By Sofeeyah Lloyd
The year is wrapping up, and hopefully, you have a lot to celebrate! Maybe you launched a new product or project this year or have had record sales every quarter. Whatever the cause of the celebration, hosting your year-end function in Africa will leave your team feeling appreciated and ready to work even harder next year. However, planning a year-end function is not necessarily a straightforward endeavor. There are many things to consider to ensure you pick the right venue and tailor your event to your audience.
Know Your Audience
Before you start looking at venues for your year-end function in Africa, you need to be clear on the requirements of your specific audience. A classically decorated conference room in a fancy hotel could be suitable for a company board, and a cocktail reception set among the trees might be perfect for young professionals. But go deeper: what ages do you need to cater for? What are your audience’s likes and dislikes? What interests do they have outside of work? What particular style do they embody (modern, luxury, down-to-earth, rustic, etc.)? And, importantly, who are the real people behind the job title? Tailor your event to the specifics of your audience, and you can almost guarantee everyone will enjoy their time.
Pick the Right Day & Time
Most companies plan their year-end function in Africa on a Friday afternoon during lunch hours or cocktail hour. This works most of the time because it increases attendance and reduces company downtime. For some companies Friday afternoon or evening might not work. You can plan a family branch on a Saturday or Sunday morning or plan a short trip outside of the city.
The most important thing when planning your year-end function is to understand your company/organization’s social dynamics. Do you have staff with children? Do people have religious commitments on a Friday or Sunday?
Venue, Venue & Venue
You might be concerned about finding the right venue for your year-end function in Africa, with so many options to choose from. Narrow down, do most of your staff use public transport or drive? Does the venue have parking? Is it conveniently located to access public transport? Is it a safe area after sundown?
As for the types of venues, consider what impression each venue gives to your audience. You should have spent time figuring out exactly what your audience likes and values, and once you’ve done this, you can choose the right venue to host them.
For example, rooftop bars are extremely popular among young professionals and other high-energy participants who will value the sparkling city lights and the spectacular views. If you are having a more serious event, you might want to choose a fancy restaurant or art gallery to host your participants.
Fun, Food and Cocktails
Another important area that will be influenced by your audience, as well as your cause for celebration, is catering.
You need to ensure that you embody not only the preferences of your participants in the food and drink options, but also the uniqueness of your event. Suppose your year-end function in Africa celebrates how you have grown your international team throughout the year, for example. In that case, you might choose to have international food offerings from each of your new employees’ countries to mirror that. Likewise, if you are celebrating your best year ever in sales, you might want to reflect that financial success with luxury food items like champagne and caviar.
Most venues will be able to tailor catering to match the exact requirements of your event. Make sure to give them plenty of notice so that they can order specialty items if necessary.
Engaging Entertainment
This is what truly will build team spirit and ensure that everybody really enjoys the event. The options are endless when it comes to entertainment options. For a year and function in Africa, you could think of doing something specific to Africa’s history, languages, culture, and traditions, or you could go for something more generic.
Audiovisual Equipment
Last but not least, remember that every great event you throw for your company is a chance to show off your company culture and values. Having the right AV equipment available on-site allows you to livestream parts of the event or record it to share on your social media afterward. Consider cameras, microphones, speakers, projectors, screens, staging, power sources, and the myriad of cables and connectors you’ll need to run everything!
Where to get more help
If you need more help planning your year-end function in Africa, look no further than the destination management experts at Hallpax. Get in touch with the team for the best local advice on venues, catering, equipment rental, and everything else you will need to host the perfect year-end function in Africa.
Questions?
Are you planning an event in Kenya? Let us help you! Hallpax has destination experts who are dedicated to making your event planning process enjoyable and stress-free. We are passionate about the cities we work with, and with our in-person presence in Africa, we help our clients navigate their cities of choice with ease.
