements.
We have been producing cutting edge event experiences for Fortune 500 companies and national organizations since 1987. If you wish to receive the same level of quality Diamond Certified customer service tailored to your company’s need, give us a call 408-298-3001 for your next corporate event.