When organising a corporate event, conference, or away day; making the process as memorable and stress-free as possible is always our goal. Avoiding common planning pitfalls can make all the difference to the overall success and enjoyment of your event.
At Worton Hall, we’ve hosted a wide range of corporate events and worked with businesses of all sizes. Through this experience, we’ve seen first-hand what works, and what doesn’t. Below, we share the most common corporate event planning mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Not Having a Clear Goal
The mistake:
Planning an event without a clear purpose whether it’s team building, networking, training, or celebrating success.
How to avoid it:
Start by defining what you want to achieve. A clear goal helps shape every decision like the size of the space required and venue layout to the schedule and catering.
How Worton Hall helps:
Our experienced team works with you to understand your objectives and can offer options for the best space to suit your events purpose. This includes tailoring the layout and providing extras, such as a projector or microphone ensuring you have everything you need to achieve your goals.
2. Choosing the Wrong Venue or Space
The mistake:
Selecting a venue that’s too small, too large, poorly located, or lacking essential facilities, like parking.
How to avoid it:
Your venue should be accessible, flexible, and fully equipped to support your event’s needs while being practical and professional. For example, you may be looking for a conference space with smaller breakout spaces so it’s important to see how these connect and how accessible they are from one another.
Why choose Worton Hall:
Worton Hall offers 3 versatile event spaces which suit a variety of different events. The Farmhouse is perfect for board meetings while the Main Hall is suited to large events and can be configured to a wide range of layouts. Hayloft Gallery can be used as a breakout space for the main hall or independantly as a medium sized space with the flexibility of the Main Hall. We also have ample parking and a large outdoor space. In the past we’ve seen away days involving mini golf and puppy therapy in the hall and treasure hunts on the grounds.
3. Ignoring Guest Experience
The mistake:
Focusing only on logistics; overlooking how guests will feel throughout the event.
How to avoid it:
Consider comfort, flow, atmosphere, and engagement. Happy guests are more attentive, more involved, and more likely to leave with a positive impression.
At Worton Hall:
We always offer our best advice to ensure that your day can run smoothly and everyone is comfortable. One element we often help with is the layout; choosing the wrong layout can make guests feel extremely disconnected from one another and consequently affect their mood and engagement.
4. Not Planning Ahead and Leaving Everything to the Last Minute
The mistake:
Rushing decisions on catering, layouts, timings, or technical requirements.
How to avoid it:
Early planning reduces stress, allows for flexibility, and ensures nothing important is overlooked.
Our approach:
When you book Worton Hall, our team supports you throughout the planning process, helping you stay organised and confident well before the big day.
5. Failing to Ask for Feedback After the Event
The mistake:
Skipping post-event feedback and missing valuable insights from your delegates.
How to avoid it:
Collect feedback to understand what worked well and where improvements can be made to ensure future success.
Why it matters:
Feedback helps you refine your events and ensures each one is better than the last. We’re always happy to discuss feedback with our clients to support continuous improvement.
Plan Your Next Corporate Event with Confidence
Avoiding these common mistakes can make the difference between a good event and a great one. With the right planning and the right venue, your corporate event can be seamless, engaging, and memorable.
Worton Hall offers the space, expertise, and support to help your event run effortlessly from start to finish.
📩 Get in touch today to start planning your next corporate event at Worton Hall.
