5 things you must consider for your next business event!

Are you planning on delivering offsite training or exams, either computer based or seminar style?

Let’s be honest - delivering offsite training or meetings is expensive. It takes people away from being productive, it involves huge amounts of planning, there are costs associated with material development and printing, and of course there are fees for the use of external space.

Here are 5 things that you need to lock down with an offsite provider - otherwise your business training, exam or meeting event may not go to plan!

Shared space

An absolute killer of any business training event is to find that you have been shunted into a room which is really just a space divided into rooms with often lightweight flexible or concertina walls. All of a sudden your privacy, acoustic integrity and the focus of your attendees is out the window because of the volume coming from the footy club presentations happening next door.

Insist on being isolated from other groups, inquire as to who else is in the venue at the same time and if it doesn’t sound like you can comfortably deliver the course or meeting content... Look elsewhere.

Internet speed & stability

Believe it or not in 2016 a majority of venues offering their services are still using shared ADSL internet connections. The risk to your event is obvious - slow speeds and a need for wide bandwidth for the course attendees accessing an external server or even just a CRM site simply don’t mix.

Ask your venue if they have fibre optic internet, minimum 100mbps & if they can isolate bandwidth for your session. Classroom based computer learning can fail if this simple requirement is not met.

IT support

What happens when the presenter with the MacBook turns up at the venue to find plugs and cables just don’t match the data projector supplied. Who’s got the adapters?

IT support can be as simple as a cable, or loading software images, liaising with a client tech overseas or configuring hardware on the fly. Whatever the need, access to immediate tech support is critical if you hit a snag. Remember, your personal and company brand rides on the quality of your presentation - this includes everything technical.

Billing

Most organisations struggle with arranging deposits for venues, nailing down exact requirements to go on the invoice ahead of the event and having time to dissect the charges after everything is finished.

Your venue should allow you to book, accept their terms and get on with the business of delivering your training, presentation, workshop or meeting - then provide a single account with reasonable commercial payment terms.

All about the light!

Many function/event centres & venues such as hotels are designed for social gatherings. The lighting in particular is often inadequate for classroom or seminar based learning, and commonly totally unsuitable for exams that may stretch over several hours.

It is common to hire in external lighting, but the cost is substantial and so again - if the venue can’t offer you adequate light for a successful training course, meeting or exam then you will most likely need to keep looking.

My final comment is that the business of hosting clients off site is competitive - there is and always will be someone who is willing to do it cheaper. Just remember that like any service the value lies in the quality of the outcome. Qualified IT support, up to date hardware, superior internet and purpose built facilities all cost money - be comfortable that your venue is investing in these things to support you in delivering the very best student, client or employee experience that you can.

Want to learn more about how Cliftons can help with your next event? Contact Cliftons today!