How To Plan Your Corporate Dinner

You’ve been tasked with creating an excellent event or corporate dinner for your company or organization and you feel the pressure to make it absolutely perfect. Trust us, we get it.

Whether you are experienced at creating big dinner parties or maybe you’ve never done it before, you’re probably feeling the pressure and are stressed about all the details that go into all the planning.

It’s important to make sure it’s a fantastic experience for everyone involved. With any dinner party – or any event for that matter – the devil is in the details. Nothing can be overlooked. It can definitely be overwhelming for an individual, especially when you add that onto your usual office duties.

Thankfully we’ve put together a list of things to think about and to look out for to make the entire process seamless.

What Is The Budget?

The first thing, of course, is to figure how much money to spend on the event. It will be important to manage expectations. Some people will be expecting a fancy steak and lobster affair, but if you’re only given enough money for appetizers, then you have to make sure everyone is tactfully aware of your limitations.

You will need to clarify and highlight what needs to be included in the budget and review it closely with your boss before you present your budget to a caterer or event planner. Don’t forget to account for rentals such as linens, china, flowers, and maybe even chairs and tables. Event planners are your best friend as they can help you budget and plan for everything you need and will ask you questions about things you never even considered.

How Many People Will Be Attending Your Corporate Event?

This is the second question you need to ask yourself before going any further. Are you planning a small or large corporate event?
Is it internal (only employees will be attending) or is external (employees and clients)? Is it an end of the year party, is it a celebration, or maybe it’s a shareholder meeting?

If you’re feeding a hundred c-suite executives over Happy Hour, perhaps a wide variety of finger foods is best. Or if it’s a small intimate dinner of close acquainted friends, then a plated dinner may be more appropriate.

No matter how large of a group you have, your guests will have allergies, dietary preferences and requests. It will make sense to provide a wide variety of foods and plan ahead to ensure everyone’s requirements are met. This isn’t always easy within a giving budget so make sure you ask your caterer for options.

Where Is Your Event Taking Place?

Another important aspect is the venue. Are you going to have it in your office building and everything catered, or are you going to have a venue with a kitchen or at a restaurant where everything is already prepared for you? These are important questions because it will determine if you can have hot food and what kind of rentals you’ll need.

When Is Your Event Taking Place?

Next, consider the date and time of the event. Will it be a Friday afternoon or a Saturday? If you are planning on having it on a popular day, such as a Saturday a couple of weeks before Christmas, you’ll need to book and plan early.

If you’re having in on a weekday, then you often can get a discount on rentals and venues.

Consider how long your corporate event goes for and how many catered meals, drinks and snacks make the most sense. If you’re having a full day event, then you’ll have to consider snacks and drinks as well.

What Is The Goal Of Your Event?

If the goal of your event to bring together your co-workers and boost office morale, then you might want to hire a DJ and rent somewhere that has a dance floor. If you are bringing together a large group of potential investors, then you want a more sombre venue and probably a more upscale menu.

The place, number of people and time of your event are, of course, super important, but all corporate dinners and events serve a greater purpose, and you need to be mindful of that when you plan it.

How Much Or Little Work Do You Want To Do?

This may seem like a stupid question, but you should put some serious thought into it because most office staff members start with the best intentions but are overloaded with pressure from other demands that the corporate party often gets pushed into the background.

A lot of event companies and caters can have tailored plans and entire teams to suit your needs and make sure your dinner party or event goes smoothly. You can plan the whole event, catering included, yourself, you can involve the event attendees by getting them to choose what they’d like to eat, or you can opt for full-service corporate event catering.

The Bottom Line

It’s important that your event goes according to plan because it will ultimately reflect on you and your corporation. That is why you need to plan it as much as possible and go over every detail to ensure nothing gets overlooked.

You might consider hiring a cater like D.I.C.E.D, which prides itself on being a socially responsible catering company. We will take care of everything and offer you practical advice

Happy planning and good luck!