Its that time of year! The sun appears and you think “let’s organize a team moment to bask one glorious summer evening, sip cocktails, listen to Summertime by Will Smith and watch colleagues play a variety of hilarious games.
So is it a dream to organize the perfect corporate summer BBQ and can you achieve that on your current budget?
Should I just give up now and send each employee a voucher?
Well I’m here to tell you – you can have an incredible summer BBQ – no matter what the weather but it takes a little planning.
Corporate summer BBQ Tips
Here are the 7 tips you need to organize the perfect corporate summer BBQ
- Set a budget
- Find a venue
- Set a theme
- Get help
- Plan the food
- Set an entertainment mix
- Prepare for the worst
1. Set a budget
Always start with the money because everything else depends on this. The minimum budget for a corporate BBQ is €50 per person (assuming a minimum of 100 people). If you want a 5-star experience, then the budget would be perhaps double that. The key early activity is setting expectations internally. Summer BBQ on €20pp. It just isn’t realistic. Knowing the budget will manage everyone’s expectations.
Finding an event management company with a budget set is much more productive. They won’t waste your time discussing packages that you can’t afford and can serve you better once they know what they’re working with.
2. Find a Venue
Once you know your budget you can begin to find a venue that fits. More expensive venues are more expensive to hire and are also more expensive for each service or amenity they provide (e.g. the food). If your budget barely covers an expensive venue itself, you’re likely to be way over budget by the time everything is factored in. If you don’t have a good knowledge of possible venues, an event management company can help you here. Some event management companies will even offer this as a standalone service – just helping you with venue selection. They will know capacity issues along with places that have the best parking lots. Whatever is important to you, let them know and let them do the rest. If you need any advice selecting a venue in Ireland, feel free to reach out to me with the contact form below.
3. Set a theme
Making a final decision on theme helps focus everyone -, internally and externally. Even simple themes like Summer BBQ can help decision-making and prioritization. Once you know a theme, you can begin to prepare.
- The easiest events to organize are an old-school “sports day” or a summer BBQ. These are the least expensive and least challenging events to organize. They are very suitable if the event date is soon and great themes to choose if you want an easy event.
- The Intermediate-complexity events involve hiring in games or equipment. They include Carnival Day, Inflatable Sports and Teambuilding Days – these obviously cost more and require longer to organize.
- The Advanced events are typically décor heavy events such as Bohemian Picnics or Festival Chic. They will cost even more but can be spectacular experiences if done well.
4. Get help
Event Managers and Party planners are one example of this. You may initially think it is expensive, but they often know where all the best equipment is in the country and often get good deals from them. The time you save is obviously a massive value-add but they help reduce your rental costs on certain items and find things you just wouldn’t have yourself. Let them do the hard work and you take the credit.
5. Plan the food
This may sound obvious – but for many events, the food is an afterthought. Do not organize a Summer BBQ without a BBQ! There are so many options out there in Ireland now that you can tailor the food down to the finest detail. Venues can tailor menus to your requirements while Food trucks are a great alternative to the standard venue meals.
6. Set an entertainment mix
The entertainment should match the theme first of all. And it should also be appropriate to your group. Getting those wrongs creates that awkward feeling you get when someone who should know you gets you completely wrong. I was invited to a Carnival Theme pre lockdown that had no Carnival Games!! Yes it had bouncy Castles and some sports games but not one Carnival Stall and nothing to make it look like any time was spent thinking about the theme. Think about your group, their age demographic and what their interests might be and try and match the entertainment to that. Even the background music is important. Think of your evening as a seamless stage show that needs to be programmed from the minute the first guest arrives to the minute the last one stumbles away.
7. Expect the best, plan for the worst.
We all want it the perfect summer evening but it may or may not come to pass. Think of every event as Sunny with a chance of rain. When booking the venue, consider what will happen if it rains.
- Will there be space inside for my 200 guests?
- Will the BBQ get flooded? It might be you need an extra covered space like a marquee that can be used in all weather.
- If so what type of look am I going for? There are some beautiful stretch tents in the country that can be decorated to theme so not only is it functional but it ticks the decoration box too.
Have a back up plan too. What happens if the worst happens? No point in ignoring it. The elephant is still in the room. Address it with everyone involved.. the venues, event management agencies, the entertainers. Ask them what are they going to do if the worst happens. Make them come up with a plan for you. It’s their job after all and they have been through this at least once before!
Conclusion
Corporate summer BBQ events are great because they are relatively straight forward to organise and are hugely appreciated by the attendees.
Consider a decent budget of at least 50 per person and select your venue, entertainment and theme very carefully. Plan for the worst and have a backup plan as these events are weather-dependent. Feel free to reach out to me using the contact form if you need help organising an event like this in Ireland.
Remember to
- Set a budget
- Find a venue
- Set a theme
- Get help
- Plan the food
- Set an entertainment mix
- Prepare for the worst
