Speakers
Companies get more out of the yearly meeting when entertainment for corporate events is planned along with the speakers. Choosing an act that suits the staff takes a little thought, though not much.
Key Takeaways
- Planners who book entertainment for corporate events a few months out have more acts to pick from.
- Most people are tired of slides by about three o’clock.
- Not every staff group enjoys the same kind of show.
- People who watched the same show have an easy way to start a conversation.
- The act should make sense for the kind of event it is.
Not long ago, a company meeting meant a day of presentations with a sandwich lunch somewhere in the middle of it. Fewer companies run things that way now. More planners now book entertainment for corporate events alongside the speakers, since staff pay more attention when the day has some variety in it.
HR teams notice this in the feedback forms. A long day of updates gets polite scores at best, and some staff stop coming to the optional parts of the program after a year or two of that. Good entertainment for corporate events is one of the simpler ways to turn those scores around and get attendance back up.
Fewer Slides and More to Do at Company Meetings
- Giving Staff Something to Do besides Sit: Four hours in a hotel ballroom with the lights down is a lot to ask of anyone. Most people start to drift a bit once the third speaker comes on. A short act in the afternoon helps a lot with this, and people come back to their seats a little more awake than before.
- Giving Remote Staff a Reason to Travel: Staff who work from home have to give up a few days to attend the annual meeting, and some of them would rather not. If the program is all presentations, a lot of them will decide to stay home and watch the recording instead. A comedian or a live band on the evening schedule gives them a reason to come.
Booking with the Actual Staff in Mind
- Asking Staff before Booking Anything: Planners who send out a short survey a couple of months ahead of the event usually get some helpful answers. Some people will say they want live music, and others will ask for something they can take part in. That gives a much better starting point than booking whatever the company had last year.
- Booking around What the Event Is For: An awards dinner is a good example. The night belongs to the people getting the awards, so the entertainment should be fairly short and not take over the program. A company that has just been through layoffs is in a different spot again, and something quiet like a pianist during dinner would probably go over better.
Comedy and Live Acts That Get Departments Mixing
- Using Comedy to Mix the Room: Most people at a company party end up at a table with their own team. A comedian with clean material gives the whole room the same jokes to talk about. Once the set is over, people start bringing up their favorite jokes with whoever is standing near them, even someone from another floor.
- Letting Guests Take Part: A magician going from table to table during dinner is one way to get guests involved. That kind of entertainment for corporate events works well with mixed groups, since nobody has to know anyone to join in. Just give the performers a heads-up about anyone who would hate being picked, because there is always one.
Booking Something That Feels like Your Company
- Keeping the Act in Line with the Office: Some offices are pretty formal, and an act that would be fine at a tech startup might not go over well there. When the act feels off for the company, staff notice. A few of them will grumble about it on Monday, and perhaps wonder whether anyone in charge really knows who works there.
- Watching the Right Footage before You Sign: That slick promo reel was probably filmed at a sold-out theater on a Saturday night. Planners get a better picture by asking for footage from an earlier company event and calling someone who booked the act before. A booking agency can handle this, and it helps to have answers on the points below.
- How long the act runs, down to the minute.
- Topics the company wants kept off stage.
- Whether they have played company events before.
- Any sound, lighting or stage needs.
A Company Event Staff Still Talk about in the Spring
Weeks after a good company event, people still bring it up at lunch or at the start of team calls. That does not happen by accident. Planners who want that result can save a lot of time by talking with an experienced booking advisor a few months ahead, while the better acts still have open dates.