Corporate events require careful planning and execution, but one aspect of events usually gets forgotten or overlooked, the post-event evaluation. Unfortunately, since corporate events happen often, it’s essential to know the attendees’ experience.
Corporate event planners should know the strategies that may or may not work. For instance, if there’s a part of the programme that the audience doesn’t like, there’s a chance it may never work. So, as a planner, you should be aware of the things the guests may or may not like.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of post-evaluation for corporate events.
What is Post-event Evaluation?
Post-event evaluation is the assessment of whether the event is a success or not. Usually, it’s about knowing the effectiveness of every part of the event based on the participants’ experience. If there are ideas that didn’t work in an event, corporate event planners should think of another that will work for the next.
Importance of Post-event Evaluation
1. Measure Success
Knowing the success rate and ROI is one of the benefits of conducting post-event evaluation. This includes the attendance rates, sales, and participation levels. Usually, corporate events have a target rate of success, particularly in these areas. Unfortunately, if these targets weren’t achieved, the strategies didn’t work.
In case the strategies don’t work, corporate event planners should think of better ideas for the following events. But aside from being beneficial to planners or organisers, evaluating the ROI is also helpful for the company and its future events.
2. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses
Post-event evaluation allows businesses to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their events. So, before the event date, the survey should be finalised and must be available once the event is over. This allows attendees to have ample time to answer the questions based solely on their experience. You can release the survey a few minutes before the end of the event so that they can answer the items they already know.
At the same time, make sure to let everyone know that you’re going to release a survey to collect the attendees’ feedback at the end of the event.
3. Enhance Guests’ Experience
As you collect post-event evaluations for every event, you can compile all the things that you can do to improve the attendees’ experience. By gathering the likes and dislikes of the participants, you can use that information when crafting a better event.
The more you conduct post-event evaluations, the higher the chance of satisfying the preferences and needs of the attendees. Besides, according to studies, many companies think that events can significantly affect the company’s overall performance. So, if you take the feedback seriously and incorporate it into future events, you’re not just improving your corporate events, but the entire business.
4. Improve Event Planning and Strategy
Once you have the information you need based on previous events, you can use it when making decisions for future corporate event planning. For instance, if a specific type of host doesn’t work, you need to find another one. Fortunately, with the help of participants’ feedback, you picture a more appropriate type of host for the specific event.
If you have enough information about the ideal version of every aspect of the event, you can put it all together and create a more successful corporate event.
5. Accountability and Continuous Improvement
The commitment to improve corporate events and to excel in the industry is a sign of accountability. It assures the participants that if ever they attend the event again in the future, they can see and experience an improved version.
More often than not, participants have the same comments based on their experience in an event. For instance, if the lighting doesn’t suit the theme, at least a few people may say something about it. So, as a responsible event organiser, you should know the things to look out for and the necessary improvements to make.
How to Conduct a Post-event Evaluation?
When conducting a post-event evaluation there are many things to consider, including, the objectives, length of surveys, time, and attention span of the participants.
Of course, you should know the objective of the survey. It will guide you in making the questions that can help you identify the areas of improvement and the parts that are on point.
Meanwhile, although some attendees would love to help, others don’t have enough time to participate and answer lengthy questionnaires after attending a gathering. So, make sure that the questions are simple, in multiple questions, and can be answered within a few minutes.
Lastly, don’t force the participants into answering the questionnaire, because at the end of the day, it’s your part to know the mistakes, and they’re just there to give their opinions.
Final Thoughts
Post-event evaluation is a crucial step in organising events. From measuring success to knowing the parts to improve, conducting post-event evaluations can improve your events along the way.
If you want to share your experience in conducting the said evaluation, don’t hesitate to comment below!
