3 types, processes and key points of conference event planning

There are many types of meetings, such as annual meetings, commendation meetings, symposiums, reports, social gatherings, exchanges, seminars, etc. Different meetings have different purposes and focuses, and also require targeted program planning. Today we will talk about the three most common types of meetings. How to plan meetings? What are the processes and key points?

1. Annual meeting

At the end of each year, each company will hold a year-end summary meeting to review the company’s achievements in the past year, sort out existing problems, and look forward to the company’s future. The annual meeting is essentially an internal self-analysis meeting of the company, which has a certain degree of privacy and closedness. However, due to the topic attributes of the annual meeting itself, the "public relations" effect of the annual meeting has gradually begun to take shape. Which company's annual meeting is good, which company invited celebrities to perform, which company gave employees the xx award at the annual meeting, etc., will all be disseminated in the form of gossip inside and outside the industry, and will have an impact on the company's image output.

Due to the existence of the dinner, the annual meeting is usually scheduled in the afternoon or evening, and the venue is chosen as the hotel banquet hall. You can hire a professional host or select capable internal company personnel. The same goes for the annual meeting program. Each department can present 1-2 programs, and you can also invite performing guests. During the preparation stage, it is necessary to purchase materials, including raffle gifts, game props, seat cards, decorations, raffle boxes, banners, certificates, flowers, etc. In addition, relevant personnel should be arranged to carry out on-site filming and video recording to facilitate material recording and publicity. Then the activity time should be notified to each department in advance and they are required to attend on time.

In terms of process arrangement, the host usually opens the meeting and announces the official start of the year-end summary meeting. Then the heads of each department and project come to the stage to give their annual performance reports, summarizing the achievements of each department and the progress of the projects. The general manager then attends the meeting to summarize the company's annual performance and propose goals and plans for the new year. Next, the host announces that the leaders will come to the stage to present awards to outstanding employees, and present honorary certificates and bonuses, as well as take group photos. Then, representatives of outstanding employees are invited to give acceptance speeches.

Next, the annual meeting performance session officially begins. Each group of programs will go on stage to perform in turn. The host will introduce the program and stir up the atmosphere in the audience. Finally, the program performance will be voted on, and then the programs with the highest number of votes will go on stage to receive prizes. During the performance session, some team games can also be interspersed, and employees can be invited to the stage to participate in group game competitions, such as grabbing stools, chopsticks lucky ball, etc., to boost the atmosphere on the scene. Finally, after the chairman’s summary speech, the dinner officially began and everyone raised their glasses to wish the company a more prosperous new year. During the dinner, department leaders and employees toasted each other to promote bonding. Finally, the dinner ended and the host invited all employees to the stage to take a group photo, and the annual meeting officially ended.

Generally speaking, the agenda of the annual meeting is relatively fixed, and the main things that can generate topics and spread the word are raffles, award ceremonies, and evening performances. After all, everyone envies companies that are generous to their employees. Companies that spare no effort in employee welfare will naturally become the subject of discussion in the industry, and the annual meeting is an excellent platform for self-display. But in addition to external public relations, the annual meeting focuses more on internal public relations. So, with a limited budget, what are the key points to hosting a successful annual meeting?

First, we need to mobilize data and cases from various departments to summarize, use fewer adjectives and more "several times" and "verbs". This is how it can be a "pragmatic" annual meeting. Therefore, the annual meeting must have summaries and rankings, while taking into account external factors such as the market environment and competitors, so that internal employees can discover their achievements and shortcomings. Second, the annual meeting always places equal emphasis on rewards and corrections. It is not only about discovering and correcting problems, but also about giving sufficient recognition to outstanding departments and individuals. Only in this way can we fully mobilize the enthusiasm of employees and consolidate their sense of belonging to the company. Third, both summary and outlook should be given equal importance. Generally speaking, the content of the annual meeting is a 30%/70% ratio of summary and outlook. It is necessary to recognize new market changes and encourage employees to continuously improve their capabilities and achieve great things in the new year.

2. Industry Exchange Forum

In order to shape the industry's influence, some companies or platforms will take the lead in organizing industry forums, inviting many well-known people in the industry to gather together to analyze the industry situation, predict industry trends and hot spots, form a collision of views, consolidate common cognition, and promote industry exchanges. The organizers are also gradually establishing industry discourse power and authority in the holding of forum activities.

A successful industry exchange forum must have a theme that is contemporary, targeted, and of practical significance, and conduct valuable discussions around the core theme. A successful industry forum can provide people with a path for thinking and put forward creative and brilliant ideas, so the guests invited to the forum are very important. We need to find those big names, experts, scholars, etc. who have accumulated a long history in the industry, have a certain industry reputation and authority, and can produce insightful and in-depth remarks. It is best if the host is also an industry insider, has a broad knowledge base, can control the situation, resonate and interact with the audience, and be good at guiding the topic. In addition to the guests, some media can be invited to record the event and publish relevant reports for publicity.

During the event preparation stage, it is necessary to purchase materials for venue layout, screen the forum venue, have an estimate of the number of participants in the event, choose a suitable venue, place the corresponding materials, and arrange round tables, rostrum, banners, audio equipment, LED projection, podium, seats, etc. Constant adjustments should be made to ensure a good visual effect on site to facilitate on-site recording and publicity such as pictures and videos.

To issue the corresponding invitation letter, the invitation letter should be concise and clear, with sincere words, including the time, place, specifications, theme, guests and invitation words. Invitation letters must be sent out in advance and communication must be in place to allow the other party enough time to prepare forum speeches. It is worth mentioning that some organizers will require guests to send their speeches in advance for review to avoid sensitive topics, off-topic discussions, and soft advertising.

In terms of agenda setting, in addition to guests speaking on different topics, debate topics can also be set up to create a sense of conflict and participation. The overall process of the forum is relatively simple, including sign-in, opening ceremony, keynote speeches, special seminars, group photos, closing ceremony, and dinner (optional). In the forum, it is necessary to keep good meeting records, including text, audio, pictures, video and other forms.

3. Internal Seminar

Generally speaking, internal company seminars often have more direct topics, such as corporate culture building, project creativity, discussion of important decisions, etc., and the overall process of the meeting is not complicated, so planning will be relatively simple. The focus is still on a sense of participation, to guide everyone's speeches and respond to everyone's ideas, to face and organize with a sincere attitude, and then to ensure implementation, rather than just doing superficial work. This form of symposium will form a virtuous circle.

First of all, we need to determine factors such as time, place, participants, purpose, host, person in charge, etc. The location can be the company's conference room, hotel and other places, or it can be interspersed in the company's team building. The budget and time arrangement should be well planned in the planning proposal. The budget should roughly include round-trip transportation, entertainment and leisure activities, venue fees, meals and other expenses. The time arrangement should be reasonable and relaxed. From gathering, departure, small games, seminars, meals, leisure activities, return, etc., the time of each link should be controlled well.

The theme and purpose of the meeting can be to communicate on problems that arise in the company's daily management work and improve the company's operational efficiency; or to allow the team to clarify the company's strategic goals and plans, and on this basis make specific plans for individuals and departments; it can also emphasize the employees' sense of ownership, give play to their subjective initiative, and provide creative ideas to create more benefits for the company. In short, its purpose must be centered around the company's development and employee progress.

As for the meeting process, the host usually makes an opening statement, explaining the purpose and arrangements of the meeting, then the person in charge speaks, and then the host throws out the corresponding topic and invites each member to discuss and express their thoughts. The recorder records everyone's ideas in text and audio form, and the photographer records the meeting with photos and videos. After several topics are finished, the host summarizes the theme and viewpoints of the symposium. After everyone takes photos, the symposium is announced to be over.

There are a few points to note. The first is that all members participating in the symposium must be punctual, obey orders, and not fall behind, otherwise it will cause a lot of inconvenience to the team. Second, please keep your personal belongings safe during the symposium and pay attention to your own safety. Third, any changes caused by temporary emergencies must be notified in full and to every individual. Third, during external symposiums, each member should pay attention to the company’s overall image, maintain good dress and manners, and create a good team atmosphere and corporate image.

Author: Tenant 404

Source: PR Home