Why a Corporate Meeting Planner Is Good for Your Business

Throwing a successful corporate event is an elusive task. Hire a corporate meeting planner instead, and let someone else handle the moving parts like a pro.

We all know how important business meetings are. But we are also aware that planning one involves tons of moving parts…very detail-oriented.

Yes, organizing corporate meetings is a daunting task, especially if you’re bouncing from one office chore to another.

And if something goes wrong and your poorly organized meeting turns out to be uninteresting and unproductive, it’s all on you. You’ll end up wasting precious time that could’ve been spent elsewhere — not just yours, but everyone else in that room.

So, if your planned business meeting is working against you, then we suggest taking the next route of hiring a corporate meeting planner.

Wanna know why you should?

Read this blog post and get to know corporate meeting planners better— from the roles they play in your company to the smattering benefits they bring.

What Is a Corporate Meeting Planner?

A corporate meeting planner is an experienced professional who calls all the shots in all aspects of meeting preparation and presentation.

They create the objectives, schedule the time and place, work on the expenses based on budget, talk with the suppliers, draw up a list of speakers, handle travel arrangements and even deal with all the equipment needed throughout the course of the meeting.

So, basically, corporate meeting planners will help you streamline your operations in planning to make sure that the event is a success.

What Are the Different Types of Meeting Planners?

If you must know, meeting planners are adept in planning meetings for different organizations, large or small. Sometimes these events are done in person or online, within the grounds of your company or outside.

Whatever the meeting environment or situation may be, there’s a particular meeting planner responsible for it.

  • Corporate Planners

    Corporate planners handle business meetings that usually occur in an office setting which include board meetings and trade shows.

    With the nature of these events, corporate planners often plan under strict deadlines.

    In some cases where the meeting happens outside the office such as intimate dinners, a corporate planner must pick a venue where the meeting will take place. Apart from that, they’ll also be responsible for sending out the invitation and deciding the seating arrangement.

  • Health Care Meeting Planners

    As the name implies, healthcare meeting planners are experts in organizing and managing conferences and meetings for healthcare workers and professionals.

  • Independent Meeting Planner

    Independent meeting planners are contractual entrepreneurs who plan and manage meetings and conferences.

    This type of planner comes in handy for organizations and corporations who do not have a full-time meeting planner at their disposal. On top of that, they are also the most economical choice to professionally plan and organize meetings.

    At times, they work hand-in-hand with a full-time associate planner as a support. This means they may only be involved in some areas of the meeting preparation such as site selection for just a single event.

  • Government Meeting Planner

    These meeting planners operate exclusively for the government. They take the same role as that of a corporate planner. And just like them, they are also in a budget situation and are excellent at sticking to a tight financial plan when organizing meetings.

What Are the Roles and Responsibilities of a Meeting Planner?

The job of a meeting planner is to deal with all the details of the meeting — from the preparation to the coordination, until the event day.

Basically, they’re accounted for in the following list of activities.

  • Create a budget proposal for the event
  • Handle participants (registrations, confirmations, cancellations, schedules)
  • Create a schedule for the event
  • Organize the catering
  • Choose the venue and make reservations
  • Obtain and set up materials for the event
  • Take part in the rehearsals before the meeting
  • Find entertainment for the event
  • Manage the company’s social media handles
  • Publish content or send out newsletters
  • Send out invitations
  • Decide the seating arrangement
  • Conceptualize the needs of the clients
  • Coordinate with stakeholders

With all these pressing matters on a meeting planner’s plate, they’re expected to be very busy and are always under pressure.

So, to speak, they must be flexible to deal with whatever problem that may arise during the event and make sure of its success.

Why Do You Need a Corporate Meeting Planner?

Planning a business meeting is complex, and can induce a lot of stress for someone who doesn’t have experience organizing one.

That’s why it’s pivotal to work with a professional corporate meeting planner to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Here are the main reasons why hiring a corporate meeting planner is all worth it.

  • Saves Money

    By now, you’re thinking that hiring a corporate meeting planner is a total waste of money…wrong! On the contrary, hiring a pro can save you a lot of cash in the long run.

    Since corporate meeting planners are experienced at sticking within a budget, they know how to tally expenses and negotiate contracts to keep you from overspending.

    Besides, freeing your time so you can focus on other important things in the business is already saving you a manifold of resources, time and energy… which is far more costly to waste than hiring a professional planner.

  • Reduces Your Burden

    Okay, we’ve resolved that planning corporate meetings is tedious and demanding. Seriously, with your schedule already packed, juggling this side gig on the corner is going to take a toll on you.

    Let a corporate meeting planner handle the planning and logistics, so you can focus on interacting with guests instead of prancing back and forth, worrying Services the event.

  • Quality Result

    Did we mention that corporate meeting planners are skilled and experienced? They’ve been doing this for a living, so pretty sure they know what they’re doing.

    Best believe that whatever surprise last-minute hitch that might jut out at your event, they can patch it up like a pro.

  • Keeps Up with the Details

    When you’re planning a corporate meeting, everything is in the details.

    Now, you might be able to think Services most of them, but with your current workload, it’s far-fetched that you can pull it off with limited time on top of your lack of experience.

    However, if you choose to leave the details to a corporate meeting planner, no detail will escape from attention.

Commonly asked questions:

What Is a Meeting Planner Called?

Meeting planners are professional decision-makers. They take charge and decide all the facets of organizing a business meeting.

Depending on who they’re currently working for, meeting planners serve as, corporate meeting planners, independent meeting planners or association executives.

What Is the Role of an Event Assistant?

An event assistant is someone who works closely and provides support to your event team in preparing and managing industry events and parties. So, you can say, that they’re personal assistants to an event planner.

Some of their duties include the following:

  • Ordering catering
  • Book venue
  • Offer onsite support
  • Procuse and set-up audio-visual equipment
  • Handle event registration
  • Schedule the line-up of speakers
  • Decorating the venue

Overall, the role of an event assistant is to run errands and provide general aid to the event team…whatever that entails.

What is the Difference Between a Meeting Planner and an Event Planner?

While these two roles have very similar job specifications, the difference lies in their job duties and how they can overlap.

For instance, a corporate meeting planner is more focused on planning events that are business-related like conferences, conventions and lectures.

Meanwhile, an event planner is someone who organizes events that are more social in nature and are not directly related to business like company outings or parties. Regardless, these activities still involved interacting with clients.

The Bottom Line is…

A professional corporate meeting planner is an essential hire to make sure your corporate meetings and events turn out flawless.

But aside from the wealth of experience they bring to the table, they can also help you save money, time and effort — and then get on to reduce your stress levels.

So, what say you of contacting one today for that corporate event you’re planning, and saving yourself from the horrors of throwing it on your own?