How to Cater your Next Office Meeting or Corporate Event
When it comes to business, presentation is always key. That goes for any meeting, pitch or business interaction. The impression you leave on your associates, employees and colleagues speaks volumes and sets the tone for the professional relationship you wish to build with them. The team at Crave understands the need for a flawless execution and can help make the best impression possible. Catering corporate events can seem daunting, but has many beneficial outcomes. We wanted to pass along some advice when planning your next corporate event.
Set Goals for Event
What exactly is the purpose of your event? Consider the following in order to determine what message you will be sending:
- Boost employee morale
- Product launch
- Announce company changes
- Award ceremony
- Client meetings
- Motivational team meetings
Every event has a purpose, and the impression you set with the decor, location, food and overall atmosphere will convey a message to your audience. Providing a catered lunch for a monthly employee meeting can show support for all of the employees’ hard work and create incentive and encouragement to keep meeting those goals at the workplace. An elegant sit-down dinner for a company awards ceremony on the other hand, shows appreciation and adds tradition and value to company culture.
Budget the Event
Always have a broad idea or ballpark figure for the amount of people that will be attending. This is always important because it determines the size of the venue, the amount of food and chairs, tables etc. that will be included in the budget.
Breaking down the budget and establishing the main necessities first will allow for a more simple planning process when it comes to catering services. Start with the venue and equipment costs first. Then, consider if you will need to provide entertainment or decorations and deduct those costs. From there the caterer can work with you to budget the cost of the food, labor and service charges.
Location
Aside from casual office meetings or client events meant to display the company facilities, it is best for corporate events to be held outside the office. Hosting these events gives employees an opportunity to enjoy their jobs outside of a work environment. A happy employee is a productive employee after all. Consider choosing event venues with large spaces to allow for an open and relaxed atmosphere. Be cognizant of where in the city (or out of the city) the venue is located; there may be many people that commute from neighboring parts of town. Lucky for us, Austin is filled with incredible venues to fit any style or event type. From the Austin Country Club to historic venues like The Allan House, there is a large variety of locations to choose from.
Whether you host a large company soirée or simply want to order lunch for the next quarterly office meeting, hiring a corporate caterer can help make the process a breeze.
