Month: December 2015

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Planning Your Leadership Retreat

Planning Your Leadership Retreat
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We’ve all experienced needing to speak to a coworker, superior, or subordinate about an issue but struggling to phrase it. Maybe you had a conflict that couldn’t be adequately addressed within the confines of day-to-day business conversations; maybe you needed to ask for help, but didn’t know where to start. These things will happen in any business environment, and left unchecked they can ultimately hamper your efficiency and teamwork.

This is why companies hold leadership retreats. Called by any name – retreats, meetings, talks, or offsite days – the fact remains that these events represent an escape from the tension of regular closed-door sessions in meeting rooms.

We’ve created a high-level guide to get you started on the road to planning, and hosting, your first (or next) successful leadership retreat.

Purpose

Take time once a year or once a quarter to step outside of the office and meet at a separate space. This allows people to leave behind their at-work thoughts and behaviours. It facilitates the formation of a safe space to brainstorm, talk about, and confer meaningful experiences, to resolve conflicts, ask for help, and to get back to business.

Before you start the process of planning a retreat, give real thought to the primary purpose you’re trying to fulfill. Make your objectives achievable, and partner with a venue that can help you to run the retreat effectively. Universities and colleges will have professors, consultants, or sessional lecturers experienced in mediating conflicts. These resources bring an extra measure of perceived transparency and stability to the retreat so that all attendees know it’s a safe space to speak honestly.

Keep in mind that there’s no set length that a retreat should be, but many organizations find it’s useful to book a venue for as many as two to three days. For this reason, retreats should be local and easy to get to. Not all attendees will find it useful or necessary to attend the full duration, so plan accordingly.

Location

Retreats are named as such because they are literally an escape from the geography and entrenched attitudes of the work space. Whether that’s everyone’s home offices (for companies with remote staff) or the brick and mortar of the headquarters, it’s important to get people out of their work mindsets. The easiest way to do that is to put them in a new environment.

Your staff are human and retreats can be an intense confluence of brainstorming, growth, and strategizing, so it’s necessary to consider connectivity and breaks. Plan to give your staff time to take breaks so they can catch up on social media, share insights online, and deal with timely or critical issues that arise while they’re out of office.

Conflict between staff members can come down to incompatibilities between work demeanours, and not actual issues between the individuals. Communal dining and dinner talk is a great social equalizer, so having a location that has access to catering services is an absolute necessity.

Tone & Objectives

The tone of the retreat should be fun and optimistic, even if your objectives require some emotional and intellectual heavy-lifting.

Start off the retreat with a brief welcome and follow it immediately with an ice-breaker activity that gets people physically moving. Something fast and fun that requires people to work together, like passing a ball through a circuit of every person in the room and then asking them to find a creative arrangement that allows them to beat their previous time. (Just Google “ice-breaker activities” and you’ll get over a million suggestions.)

If you have any video or presentations to show, make sure you book the facility for a technical run-through to make sure you’re familiar with the systems and to reduce the chance you’ll encounter any problems when you’re presenting.

Divide your retreat into morning and afternoon sessions specific to each objective you want to achieve. Don’t make the objectives bigger than can be solved in a single day if this is your first retreat. A partner organization can help you to structure your sessions so they flow well, have a moderated feedback process, and respond to everyone’s concerns.

Agenda & Planning

The easiest way to ensure your meeting goes smoothly is to plan ahead. Book the venue at least four months in advance, so that there’s enough time to schedule around blackout dates and vacations of senior personnel. Notify everyone of the anticipated date as soon as you can – preferably when you’ve booked the venue.

Release a high-level agenda to the attendees before the event so they can prepare questions and delegate work. Ideally they have the agenda at least a week in advance, but no later than three days before the event. The agenda should be clear, concise, and leave little room for misinterpretation. Don’t make your agenda too long or overly specific; you don’t want your staff coming burdened with preconceptions. There are great sample agendas available online, like this one and this one.

We hope you found this guide on planning your leadership meetings helpful. Deeley Exhibition is conveniently located on the Vancouver and Burnaby border, with a nearby SkyTrain and bus stops, and is a wheelchair-accessible unique venue available for rent. Take a virtual tour of our facilities, or contact us today to get a quote.

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How to Plan a Successful Fundraising Event

Plan a Successful Fundraising Event
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Is there someone you want to help succeed? Are you a champion for a charitable organization or not-for-profit?

Fundraising has been called the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving. With Christmas just around the corner, fundraising is the focus for a lot of organizations. Commercials air on TV and radio with familiar songs from John Lennon and Bing Crosby reminding us that ’tis the season to give. Many fail to realize that the planning for most of the following year’s fundraising starts now.

Fundraising can be a daunting task, whether it’s your first fundraiser or your fiftieth. We’ve created this guide to help you make the most of your fundraising event with key points to keep in mind, from choosing the best event venue to thanking donors.

Plan Ahead, Way Ahead

Planning for a fundraiser should start at least six months in advance. People often underestimate the amount of work that goes into planning a fundraiser, and the amount of coordination that has to happen to ensure it goes smoothly. Consider the purpose, audience, and type of event you want to host; these factors will affect the type of venue you should try to book. Unique venues tend to book months in advance, so make these decisions early in the process.

A key component of a successful fundraiser is to ensure you ask for help. Set up an event committee, and reach out to volunteers early and often. Your committee should also help you to do the legwork of nailing down your budget and fundraising goals in concrete numbers.

Appointing or calling on committee chairs and representatives who provide a measure of legitimacy and draw for the event can increase turnout and buy-in from potential donors. Local Members of Legislature, municipal Councillors, entrepreneurs, and celebrities make excellent additions and can create valuable connections with potential donors. Often these individuals have experience fundraising and can help out in ways you didn’t anticipate, but they and prospective volunteers will need time to plan their schedules so they can be present.

Do it with Purpose

Is the goal of your fundraiser strictly to raise money for an individual, a cause, or an organization? Or is there the anticipated benefit of networking with influential donors and business people who can further or facilitate the agenda of your beneficiaries? Do you want to build awareness for your cause?

If the intention is to attract donors who have clout, deep pockets, or big profile in the media, it’s best to consider a black-tie affair such as a silent auction, speaker series, or gala event. For these events, esteemed venues with high-polish accoutrements are the best course; things that remind guests of their prosperity and means.

If the atmosphere and efforts are more grassroots – smaller donations from a large number of motivated or sympathetic donors – then media and social-friendly public events are the best course. Be flexible and creative in the types of events you want to host. Consider co-hosting a TEDx conference, charity speed-dating, or low-key benefit concert; anything that promotes and encourages live streams, microblogging, and photography in the venue.

Make it Fun!

No matter the type of event you plan to host, create an element of fun.  People are far more likely to find themselves in a charitable mood if they’re enjoying themselves. Think creatively and keep it real; for black-tie affairs it might be as simple as having a live singer setting the background music with a quartet ensemble. For speaker series or galas, bringing in a comedy troupe like Granville Island Theatre Sports or the Fictionals Comedy Company can provide laughs between speeches. Venues with an open foyer and a discrete meeting hall offer the opportunity to define purpose-driven activities for more than one type of engagement in the same event.

Choosing the right event venue will add to the enjoyment. Look for venues that can work with you to take care of a lot of the operational details and allow you to focus on what’s important: your message. There is a lot of power in having good food, appropriate lighting, and solid audio-visual already onsite and set up for you on the day of the big event.

People love receiving as much as love giving. It’s important to make sure you have prizes, even if you’re hosting a silent auction. Look to your donors for event-appropriate gifts to hand out to attendants and to top donors. Gift bags are often an excellent opportunity for donors to show their participation and get valuable marketing and exposure, and could be as simple as keychains, or tickets to events sponsored by the donor.

Donor Do’s and Don’ts

Do: Reach out to donors early and often. Most companies have a charitable budget set aside for donation and public awareness contributions for their brand. It’s possible you’re just the kind of PR they’re looking for, and giving to your cause would help raise their profile too. If they aren’t able to contribute right away, don’t give up. Often these budgets are doled out quarterly. Send follow-ups to donors who you’ve reached out to.

Don’t: Assume that a no is a bad thing. This opens the door for you to find out why someone has declined an invitation to participate. Sometimes a donor is unable to attend due to a conflict, but still wants to contribute. If a number of prospective donors all decline due to a conflict, it could be there’s another event scheduled for the same date that takes precedence for them. Be flexible, and be willing to reschedule your event if it maximizes donor turnout.

Do: Give donors an opportunity to toot their horn, and yours. If you can find sympathetic, engaged, and vocal donors, use this to your advantage. Let them be your evangelists; by giving them the opportunity to voice their values in supporting you, there is an exponentially higher chance they’ll return to do the same in the future.

Don’t: Forget what sets you apart. You’re not the only one asking. High-profile individuals and organizations are constantly approached by charitable groups, startups, healthcare, education, and science foundations for donations. It’s possible they’ve already committed their budget, but are planning on their next quarter or fiscal year. Remember what sets you apart and appeal with the strengths you have. The more authentic and clear you are about your needs and your goals, the more likely you are to gain traction with prospective donors.

We hope you found this guide on planning a fundraiser helpful. Deeley Exhibition is conveniently located on the Vancouver and Burnaby border, with a nearby SkyTrain and bus stops, and is a wheelchair-accessible event venue available for rent. Take a virtual tour of our facilities, or contact us today to get a quote.

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How To Plan A Successful Business Meeting

guide on choosing meeting rooms
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The New Year is just around the corner, and with it comes another year of important client, department, committee, and other organizational meetings. Vancouver venues are competitive, and often booked early. Are you ready? Get the most out of your 2016 business-planning, internal, corporate, marketing, or strategy sessions by making sure you’ve planned ahead.

We’ve created this guide to the points you should always consider when choosing a meeting venue for a successful business meeting.

Comfort

Often Vancouver event planners are faced with choosing between booking a meeting room based on a budget versus placing priority on creating a productive environment for attendees. Being price-conscious is important, but you’ll get the best results from a space that’s conducive to thought. Small spaces, environmental noises or smells, and bad lighting prevent attendees from focusing on the task at hand, especially during all-day meetings. You should choose a meeting room that looks and feels good, with space for guests to move around and features that enhance comfort and well-being, like natural light.

Convenience

Event professionals and meeting chairs have a lot on their plates come meeting time, from preparing presentations and materials, organizing and printing handouts, managing additional speakers or out-of-town guests, verifying the RSVP list, and so much more. Choosing a meeting venue that can take care of operational details allows you to focus on what’s important: your message. Check with the venue to see what they have on-site that can reduce your stress and what you need to bring or arrange on your own, such as A/V equipment, stands, furniture, flip charts, and other supplies.

Connectivity

While you’d prefer that your attendees aren’t distracted by their smartphones and tablets, in this day and age our phones are often such a part of our business and personal lives that we can’t expect anyone to entirely leave them alone. It’s important to allow attendees breaks to check in, or else they can become distracted or look for opportunities to sneak social media time. And depending on the type of meeting you’re having, you might actually want attendees to be accessing files or media, taking notes on tablets, or sharing what they’ve learned on social media. You might also need your own phone for notes, reminders, and other last-minute parts of your presentation. You’ll want to inquire in advance about a meeting venue’s WiFi.

Location

Where you host your meeting is absolutely crucial to its success. Is it far enough from the head office to escape distraction? Is it central to attendees? Is there ample and free parking? Is it convenient to reach by public transit? Is it a wheelchair-accessible venue? If someone has to wrestle with complicated directions, drive around the block for half an hour to find parking, park far from the venue and walk in the elements, take multiple transit transfers, or just plain can’t find the place due to a remote location, it’s likely to lead to the early part of the meeting being wasted on calming frustrated nerves. The easier it is to arrive and park or access your meeting venue, the more relaxed attendees will be – and the more ready they’ll be to get down to business.

Nourishment

It goes without saying that well-fed, hydrated (and in some cases caffeinated) attendees will be happy and attentive participants, while hangry attendees with growling stomachs will be checking their watches every few minutes until they can leave. Food and beverage options are often overlooked as a large unnecessary expense rather than treated as an essential part of your meeting program. Make sure to discuss food, drink, and snack options with your meeting venue. For a full-day meeting, having delicious and nutritious food on hand helps attendees focus and increase productivity and overall effectiveness. Include healthy snacks to boost brain power, such as whole grains, nuts, berries, and veggies including broccoli, to keep attendees alert and focused!

We hope you found this guide on choosing meeting rooms helpful. Deeley Exhibition is conveniently located on the Vancouver and Burnaby border, with a nearby SkyTrain and bus stops, and is a wheelchair-accessible meeting venue available for rent. Take a virtual tour of our facilities, or contact us today to get a quote.

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