The company offsite two-day training session will make our staff meet people from different parts of the country, share ideas, learn what happens elsewhere on how to improve service delivery to the people, and gain and attain skills including management and interpersonal skills. Highlighted herein is the plan on how to organize the training session and ensure that it runs smoothly, meeting all the objectives.
Successful organization of the conference requires a team spirit. The team shall consist of five individuals, each with distinct duties, and all shall work as a team. They include: head of the team, head of finance, head of accommodation, head of the training program, and head of publicity and technical support. The head of the team shall be responsible for overseeing all the activities, organizing all other members, and keeping the agenda. The head of finance shall be in charge of the financial requirements. He/she shall know exactly how much money is needed and how it is successfully spent for the success of the planning and the entire training session. Head of the accommodation shall be in charge of the accommodation and catering services. He/she shall organize all the accommodation facilities, catering services, and other offers provided for the session, and collect adequate on all the requirements. The head of the training program is tasked with drafting the two-day training program, getting the right resource persons, and ensuring that the training objectives are successfully achieved. Finally, the head of publicity and technical support is responsible for keeping all the attendees updated and ensuring that right audio-visual equipments are secured and used successfully.
Once the organizing team is recruited, the actual nature of the conference shall be specified by identifying who is to attend, training areas to be covered, where it will be held, and the scope and duration of the training.
The Preparation
Enough time should be allocated for a successful preparation of the event. Bearing in mind that it involves people from different parts of the country, a minimum of five months is appropriate for the preparation. The preparation includes securing the two days, the venue, the accommodation facilities, catering, funding, and the resource persons.
The two days must be appropriate for all the attendees and should not clash with other activities of the organization. The venue should be able to accommodate all the attendees and should provide the best environment for learning and other facilities. The conference rooms shall be booked depending on the number of parallel sessions for the training. The rooms must have appropriate requirements including the audio-visual equipment.
Accommodation facilities must be available within the conference venue or its proximity and should be able to serve all the attendees. Serving of breakfast, coffee, lunch, and dinner, requires that the conference venue and the accommodation rooms be close to or within a hotel. The catering services shall be arranged in order to suite the company’s requirements. Any delays must be avoided when serving and a backup plan should be in place shall anything go wrong.
In order to successfully pay for all the expenses, adequate funding is needed. The company should arrange for and avail all the needed funds at the right time to ensure successful realization of all the objectives, from planning to follow-up.
The speakers (resource persons) shall be sourced based on the training program and the specific areas to be covered. Leading experts in these specific fields/areas shall then be invited to be the plenary speakers. Much attention should be paid here since this is the main reason for the training session. After confirming the plenary speakers, the event can then be advertised to the audience using the most appropriate media. The information shall include the time and place for the conference, the plenary speakers, departments supporting the event, call for attendees, call for abstracts, registration procedures and requirements, and the contact information in case of further inquiries.
Three months before the actual session, a conference program shall be drafted. It shall take into account enough time for registration, opening of the first session, breaks between sessions, coffee breaks (at least 30 minutes), lunch breaks (at least 1 hour), extra times for preparation of the presentations, and backup presentations in case of last minute cancellation. The program should then be sent to the audience.
One to two months before the event, there shall be a confirmation with the presenters and whether they need special equipment. Besides, room allocations shall be finalized. One week to the event, the conference packs shall be made. This includes the timetable, booklets containing the abstracts, name tags for organizers, presenters, and attendees, food vouchers, area map, and feedback form. Room bookings, equipment, catering arrangements, and speakers, shall be triple checked and confirmed. A day before the event, a final confirmation shall be made and enough signs for speakers and attendees put in place. All the arrangements shall be finalized, including duties, and the backup systems.
