Company seminar: definition, role and 8 key steps to organising it successfully

There's more to organising a company seminar than finding a tried and tested teambuilding activity or incentive evening. To be meaningful, your seminar must meet specific objectives and target the employees concerned.

Let's start by defining what a company seminar is and what role it can play. You can then determine your objectives and choose activities. As an added bonus, we'll give you some useful tools to help you organise your seminar easily.

Do you want to organise your event so that you understand what's at stake? Just in time, we'll also take you through all the key stages:

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Seminar: definition

A seminar is a management tool with the following characteristics:

• it involves organising an event and bringing together company employees outside the premises where they usually work ;
• the duration can vary from a two-day seminar to a week or more, or just one day, depending on the objectives set by management;
• the objectives of a seminar vary: generally, the aim is to encourage communication between employees in order to improve cohesion and team spirit;
• the nature of a seminar is generally made up of a fun activity to bring employees closer together, and can be enriched with work sessions;
• a seminar can also include a trip to a destination in France or abroad.

Organising a company seminar in 8 key steps

How do you organise a seminar? Follow the steps outlined here to organise a successful company seminar:

Step 1: Define the objectives of your seminar

A company seminar can take on different roles depending on the objectives and needs of the organisation. The following table lists the different possibilities. It is possible to mix the different types of seminar to organise a seminar that combines work sessions with relaxation or group bonding activities, for example.

Step 2: Choose appropriate activities

Depending on your objectives and the target audience, you need to come up with a theme for your seminar. You can even make it an event that leaves a positive impression.

• Incentive activities: these reward your team for the efforts they have made and the objectives they have achieved. Motivation is the reward, a reward that can take many different forms.

• Teambuilding activities: these develop cohesion between employees. Motivation is the promise of fun and entertainment.

• Seminars in an unusual location or environment: the setting can provide a change of scenery and break the ice.
• Company evenings: ideal for making a big announcement, followed by an original show, entertaining entertainment and dancing.
• Original sports activities: bubble football, accrobranche, rafting, parachute jumping, etc.

• Cultural activities: improvisation classes, art classes (introduction to painting, sculpture), etc.
• Outdoor activities: picturesque or historic sites, sound and light projections in quarries or on monuments, treasure hunts, orienteering races, etc.
• Culinary activities: wine tasting at the château, exotic cooking classes, cocktail workshops, etc.
• Role-playing games: murder parties, escape games, speakeasies, paintball, lasergames and virtual reality, etc.

Step 3: Set a budget

Everything has a cost: you need to define the budget required to make your seminar a reality. You can put suppliers in competition with each other, such as caterers, hotels, tour operators, entertainers, venues, shows, etc., in order to assess the value for money of the services on offer.

There's one thing you should bear in mind: your employees' eyes should sparkle. Bubbles rarely come at low cost...

Ask your professional contacts what they remember about the seminars they attended.

Step 4: find the ideal venue

The venue must be attractive enough to motivate your employees: it must motivate them to take part, just as much as the activities on offer.

It could be an unusual destination, a heavenly landscape, an island for a treasure hunt... or simply a conference room if the aim is to work studiously while enjoying the highly-rated restaurant.

The venue must be able to offer sufficient capacity for the number of employees invited. Proximity to restaurants, amenities and free excursions will also contribute to the success of your seminar if it lasts a week, for example.

Step 5: Manage staff schedules and invitations

Anticipate the absences of your employees invited to your seminar: they must plan their absence from the workplace and organise their time around ongoing projects, and inform your customers.

For your part, you need to communicate :

• invitations and reminders
• roadmaps,
• the detailed seminar programme, including dates, venues and activities,
• practical information.

Stage 6: managing logistics

Sometimes you have to deal with unforeseen circumstances beyond your control: a problem with a room, a plane that's been delayed, a member of staff who's ill, a presenter who's withdrawn, etc.

Whatever happens, stay calm and keep the objective of your seminar in mind: nothing should spoil this moment, which should be unforgettable.

Make sure you have a back-up plan in case you need it, and even some fun activities that are easy to set up and that you can run yourself. Call on the goodwill of your in-house staff!

If your seminar involves technical assistance from service providers, review their obligations and don't hesitate to send them a reminder email: it's also their role to reassure you that everything is being taken care of on their side.

Step 7: Make the most of it

Put yourself at ease and go into relaxation mode. Switch off the smartphones, disconnect!

Carpe diem! Think of the moment and enjoy this unique and rare experience together.

Make new contacts, chat with your colleagues, enjoy informal conversations over a drink or an activity.

And make sure everything is in order for the next activity.

And don't forget to include some surprises, such as a surprise guest, an unexpected gift, or other little touches that will make your company seminar an unforgettable experience.

Step 8: Assess the long-term benefits

It's time to take stock. Compare the initial objectives, review the activities carried out during your seminar and their long-term effects.

Assess improvements :

• is the team more cohesive than before?
• Have new recruits settled in more quickly?
• What was the highlight of your seminar?
• What did people really enjoy?
• What didn't work? Why or why not?
• Why not?

To help you gather impressions, it's essential to survey the employees invited to your seminar: set up an anonymous survey, with a box for ideas, and free fields to improve the formula.

Tools to make organising your company seminar easier

While the setting is very important, there are a number of software tools that can help you save time when organising your seminars. We invite you to discover their advantages.

Prezevent

Prezevent, for example, is a complete solution to help you organise all your business events.

Its advantages :

• Customisable registration forms to send to guests,
• personalised badges for your participants,
• scan a QR code on the invitation to make it easier to clock in and out,
• SMS notifications,
• host a participative live tweet, etc.

Billetweb

Billetweb is an efficient online ticketing solution for organising and managing your paid or free events, such as conferences, sports activities or shows.

Its advantages :

• Management of registrations for up to 100,000 participants,
• management of different rates, dates and forms,
• configuration of a seating plan,
• editing of promotional codes,
• integrated CRM to manage your contacts, etc.

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A stress-free company seminar

You've got no shortage of ideas to get you and your whole team out on the town! What type of event would you prefer?

• A charming cultural visit abroad?
• A sporting excursion or rally?
• Study days punctuated by meetings?
• A trip to the great outdoors?

Whatever your wishes and your budget, think about equipping yourself with a tool that will save you time and peace of mind: organising a seminar is often synonymous with stress! A tool will take away many of your worries...

What was your best seminar experience?

Share your thoughts in the comments section!