Awards nights are an excellent way to show your employees the recognition they deserve. Employees thrive on being recognized for their contributions. Happy, satisfied employees are more productive. But an awards night has to be carefully designed if it's going to be meaningful and sincere. Here's what you need to know about planning your company awards night.
Getting Started: the Corporate Event
We have an updated guide for business events, ranging from choosing a venue to creating the perfect theme. An awards night is just a type of corporate event, but one where awards and speeches are likely to be the focus of the night. Food needs to be designed and customized around the theme of the award night, rather than providing general, catered snacks.
Factors to Consider When Planning an Awards Night
Your awards night is about making your team feel special. To that end, you need the perfect venue, menu, amenities, and more. Here are a few of the major factors you should consider:
- Location. Laissez-faire Catering has access to some of the best venues in Sydney. Employees generally don't want to attend an awards night in their office; they already spend all the time there. A modern, contemporary dining location or a large conference hall will be better, depending on the size of the event.
- Menu. That's our expertise at Laissez-faire. You can check out our menus online, including the canape, shared, and plated menus. We can tailor the menu to your event. An awards show may have plated menus in addition to snacks and appetizers.
- Invitations. Organizing your awards night is important. Email reminders, physical flyers, and posts on the company intranet will make sure that no one is left out. RSVPs are important, either from employees directly or department heads, so you know exactly who is coming. This may also need to include any dietary restrictions.
- Guest capacity. Your venue is going to be strongly influenced by the amount of guests you have. We work with Sydney venues that range from 50 to 500; there's a perfect venue for events of any size.
- AV equipment. For an awards show, this is particularly important. AV equipment is usually available from the venue, but if you need any specialty gear you will usually need to rent it and install it before the event.
- Lighting, decoration, and tablescapes. An event is all about the glamour. Kicking up the decor a notch will really make it a memorable event, and the decor itself can be themed to match the menu.
- Fun additions. No one wants to listen to speeches all night. Consider adding some fun additions to your awards night such as a photo booth, cameras at the entrance, red carpets, themed cocktails and themed canapes (such as in business colors), and more. Guests can be encouraged to share their pictures under a special hashtag, or can be included in a photo book printed later.
And, of course, awards events need to properly feature the awards. Make sure awards are designed, printed, and etched in advance, and that the individuals potentially receiving awards are given prior notice to prepare.
When a company awards night is done right, it can become something that employees look forward to every single year. An awards night gives you a chance to tell your employees that they're really expected and appreciated. For more information about creating this important night, contact the experts at Laissez-faire.