More and more businesses are realizing the positive effect business events can have on local communities. However, utilizing business events for corporate social responsibility is no easy task, and some challenges may arise. If you’re interested in planning an event to help your business and community, here’s a step-by-step approach that can help you.
Step #1: Meet with local community leaders
It’s impossible to fulfill your corporate social responsibility if you don’t know the needs of your community. Local community leaders are your best resource. Meeting with leaders gives you valuable information on community projects, goals, and cultural responsibilities. It also increases communication and provides you with resources like local charities, causes, and vendors. A productive meeting with local community leaders will help get your meeting planning process going in the right direction. To get the most out of a meeting, try to be as attentive and helpful as possible.
Step #2: Come up with goals and a plan
Once you know your community’s needs, it’s time to create event goals that help meet them. It’s very important that your goals be ones that no other business can help the community reach. Your business’s skill and knowledge should be on full display during your event. That way, your event truly makes a difference. A plan should be created that will help reach goals. Specific details can be left out and then later added. The most important thing is that you have a general plan that connects your event to your goals.
Step #3: Use simple methods
The simpler, the better. Three proven methods include the following:
- Volunteering activities
- Giveaways that benefit local charities/causes
- Working with local vendors that benefit a cause
Using these methods can be easy and convenient. The key is choosing wisely. Always make sure volunteering efforts and charities/causes benefit the community. Local vendors that you work with should be reliable, honest, and hard-working.
Step #4: Get everyone involved
Hold an event-planning meeting that includes everyone in your business. Getting everyone involved is great for multiple reasons, including the following:
- Different ideas are created
- Everyone involved stays motivated and engaged
- Excitement to help the community increases
Giving everyone a voice and a job turns meeting corporate social responsibility from something that’s boring and obligatory to something that’s fun and exciting.
Step #5: Finalize your plan and create an event schedule
Finalizing your plan consists of filling in areas that were previously left out. You can review your plan to make sure it will help your event reach its goals. Once you’re comfortable, create an event schedule that includes everything from start to finish, including your employee’s responsibilities. You can also create a master list of outside parties that will contribute to or benefit from your event. This will help you stay organized and ensure you have all the information you need at all times. Present your finalized plan to your employees when it’s completed to make sure they know exactly how the event will be run.
Maximizing event results
If you follow these five simple steps, you’ll enable your business event to meet corporate social responsibilities. Social and economic results will be seen. In order to maximize your results, contact one of our event-planning specialists. A specialist will work closely with you to plan the perfect event. Their experience, knowledge, and skill will be put to use to make sure that your event is one that benefits everyone involved. Countless customers have met all of their corporate social responsibilities thanks to our event-planning specialists. You could be next!