Ideas to Save Money on your Office Party
In today’s economy, office parties and employee appreciation events are needed more than ever in order to boost morale. While many companies are cutting budgets across the boards, savvy employers know that in order to keep up performance at their company – they have to continue building relationships with and among their staff.
The office party can take many different shapes and sizes- here are several ways companies can create great parties and gathering without breaking the budget.
Where to hold the office party…
One of the best ways to cut back on spending is to hold all of your events on site. In the past your events may have taken place offsite at a park, meeting center, hotel, restaurant, or other location. These days, party planners are holding events on campus, in their offices, and around their production facilities. This is saving all kinds of money on transport, space rentals, and employee time spent traveling to the event vs producing for the company. Especially in situations where the company has extra space available at their facility.
Events Unlimited supplies all kinds of services to make your workplace party fun. We can offer many different ways to spruce up your location and transform it into a celebratory environment. Even taking the simple approach and bringing in some concession machines will create a change in atmosphere in the workplace. A few game tables, arcade games, or video games can also bring in an element of fun for the day.
We can even set up an event in your parking lot if there is no space left inside to have the event.
We have all kinds of fun entertainment items which are ideal for any office party- whether on site or at another location.
Save Money on Food for the Office Party
Many companies are cutting back on expensive catering providers, and placing more emphasis on changing the atmosphere. The reason for this is that the goal behind any event is to show the staff a good time, and to make them laugh or smile.
In some situations people are bringing in Pot Lucks which proves to be successful. Other companies are taking a simple approach and stopping off at Costco- bringing in sandwich platters, veggie platters, and the like – which is saving a fortune in catering costs.
The money saved can be utilized to create fun activities which both inspire and relax your group. At Events Unlimited we can even bring out a grill for you to cook your own food- there is nothing better than being served food cooked by the boss!
More Frequent- Smaller office Parties
By holding smaller events more frequently costs can be cut considerably over putting all the time and energy which is necessary to figure out all the logistics for a larger event.
Some companies are having weekly events which are smaller and simple, which creates a tradition and gives people something to look forward to on a regular basis. Anything that can be done to raise spirits on a more frequent basis will benefit a company. Happier people produce more.
Make the Party Shorter
Ultimately an onsite office party can mean that more of your staff spends more of the day working, and less time preparing for the event than if it is held offsite. This means that instead of losing a whole day of productivity, companies are benefitting by having more staff working throughout the day.
The typical event time we see for events is 4hrs. We have also seen parties that only last 2 hours. By making your office party shorter in duration, you can save considerably when it comes to rentals as well as productivity.
Hold the Office Party at the end of the day
Instead of cutting the production of a workday- it may make sense to hold your office party at the end of the work day. So that at 5pm, your staff can go straight to the party- have fun for a couple hours, and then go home.
This is also a considerable way to save money when compared to a weekend or evening event!