How Do You Make a Corporate Meeting Fun?

Whether you call it a corporate meeting, an off-site event, an all-staff meeting, a company retreat or a workshop — it’s a big investment of time and money to bring your staff together. Leaders need to make sure they get it right.

Part of getting it right means adding a little fun. Here’s a look at how to do that:

And the survey says…

It’s important to clearly understand and articulate the real reason why your team needs to get together. That way, you can figure out what priorities need to be on the agenda, such as:

·      Strategic planning

·      Addressing specific company challenges

·      Team building

Jarrard Inc. brings together more than 80 employees together, three times a year. Ann Cannon, vice president of talent at Jarrard Inc., helps plan these events and always does a pre-event survey to get input from the team about what they’d like to hear about.

“This helps us take a pulse on what’s happening in the company,” Cannon says. “Each meeting should have a different tone and theme, depending on the survey results.”

Location, location, location

Located in Nashville, Jarrard Inc. does two yearly meetings in the Music City, but hosts their annual three-day retreat at a different location each year. The location fits into the theme of the meeting.

If the company is having a celebratory year, the events team might pick a bustling city. However, if the theme of the meeting needs to be more reflective, they’ll pick a quieter location that’s nature-based.

They also allow staff to extend their stay for the weekend and offer the same corporate discount rate for the hotel, if they’d like their friends or family to join them on a mini-vacation.

Keep the meeting lively

Sticking up PowerPoints and going through data, graphs and KPIs is great for context and visuals, but if this is the focus of the meeting, you risk losing your audience says Kelly Merbler, president of the Kelly Merbler Company.

As a leadership development coach and speaker, she encourages the C-suite to invite staff members to present on different topics during the meeting. It’s a way to make the meeting feel more inclusive and give people a chance to practice their public speaking skills in a friendly, low-stakes setting.  

Cannon advises using technology (like Slido or Mintemeter) to do interactive polling throughout the event. She also has different seat assignments for staff every day, lots of icebreaker activities and brings in guest speakers or activities, like authors or improv troupes.

“This isn’t a staff meeting,” Cannon says. “It’s not a regular Friday. We see these meetings as micro boosts throughout the year to keep the team engaged.”

Leave space

Your agenda doesn’t need to be stuffed with meetings and activities. Gena Cuba, executive director of Firsthand, has led dozens of organizational workshops, and always makes sure she gives her team time to relax.

“Whether they want to explore the town on their own, check up on emails or just order room service, it’s important to respect their time,” Cuba says. “You can’t expect people to be on ‘on’ all the time. Give them space to recharge because it will help them feel refreshed and relaxed during the retreat.”

Remember to celebrate

A lot of C-suite leaders are so focused on moving the company forward, that they forget to celebrate the wins the team is creating. Celebrate the people who are adding value to your team, Merbler advises.

“If you want to add value to people, you have to understand what they value,” Merbler says. “And everyone on that team values different things. As a leader, you need to be connected with your team and understand how they want to be appreciated. Some might want money, a day off or affirmation that they’re doing a good job.”

How to talk about tough stuff

Employees would rather know the bad news than be kept in the dark. Avoiding issues the company is facing creates fear and instability, Merbler says.

“People have a sense of when things aren’t going right,” Merbler says. “They know something’s off because they're seeing what's happening, but nobody's communicating it. Having honest, open, transparent communication is essential.”

Many leaders don't know how to effectively communicate bad news with authenticity. It’s not leaders versus employees, Merbler says.

“If you have a company challenge, you need to address it together,” Merbler says. “How can you be united and move forward? Everyone has a purpose in your organization, but most times, people don't understand the purpose in their work because nobody is connecting it for them and they don't feel valued.”

After the meeting ends

Especially if your meeting focused on brainstorming sessions, what’s going to happen after the meeting is over? What happens to all those great ideas scribbled down on Post-It notes?

“If there’s no accountability about the changes that are going to happen, both the employer and employees get frustrated,” Merbler says. “If you’re not going to do something with all the ideas your team generated, it’s a lost cause. People are going to be less likely to share ideas in the future.”

Hire a professional

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