How to run a successful corporate seminar?
1/ Identify the need(s) and define the objective
Above all, ask yourself the right questions: Why are you organizing an event? In what context? Who does the decision-maker want to invite? What needs have been identified? What is the objective?
For example, an animation can support or illustrate the messages of a plenary session during a seminar. It may simply reward employees or celebrate a success. It may concern only part of the team, for example field sales staff in a particular region, or the whole company.
2/ Decide when and how much time you want to devote to the event
The timing of the event is not insignificant, and can have a positive or negative influence on its success. Is the event organized on its own or as part of a company seminar? During the day or in the evening? Will the teams be in the best conditions to be available and receptive? If the event is integrated into a seminar, how should it be positioned to ensure the coherence of the agenda as a whole? And above all, how much time can you devote to it?
3/ Ask for advice
To help you choose and organize your event, don't hesitate to talk about it around you, and to call on the expertise of professionals. You can, for example, launch the subject informally over lunch to gather ideas and opinions, or to test out ideas you may already have in mind. You can also ask your contacts in the organization of a professional event, venues, agencies, etc., who will be able to advise you on current trends and make relevant proposals based on the goal you've set. You should also make sure that the service providers you call on have an ethical charter in line with your company's values.
4/ Make sure you know your participants well, and adapt your animation to their state of mind.
Going beyond your limits, getting emotionally or physically involved, is obviously not for everyone. So, to avoid awkward or forced situations that could be counter-productive, make sure your event is perfectly adapted to its audience. Also remember to communicate, if necessary, about the dress code required so that participants are comfortable and get the most out of the event.
If your event involves creating teams, make sure to form them beforehand, balancing introverts and extroverts, dynamic and lymphatic, juniors and seniors, creative and cerebral, etc. This way, everyone can make the most of their own skills, and no one will feel excluded. You should also think about how you will communicate the composition of the teams (display, mention on the badge...) so as not to waste time at the start of the session and avoid dispersing the participants.
5/ Choose appropriate spaces
The setting of the event is important. Since the brain needs novelty to be stimulated, getting out of the company setting will improve the positive impact of the event on teams. A new environment, adapted to the chosen event, will arouse curiosity, sharpen observation and increase participants' concentration, while promoting the memorization of key messages. Depending on the event and its objective, choose a natural setting, a majestic castle, high-tech meeting rooms, an urban environment...
6/ Awaken participants' curiosity
Preparing for a successful event! Whether it's part of a seminar or a stand-alone event, whether its aim is to reward, federate, reinforce or build, the way you position it with participants plays an important role in how they perceive and experience it. Don't hesitate to plan different actions in advance of the event, depending on its content: sending out an invitation, a countdown with clues, theme and dress code, documentation, etc.
The more your participants' curiosity is piqued, the more receptive they will be to the content of the event and the message(s) it conveys.
7/ Get away from it all
Choosing events that differ from the company's own activities is essential to make a lasting impression. Volunteering or eco-responsibility activities, for example, will give participants a sense of pride. Sharing meals together is a great way to communicate in a convivial atmosphere. Physical activity, even of low intensity, brings dynamism and momentum to the group... The positive emotions generated by these moments of sharing will be all the more deeply rooted in the minds of participants as they will be far removed from the strict framework of the company.
Keep in mind that entertainment is a privileged moment for informal exchanges conducive to bringing teams together and bonding them. Through games and discussions, participants get to know each other and talk about themselves. Organized outside the familiar framework of the company, animation encourages extra-professional communication and leads participants to reveal a little of themselves, to show other aspects of their personality, and to create links that can help them achieve their professional objectives, both personal and shared.
8/ Rally participants around shared values
Every organization has its own culture and values. The activities proposed to participants should always be in line with the company's core values. Instilling a sense of responsibility in every employee - to live and pass on these values - is always an excellent way to weld a team together to work in the same direction.The well-known adage "united we stand" is particularly well suited to the corporate world. These team-building events remind us all that leaders are nothing without the support of their teams. That no single talent, no matter how great, can ensure a company's success. That everyone, at his or her own level, is indispensable to the success of the whole.
At the end of this type of event, each participant should leave with the feeling of being useful, competent and indispensable to the smooth running of the whole.
9/ Brief the presenter
It may seem obvious, but the organizer of a team-building session or incentive activity needs to know everything about the audience he's meeting. Context of the event, history and DNA of the company, key values, purpose of the activity...
Define with him the framework of his intervention: content and tone of the introduction to the participants, respect for the allotted time and dedicated spaces, etc.
If you don't get the wrong activity, you also don't get the wrong presenter!
10/ Debrief with the teams
The debrief with your teams is often forgotten or botched, but it will enable you to measure the success of the event. Whether formal or informal, this debrief will enable you to assess the level of participant satisfaction, check whether the objectives set have been achieved, and suggest new formats for next time.