How to host an internal event for your company

20 Internal Event Ideas for Your Company

Wow your entire company with an internal event that no one will forget! Check out our list of 20 internal events that encourage collaboration & engagement here.
Hubilo
,
April 11, 2023

Hosting internal events for your company is just as important as hosting events for your customers. Internal events are a great way to boost company morale and show that you care about your team. We’ll cover some fun and creative ideas for hosting a memorable internal event that everyone will be talking about months later.

What are internal events? 

Internal events are events that take place privately within a company and ones that are solely for the company employees. Internal events can be used to share new company updates or increase socializing within a company. This is important as according to Teambuilding.com, socializing between team members improves communication patterns more than 50%. There’s a number of reasons to throw an internal event - and it doesn’t have to be just for important matters; sometimes the desire for your employees to have a fun time is enough!

20 ideas for internal events

Whatever the objectives of your event, a little imagination can transform a routine meeting into a truly unforgettable experience. To help you get started, we've put together a list of internal event ideas.

1. Virtual internal event

If your company employs people from all over the country or even the world, holding an internal event virtually may be your best option. Employees won’t have to worry about traveling and the expenses that come with it, and can be comfortable from wherever they decide to join! Choosing the right event hosting platform makes all the difference, too - one with engagement features and top quality streaming will make your internal event a success. 

2. Internal awards ceremony 

What better way to celebrate your employees than to hand out awards for all of their amazing efforts! Awards ceremonies are great ways to recognize and show gratitude for all the hard work your employees do on a daily basis. During this internal event, you can incorporate engagement features like a social wall so attendees can view live tweets right on the event screen! 

3. Hybrid work tour 

A hybrid work tour event is a great internal event that’s relevant to the reality of working remotely today. With this kind of internal event, companies can go around to different locations and host small events and discussions with different tools. Showing how work can be done from just about anywhere in the world with the right tools is great for all your hybrid employees to see. 

4. Global employee event map

View where all your employees are right on your screen with a map! An employee event map is a fun way to see where everyone is in the world and lets everyone see how great it is to be connected from all parts of the world. 

5. Team collaboration event

So much can get done when everyone collaborates! Have different teams come together to share ideas and thoughts on different projects, or split up into teams to solve a new problem while encouraging teamwork. Employees can learn so much with collaboration events and it can be fun getting to work with others they normally wouldn’t. 

6. Encourage social responsibility with philanthropy 

Add some philanthropy into your company’s efforts by hosting an internal event centered around giving back. Encourage your employees to volunteer with a national organization or find a way to give back to the community your company resides in. 

7. Volunteer 

There are countless benefits to volunteering that if you’re not holding an internal volunteering event with your company, you’re missing out. There are so many different options when it comes to volunteering events; your company can volunteer at different places like senior centers and animal shelters or host a fundraiser event. 

Volunteering as a company

8. Outings and experiences

Give your employees a fun virtual event to enjoy with an experience or outing! This can include things like a cooking class, tours of the local area, or even a spa day! Your employees will never forget the experience and it can be something that improves their time at the company. 

9. Meetings and presentations

A classic type of internal event, meetings and presentations are great for when you have important speakers or host a workshop event. Since most people have an attention span of 10 to 15 minutes for a presentation, according to Decktopus, find ways to make the time around it entertaining. You can add some fun into this kind of internal event by picking a theme, offering delicious themed food and drinks during or in-between your presentation, taking plenty of photos to post on social media about your event, or providing swag bags after your event to give employees a fun gift. 

10. Lunch and learn 

Bring your company together while sharing valuable information with a traditional lunch and learn event. You can discuss with your team about any new updates and everyone can share what they’ve been working on over a casual lunch. These can help increase your company’s sense of community and let everyone share more about their professional projects or a little about their personal life. 

11. Company trivia

Trivia is a classic internal event for a reason! Hosting a game like trivia can boost everyone’s morale and add some friendly competition to your team. Incorporate your company into the trivia game by asking questions about the company’s history or questions about certain products you sell. You can have employees play individually or split into teams with prizes for whoever comes in first place! 

12. Paint & wine night

Paint and wine studios have become increasingly popular over the past few years. There are a number of places where you can sit and try different beverages  while you follow an instructor on how to paint a certain picture. This is a great way for your employees to experience both a creative and relaxing activity together. They’ll always be reminded of the activity too with the art piece they made and took home! 

13. Food trucks

Nothing brings people together like fun and delicious food trucks! Find out what kind of food your employees enjoy and try to find any food trucks in your area that cater around that cuisine. Or, surprise your employees! There are so many food trucks you can choose from that you’ll be able to find ones that everyone can enjoy. 

14. Carnivals 

If you have the space and weather for it, carnivals can be a great event idea! If you don’t want to host an actual carnival with rides and games, having a carnival themed internal event can be just as fun! 

15. Scavenger hunt

Boost teamwork within your company by hosting an employee scavenger hunt! You can select a certain theme for your hunt like your company’s latest product or an industry-related hunt. This is a classic internal event idea for a reason with how much fun it brings your team!

16. Escape rooms

Escape rooms challenge everyone involved. Escape rooms can help with building important skills such as collaboration, communication, problem solving, and decision making, according to Mind Tools. Your company departments can divide into different teams to then enter one escape room and work together to solve the mystery with the clues given. Escape rooms encourage everyone to work together in a fun way to escape the room in the allotted time. 

17. Family day

Get to know your employees more by hosting a family day for your company. On this day, let your employees bring their kids to work as well as their spouses. You can have fun activities ready for kids, like face painting, and offer catering with delicious food that you and your employee’s families can connect over. 

18. Indoor go karting

Go karting is competitive fun for everyone! Find a location near your office that hosts go karting events so you can bring whomever in your company would like to participate. 

19. Company picnic

If your area has great weather, utilize it and host a company picnic! You can provide classic picnic food like sandwiches and snacks while also letting employees play outdoor games. 

How to host a company picnic

20. Live music concert

Live music is a great way to get people to bond. Contact local artists and bands or DJs to see if they’d play for your internal event and have them play your employees’ favorite songs. This will get everyone up and dancing, something they’ll always remember working for your company!

7 steps to planning internal events

An internal event requires a lot of thought, planning, and imagination. Depending on the size and number of attendees, meticulous planning may be required to make everything run smoothly. Here are seven steps to remember as you prepare your event.

1. Set your events goals & purpose

The first step in planning your internal event is figuring out what your desired outcome would be. Do you want to celebrate a big department win? Or do you want to share new updates and insights? Once you have your goals and purpose decided, you can then take the next steps in planning. 

2. Decide if you need an event planner’s help

Hiring an event planner for your internal event can be extremely beneficial! Instead of having to worry about all the details on top of your packed to-do list, a planner can take care of all the details. Corporate event planners know exactly how to plan internal events for companies and can take care of things like catering, travel, and decor. 

3. Outline your budget

Another step to take before you begin planning your internal event is to figure out your budget. Talk with your company’s different departments to figure out a budget that would be suitable for your event. Create a spreadsheet to keep track of everything you plan on spending as well as a column for what you actually spend to look back on once the event is over.

4. Find a venue

If you decide to host an internal event in-person, you’ll need an adequate space to accommodate the number of people you host. Before you look for a venue, make sure you get an updated headcount of how many people will be attending so you have an accurate picture of how many people will be there. You don’t want to get a venue that’s too big or too small! Figure out a date and location that would work for most then choose your desired venue. 

5. Set your agenda

Every kind of event, no matter how big or small, should have an agenda. The main purpose for creating an agenda is to outline all the event topics and activities at hand to give your audience and team a clear understanding of what will happen at the event. An event agenda can help everyone stay on track with what needs to get done and prevents certain event segments from running over too long. 

6. Find speakers

Most successful internal events include at least one guest speaker who can join your event and talk about a related topic. For your internal event, a guest speaker could be the heads of departments or a company higher-up. Make sure to request their presence and expertise ahead of time so they have plenty of time to prepare. 

Having a guest speaker at your company’s internal event

7. Have a backup plan

Every event, no matter how small, should always have some sort of backup plan. For the moments when technology issues arise, a guest speaker can’t make it to the event, or it rains for the day of your company cookout, backup plans give everyone a clear idea of what to do in case something goes wrong. 

Need help planning your next virtual internal event? 

Internal events are beneficial for everyone in your company. Hosting events that celebrate or inform your employees on certain matters encourages teamwork and boosts morale across your company. If you host a virtual internal event, make sure to pick a hosting platform that can put together your online event with ease. Hubilo offers customizable branding features that will wow all your employees and engagement features that will leave everyone having fun! Request a demo to know more!

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Hubilo

Hubilo is the webinar platform built for marketers that helps you 2X your pipeline. Founded in 2015, Hubilo's powerful engagement features, dedicated client experience team, and custom branding tools have helped create over 12K virtual events & webinars, creating hundreds of millions of minutes of high-engagement experiences and counting. Headquartered in Bengaluru and San Francisco, Hubilo's 200+ employees are dedicated to enabling webinars & virtual events that convert.

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