Corporate events require effort, creativity, and time. Usually, aspiring corporate event planners can get overwhelmed with the tasks and other things to do. But it’s a matter of good time management and enough experience before they get used to it.
If you’re one of them, you can start by planning a small get-together with your family and friends. Although it may not be as big as the usual corporate events, it can be a test or a start of whether you can handle planning events or not.
In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how to manage your time as an aspiring corporate event planner.
1. Set the goals
Before anything else, setting a clear and achievable goal is a must. This prevents you from doing things that aren’t relevant to the event. From the general objectives, narrow it down to more specific, small goals. If you don’t do this step, it may be difficult to accomplish the objective, and the event might not turn out as expected.
Besides, planning an event solely based on a single, generalised objective can be overwhelming. On the other hand, with smaller objectives, you can accomplish things one by one, without feeling like you have too many things to do at once.
2. Craft a detailed timeline
Aside from the objectives, another thing you should prepare is a well-structured timeline. That way, you’ll be able to accomplish not just the task, but you’ll also be able to do things at the right schedule.
When creating a timeline, you should include the tasks, schedule or deadline, and milestones. That way, you can track your progress, and the things left to be done. As time goes by, you should be able to accomplish everything on your timeline just in time for the event. Setting the objectives is essential in corporate event planning, but so is creating a timeline.
3. Work using digital tools
Nowadays, everything’s going digital. This means you can save a lot of time in planning the event, and focus on the more important things. Some of the tools you can use are calendar apps, social media platforms, messaging sites, and project management software.
When you enrol in an event planning school, they can give you the resources that you can use for your corporate event planning gigs. However, if you’re learning things on your own, there are various YouTube channels and blogs that you can use to improve your time management when planning corporate events.
4. Delegate the tasks
Whether it’s a small or big event, it’s impossible to do things on your own. Delegating tasks to your team can help save time and energy. In addition, since there are things that you don’t specialise in, you can look for the right individual with the skills that fit the task.
Besides, doing things on your own isn’t a great idea. Think about the future events you’re going to handle. If you’re planning to do them all alone, it may have negative effects on your mental health. In the end, you might get burned out from exhaustion.
5. Practise saying ‘no’
There are many aspects in life when you need to say no. One of them is to accept countless workloads. If you think you and your team can no longer handle more corporate events at the moment, just inform the possible clients, instead of saying yes.
Another instance is when a client has been asking for too many favours, and you keep adding them to your tasks. Although it’s a common thing to deliver exceptional work, the more you accept additional tasks, the more likely you mess up the event.
Meanwhile, saying no isn’t just about failing the event itself, but it’s also for the betterment of your mental and physical health.
6. Set time for possible challenges
Whether it’s during the event day or the preparations, take into account the unforeseen instances you may encounter along the way. These challenges may not just affect the budget but also the schedule.
If you plan a tight schedule and things don’t go as planned, it may mess up everything you’ve worked hard for. For instance, if the event is a few days from now, and something happens to the venue that they need to cancel, you should come up with another plan. And while it’s happening, other aspects of the event should also be adjusted, such as decorations and layout of the event.
7. Assess and improve
Every after an event, take time to assess whether the event is a success or not. If it’s successful, look for some windows for improvement or just continue what you’re doing. On the other hand, if you fail to impress the host and their guests, you should work harder
For instance, if some details of the event haven’t been delivered as scheduled, you just might need to add more buffer time for possible challenges. Unfortunately, if you fail to deliver a significant part of the event. You might need to regroup and plan things more thoroughly.
Final Thoughts
Time management is one of the essential skills of corporate event planners. From setting clear goals to assessing each event you handle, these will help you manage your time more efficiently.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aliana Baraquio is a content writer for Pink Caviar Events Sydney, a full-service event management and decorative hire company located in Sydney. When she’s not typing out blog posts, you can find her watching anime series or baking cupcakes.
