Event Consulting Series | Planning Your Corporate Event Agenda

When it comes to planning a corporate event, it can seem so easy. You book a caterer and invite some people, and the event will be a roaring success…right? Wrong! Planning an event is like conducting an orchestra. There is a true talent to it, especially when planning your corporate event agenda.

That’s why this week, as part of the Event Consulting Series, I am answering all of your burning questions about planning your corporate event agenda. So, follow below for tips to make your event timeline a success!

You may be wondering, where do I start when it comes to planning my event agenda? I always recommend starting with the essential and most definitive items. Be sure to use these essential event aspects to map out the broad strokes of your event timeline. This will guide you get a good idea of when the most important events are taking place, such as the welcome address, speeches or food service. From there, think about your guest experience and build your corporate event agenda around that. It is equally important to consider your audience and what their expectations are. They may be a young crowd who wants a quick turnaround event with high energy, loads of entertainment and fancy cocktails. Alternatively, they may be an older crowd who wants to sit down, visit and enjoy entertainment at their own pace.

How to build your corporate event agenda

As a corporate event planner, it is important to have a clear understanding of how much time is needed for each aspect of your event. For starters, I recommend basing your event on a four-hour timeline. From there, you can always add time or remove time if need be. However, four hours is the average length of a successful corporate event.

There are several factors to consider when building your event timeline. Some things I like to think about include the time for each aspect, sightlines, space and even noise.

When incorporating entertainment into your corporate event agenda, you can look at entertainment as twofold. The first option is entertainment as a passive element in the background. For example, an acoustic trio or magician performing during a cocktail party. This type of entertainment allows guests to choose when they want to watch or participate and is still conducive to networking and socializing. This type of entertainment can easily occur concurrently with other event aspects such as food service or a silent auction. The second option is when you have a feature performance or headliner. This type of entertainment is best when all guests’ attention can be directed to the stage. I recommend blocking a key amount of time in your timeline for this type of entertainment, as it is often something that should not be missed, such as a headliner or an awards ceremony.

Six common mistakes to avoid when planning your corporate event agenda

The agenda doesn’t work in the venue space
The schedule doesn’t match the arrival of guests
The food is served when guests are doing an activity or interacting with entertainment
Not enough time is allocated for each item, and everything is out of sync
Planning a big announcement after most people have left
Not considering what your guest are experiencing in real-time

Sharon’s Event Tip: When creating your event agenda for a virtual event, be sure to allocate time for participants to get up stretch or have washroom breaks. Be transparent with the guests and let them know when their next break is. This will allow participants to be more engaged and interactive by knowing what is coming next.

How can Bright Ideas help me with planning my event agenda?

You can book Bright Ideas for event consulting services for any aspects that you need help with. Think of our event consulting services like a menu in a restaurant. You can choose what you would like and what you need the most help with.

Suppose you have booked your venue but need help planning how to use the space, the timing of the event (event agenda) and securing the best event partners. In that case, you can book us for just these things!

It depends on what you need. If you need just a bit of guidance, you can purchase a package for a few hours. However, if you need someone to map out the whole event plan and implement it, you will need more hours.

We offer a free needs assessment in our 30-minute complimentary meeting. So, book your meeting with us today!