Tips for Planning an Awesome Company Picnic this Summer

There is so much more to being the boss than taking important decisions, managing employees, running the business and leading meetings. In order to lead a successful business, it is important to build strong relationships with your employees.

Research shows that employees, who are happy and feel appreciated, work harder and perform better at the workplace. Building good relationships with your employees boosts morale. One of the best ways to make your employees feel appreciated and forge a strong relationship with them is by organizing a company picnic.

A day outside the closed boundaries of the office can strengthen employee morale, recharge their drained batteries and spark creativity. When you show your employees that you appreciate their efforts, they feel encouraged and motivated. A company picnic also promotes human connection throughout the organization, which is especially useful in companies where employees don’t interact with members of other departments. And we almost forgot to mention the best thing about company picnics -- they are fun! But, all these benefits of company picnics won’t come by themselves -- you’ll need to plan and organize a company picnic that will appeal to your employees!

How can you organize a company picnic this summer that your employees will love? To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of tips that will allow you to plan a great company picnic for them.

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1.   Consider Your Budget

The first think you need to consider when planning a company picnic this summer is your budget. Get a count of the number of employees that will actually attend the picnic. Ask them whether they will attend the picnic or not several days before your company picnic is scheduled. If you’re inviting families of your employees to the picnic, then you must account for spouses and children.

If you fail to do this, the estimated count of the people attending the picnic might double. This means you’ll get into a tight spot with not enough food and drinks for the attendees. It will be a really disappointing and embarrassing situation. If you know the exact count of the people coming to the picnic, you can plan accordingly and save yourself some extra dollars. After you have considered the number of attendees, the next thing to do is to collect all the important details surrounding your company picnic. For example, you need to consider the location and how much the venue, decorations and catering will cost. Are you planning to order something specific? Will there be soft drinks and soda only or are you serving alcohol too?, If families are invited, then do you have fun activities planned for the kids? What about other aspects of entertainment – games for adults, music, raffle? You should decide all these things according to your budget.

2.   Venue

A company picnic only comes once or twice a year -- you don’t really want to compete for the playground or barbeque area and ruin the fun for your employees. Therefore, it is always best to reserve a spot for the special day.

The best thing about a summer picnic is that the weather is great, so you can host the company picnic almost anywhere. Choose a local park, amusement park or a restaurant. There are so many possibilities. The decision about the location will determine the tone of your company picnic, so if you want your guests to have an awesome time in the outdoors, consider organizing the company picnic at a park and throw in entertaining activities. If you think that an indoor picnic would be better, consider a restaurant or hall for your picnic and arrange indoor games like board games and casino games, etc.

3.   List of Activities

Prepare a list of activities to keep your guests informed of the proceedings of the day. Guests will stay interested in the picnic when you inform them about the activities that will take place during the day and the foods and drinks that will be served.

Print the schedule of the day on a card and give it to your employees before the day of the picnic so they know what special things you have planned for them and where they need to be to enjoy various activities. This will keep all your guests on the same page and they will be able to enjoy various activities in your company together.

An important thing you should remember is that since you have provided your guests with a specific timetable and listed all the activities of your picnic, you can’t afford to get off schedule. Your guests will not appreciate if you tell them that lunch will be served at 1:00 and there’s no sign of barbeque till 3 o’clock.

4.   Decorations

Your employees should feel special when they arrive at the venue. In order to make them feel special, you must focus on the decorations and favors. Post signs that direct employees to different activities and designate an area for food and drinks. If you are hosting the picnic at night, consider hanging some lights.

In addition to decorations, also offer party favors like bags, hats, water bottles and sunglasses that your guests can wear and use during the picnic and take with them afterwards to remember the great time they had at your picnic.

5.   Entertainment

Your guests want to have fun in the summer company picnic, so you must make arrangements for entertaining activities.  Volleyball, soccer, bungee jumping, scavenger hunt, karaoke contest, watermelon eating contest and water games can be included in your company picnic. Your guests will love to take part in these activities. Select the activities that you think will work best for your guests and arrange something special for the kids like face painting.

You must also arrange special prizes for the winners like customized t-shirts or coupons to really spark the competition and make more guests participate in the activities.

6.   Raffles

Raffles are a great way to increase the excitement among your guests during a company picnic and it will bring  all your employees together. Consider having one grand prize to boost the excitement. For small prizes, consider giving home items. Everyone loves to win, so all your guests will take part in raffles.

If your company picnic is large and there are several activities at the event, employees may not interact much with everyone else. One group could be playing volleyball while the other may be busy with water games. Raffles bring all your guests together in one area.

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7.   Food and Drinks

Your employees are going to get tired from playing games and enjoying different activities at the picnic. So, you will need food and drinks to replenish that lost energy. Providing a delicious, high quality food conveys an important message to your employees: you care about them.

Since everyone has different eating habits and tastes, it is best to offer a good selection of healthy and traditional options. Or, if the budget allows, you can feature various dishes from around the world. Serve beer and margaritas with the food to keep everyone in a jovial an fun mood to enjoy all the activities you are offering at your company picnic. Don’t forget water – hydration is essential.

8.   Plan for Bad Weather

When it comes to planning a company picnic, you cannot ignore making arrangements for bad weather. The weather in summer can change, so you must plan ahead. If rain is expected and you have planned a company picnic in the outdoors, change the venue to an indoor location. If that is not possible, arrange umbrellas or tents so your guests can stay comfortable.

These are all the things you need to focus on to organize a successful summer company picnic for your employees. If it is your first time planning a company event, you will find it extremely difficult to manage all these things. If something goes wrong or you miss something important, your company picnic will fail to provide a good time to your guests. Thus, all your efforts will be in vain.

In order to avoid such a situation, it is best to hire professional event planners for your summer company picnic. When it comes to professionals, there is no one better than the Bay Area Picnic Planners. We are the only fully accredited Award Winning Event Planning Company, rated highest in customer satisfaction and loyalty. We serve all of the Greater Bay Area.

Tell us the requirements of your summer company picnic and the number of guests that will be attending the picnic. We offer all-inclusive picnic packages for 100-150 guests, 151-250 guests, 251-350 guests and 351-2000+ guests. Check out the details of our picnic packages, select the one that matches your requirements and contact us to organize a memorable company picnic for your employees.

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