Tips on how to make your first workshop a success

June 20, 2016 - Specialty Foods

Are you having difficulties planning your first workshop, seminar, or training program? For a wedding or a bigger event, hiring an events planning company would be recommendable. However, workshops or training programs are small events involving thirty people at most. If you are going to have more than fifty people and find planning to be an undesirable task, help from a professional event planner will save you a lot of pain. Here are a few tips for corporate managers and others who intend to conduct a small workshop that will be attended by a small group.

Settle on a venue

The purpose of a workshop is to motivate employees. With this in mind, you will most likely want to bring them out of their working spaces and daily routines. There are no rules on where you should convene although you could use a little creativity to get the most out of it. For instance, if the workshop is about increasing productivity levels, focus on a conference room. Likewise, you can plan to have it held in a park if it will involve group discussions and brainstorming. You can even ask a few influential members of the team to suggest a venue.

Choose what you will wear

What you wear to a workshop heavily depends on where it is going to happen. If you are going to be in a conference room, the attendants would be justified if they showed up in their work clothes. However, if the seminar is about connecting, cementing company values, and setting goals, attendants can show up in custom T-shirts and their own casual clothing. This will help them take a break from daily routine while simultaneously fostering the spirit of teamwork. In a case where participants are obliged to show up in work clothes, custom badges can be issued.

Plan for the day’s meals

Hungry participants are very unlikely to pay attention or even contribute to discussions. Feeding them is going to be the most challenging part but only if you choose to strain your mind. The easiest and most convenient way of ensuring that they are full all day long is hiring a company which offers catering services. To keep your costs low, consider one which either has breakfast catering or brunch catering on its service charter.

Assuming that you are going to kick off early in the morning, your team is going to need a motivating breakfast. Plans for only serving breakfast will suit you best if the workshop is going to be adjourned before lunch. However, if it is going to extend into late afternoon, a brunch will be ideal. Brunch caterers admit that the late morning meal allows a client to keep within the limits of their budget and without compromising on food quality.

Most brunch and breakfast caterers around Pleasanton, California have an online presence. This means that you can find a good one by just browsing on the Internet. Alternatively, ask for referrals from people who have conducted a workshop before. Note that everyone in this business promises quality services but very few deliver. With that in mind, be sure to compare options and select wisely.