Planning company picnics every year can provide many benefits – from boosting company morale to increasing teamwork and collaboration and reminding employees that they’re appreciated. Unfortunately, when foods, drinks, transportation, entertainment are other planning details are factored in; corporate picnics can become quite pricey. Many companies are not able to avail the benefits of company picnics just because they feel that organizing a picnic for their entire workforce can prove to be extremely expensive.
You do not necessarily have to put a dent in your wallet to organize a successful company picnic. There are several budget-friendly ways to plan an awesome picnic. If you are thinking about organizing a company picnic but are worried that it’ll break your bank; don’t fret.
Today’s post is tailored for those who want to organize a budget-friendly yet memorable company picnic for their employees. In this post, we’ll show you a few ways to organize an awesome budget-friendly picnic.
Get Organized
First make an inventory of all the things you need to do to organize a company picnic. Also make a detailed budget for the picnic. Set a specific amount and tell yourself that you can’t exceed this. Then, create categories like “venue”, “food and drinks”, “transportation” and “entertainment”. Write down some venues where you can possibly hold the company picnic.
Create a budget and write all the expected expenses. Consider the following things when creating a budget for the picnic.
- Some venues don’t provide lighting and require the organizer to bring in their own. Therefore, make sure to check with the manger for detailed information about what is included and what’s not.
- Depending on everything you’ll include in the company picnic (special entertainment, alcohol), you might have to secure permit. You’ll have to include the permit costs if it is necessary.
- Make sure to factor in the tax you’ll have to pay on each arrangement or item.
- Utilities like power and water may get expensive for the picnic. Make sure to estimate the cost for such resources when you’re arranging heavy-utility activities like light show, concert, etc.
Send an invitation to your employees and ask them whether they’ll attend the picnic or not. You won’t get a 100 percent response as some of your employees will likely have other plans. You’ll be able to make better arrangements when you know how many of your employees are attending the picnic. You may not have to book a large venue if most of your employees aren’t coming to the picnic. This will allow you to keep your costs down.
Crowdsource Picnic Ideas or the Picnic Itself
If you wish to find budget-friendly ideas for your company picnic, start with your own office. Craft an email requesting your employees to suggest budget-friendly ideas for the picnic and send them the email. They’ll likely suggest several different ideas and venues for the picnic that are within your budget. Moreover, involving your employees in the process of planning a company picnic will make them more excited. They’ll also feel that you value their opinion.
Another way you can control the costs is to have all your employees contribute something. Organize a cooking competition where everyone cooks and brings delicious dishes to the company picnic. You won’t have to worry about arranging food when everyone is bringing tasty treats to the picnic. After the winner has been crowned, everyone can eat the food they brought from their homes. By doing this, you’ll eliminate a major expense – food – from your company picnic.
Look for Special Packages
Costs can quickly add up when you’re hosting a company picnic. From transportation and dinner to entrainment, there are many expenses you’ll incur to organize a company picnic. We recommend taking advantage of special packages when organizing a company picnic. For instance, there are venues that offer special packages where food, drinks, and even event managers are included. In San Francisco, a place called the Wattis Room offers on-site chef and event manager for all parties or events organized in the venue. You can choose such venues for your company picnic to keep the costs down.
Look for Deals on Discount Websites and Coupon
Discount websites offer many great discounts on group activities. You’ll have to search different websites in your location to find awesome deals for the activities involved in your company picnic. You may find a coupon for group bowling, laser tag, concert or an escape room. Availing deals and coupons from discount websites can greatly decrease the expenses of your company picnic.
Negotiate
When you are booking a venue, hiring caterers or planning entertainment for your company picnic, make sure to negotiate. Caterers, venue managers and entertainers may tell you that their rate is fixed and you have to pay the amount they ask for. Don’t believe them. They’ll almost always tell you a higher price and there is always room for negotiation. So, tell them the price you can afford to pay and that you won’t settle for anything higher than that. If they accept, fine; if they don’t, find another party.
Buy Supplies from Affordable Places
Find affordable sources to buy supplies from. There are many online websites that offer cheap supplies for picnics. Try to get your supplies for the picnic from such sources to save your money.
Start Planning Early
When you are required to organize a company picnic, always start planning early. You’ll be amazed to see how you can keep the costs down by planning a company picnic early. The reason is that you’ll have enough time to find an affordable venue, caterer and entertainers for your picnic when you start planning early. If you begin making arrangements just a few weeks before your big day, you’ll be in a hurry to get done with the arrangements. Thus, you won’t be able to find a reasonable venue, caterer and entertainers.
Use the Space You Have
You don’t necessarily have to book a venue for your company picnic if you have office space that you can utilize. Courtyard, rooftop and parking space are all free venues that you can customize for your company picnic. For instance, you can rent some casino tables and organize a casino-style company picnic at the rooftop to create a unique atmosphere for your employees. You can transform your parking area into a carnival by putting up tents, arranging BBQ and planning fun games and activities like volleyball, dodge ball, Frisbee, bungee run, sumo wrestling, bouncy boxing, bounce houses, water wars, road rally track and giant twister. You won’t have to worry about paying to book a venue when you use your own space to hold a picnic. Many people take advantage of their own office space when organizing corporate activities. You should do the same as it is a great way to keep the costs down while planning a company picnic.
Organizing a budget-friendly company picnic won’t be so hard if you follow the advice highlighted above. However, when you are organizing a company while staying on the budget, make sure not to diminish the quality of the picnic in the hope to save your money. For example, don’t hire a cheap caterer who serves poor quality food and drinks just because you want to save your dollars. Never compromise quality for the sake of money. From reading the tips discussed above, you must have figured out that we are not advising you to compromise on quality. We have shown how you can organize a budget-friendly picnic without compromising quality.
If you’re on a tight budget and want to organize a company that all your employees will love, hire a professional picnic planner from Bay Area Picnic Planners. We are the only Award Winning picnic planning company in the Bay Area. At Bay Area Picnic Planners, our professional picnic planners can find budget-friendly venues for you and make arrangements like food and drinks and entertainment for your picnic.
We also offer all-inclusive picnic packages for corporate picnics. You’ll be able to save a lot of money by choosing one of our packages as food and beverages, play zone, kids’ fun zone, team building events (optional) and entertainment is all included in it.
We can organize a company picnic for you without breaking your bank. Contact us if you wish to plan a successful budget-friendly company picnic for your employees.
