Hosting an awards dinner is a powerful way to reward and motivate your company’s employees. It shows your staff that you recognize and appreciate all of their hard work throughout the year, and it gives you the chance to single out exceptional employees for distinction. Keeping a business’ bottom line healthy takes a lot of hard work, and by recognizing the achievements of your employees you are motivating them to work even harder next cycle. But organizing an awards dinner takes time, consideration and a healthy dose of forward planning.
Budget and Scheduling
The first step in planning any awards dinner, is to consider your budget restrictions. The amount of money you are prepared to spend will play a key roll in all decision making processes as you plan your event. The budget you set will largely determine where the event will be held, the number of guests and the choice of menu. After you have set a budget, be sure to stick to it closely. A bit of wiggle room is fine, but if you are not firm in your budgeting things can get quickly out of hand.
Next, set a date for the awards dinner, and decide on a guest list. Will all of your employees be invited, or just the main sales staff? Are spouses and dates welcome? These are questions you will need to ask yourself in the early stages of planning for your event. As for the date, you will want to schedule your awards dinner at time that is convenient to all of your employees. If you are planning your event for the end of the year, be sure not to schedule it to conflict with other holiday festivities. You want to reward your employees, but you don’t want to put them in the position of being forced to decide whether to go to your awards dinner or their daughter’s Christmas play.
Finding a Venue
After setting a budget, and settling on the number of guests who will be attending the awards dinner, it is time to choose a suitable venue. The choice of banquet hall may depend on the style you have set for your gathering. Awards dinners can be formal or casual, and the banquet hall should reflect the overall tone of your event. If you are planning a formal dinner, you may want to consider a banquet hall with a more elegant décor. For a more informal event, a venue with a casual atmosphere is called for. When you select the event hall for your awards dinner, do so with an eye towards the type of event you want to host.
When considering different banquet halls, take the time to visit the establishment in person. Look around, and assure yourself that it meets all of your needs. Make sure the hall offers sufficient parking, and that it has adequate restroom facilities for all of your guests. Also, make a note of it’s location, and consider how easy or difficult it will be for your guests to find.
Choosing a Menu
Most banquet halls and event spaces have on-site catering services for their customers. Unless you have a preferred catering firm, you may want to rely on the venue’s services for your catering needs. Menu choices will depend on your budget and the tone of your gathering. As this is an awards dinner to reward your best employees, a distinctive menu should be chosen. Something special that your employees and their spouses will remember. The on-site caterer should be able to offer a variety of menu items for you to choose from, and should provide a sampling menu so you can taste the various dishes before making any final decisions. As you work out the menu with the caterer, keep in mind that you may wish to include some vegetarian options for those employees, or the spouses, who prefer to avoid meat.
Invitations and Awards
With your banquet hall booked, and the menu in place, all that’s left for you to do is to send out the invitations and order the awards. You can let the event coordinator at the banquet hall take care of everything on their end, while you get back to business. On the night of the awards dinner, be sure to arrive early and double check that everything is just as you ordered. With everything in place and satisfactory, it’s time to welcome your guests and reward the employees who have spent the year working hard to make your business a success.
Contact one of our events coordinators to learn more about corporate events and hosting an amazing awards dinner.
