Member Article

Businesses are putting the fun back into corporate away days

As Britain slowly climbs out of recession it seems that companies are keen to put money into making corporate away days more fun. MGN events, a national events and party planning business specialises in corporate away days and has noticed a growing trend in bookings for big budget fun events in the last six months as companies start to invest in looking after their staff.

Managing Director of MGN events, Mike Walker writes about this trend.

We are definitely seeing an element of fun returning to the corporate away day as clients see the benefits of giving employees a pat on the back as well as taking time for the more serious business of helping them to engage with a company’s aims and values.

Recent requests have included organising a fun fair for staff from a large company who were coming together from all over the UK for a one day event. Many had not met each other before and the fun fair idea was used as a relaxed team building exercise when people could get involved if they wanted to. Another request was for an ice breaker activity for senior level of executives from across the world before they embarked on a 2 day workshop. These fun activities when packaged together with rewarding staff achievements over the previous year and more serious formal presentations seem to be very popular, as organisations want to see their increased budgets work harder. They are also a great way to reward staff for their hard work.

Top five tips for managers considering organising an away day for staff:

Set objectives for the event well in advance and plan activities that help to achieve these.

• Make sure you find and book your venue well in advance and that it is suitable for the numbers of people you need to cater for and has the right facilities for the activities you are planning to organise e.g. inside, outside or both!
• Keep the itinerary interesting and fun so that employees are engaged., Give them a range of activities that grab their interest and build in rewards.
• Someone needs to take ownership of the event and ensure it runs smoothly. Make sure you have one person who is in charge to ensure that staff understand what they should be doing at each stage of the event, it’s always useful to get the help of events experts where possible.
• Don’t lose the ability to measure the return on the objectives from the day. Make sure there is proper feedback and evaluation.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Mason .