It’s event planning season in the office and this year there are twice as many functions to organise. This time last year was a flurry of stress so do you hire a professional or seek out your best worker to get onto it? Let’s consider the pros and cons of hiring a corporate event planner to organise your offices’ next function.

Pros

1. They’re knowledgeable of the costs involved and can help maintain a realistic budget while still creating the image you originally wanted. 
2. Hiring a corporate event planner to organise your next function can be a tax write off for your company.
3. Along with the tax benefits, an experienced planner will have the right connections to possibly provide you some discounts.
4. An outsourced planner can give their full attention to your event and save time for your internal staff. This way your employees aren’t stressed trying to do two things at once and they can focus on giving 100% to their own job.
5. They have the team and the technology for a smooth running event so your staff can sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Cons

1. There is an additional cost compared to using internal staff, however the pros of that could outweigh the con.
2. You may find it hard to work with the person hired. There’s always a chance when working with new people that you won’t get along or you’ll have conflicting views but if you’re clear and concise about the essential requirements for the event perhaps just let the planner use their imagination when it comes to the small stuff.
3. They might be juggling so many upcoming events with their clients and therefore aren’t able to focus their attention solely on your event or always have a meeting at the time that suits you and your team. Rest assured they are professionals and do this often. They’re not going to miss important deadlines, just try to be a bit flexible. 
4. They plan a party completely unaligned with the company culture, morals and values. This is something that can be avoided with open communication from the first meeting. For example if you’re an environmentally friendly company then one of the first things you should make clear is that there is to be no plastic wastage from your event etc etc.

Tara Thomassen