By Matt Alderton

Even in the digital age, live events are pervasive, according to event planning firm TCG Events. Last year, it surveyed 300 executives and found that 84 percent work at companies that hold corporate events. Just because a majority of companies host events, however, doesn’t mean that they do a good job of it. For that reason, TCG CEO Cassie Brown has compiled her list of “The Top 10 Mistakes Your Company is (Probably) Making with Events”:

10. Not getting a music license.
“Your DJ isn’t taking care of this. And you’ll wind up paying a steep price,” Brown says.

9. Making your company event an afterthought.
“Not including it in the yearly budget, or even picking a specific date,” is a mistake according to Brown, who says “surprises at work, especially in accounting, are not so welcome.”

8. Not taking employees’ wants and needs into account.
“Events should be planned to the demographics of the employees,” Brown says. “For example, a company with mainly millennials should plan a different event than a company where the majority of employees are married with kids.”

7. Not taking an RSVP.
Again, Brown says, surprises in the workplace are a bad idea.

6. Interrupting family time and not inviting the family.
“An event attended grudgingly, rather than the positive morale builder it was meant to be,” is a failed event, Brown says.

5. Not making it cool enough to be on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
“Make the most of your event investment and turn it into a brand builder,” Brown advises.

4. Designing a half-hearted invitation.
“This tells your invitees, ‘I don’t expect this to be worth your time, feel free to make excuses,'” Brown says.

3. Serving a vegetable tray and cheese tray.
Brown has one word: “Boooooring.”

2. Scheduling a speech where the CEO or another executive rambles on, and on, and on.
“Nobody wins in this situation, not the speaker nor the attendees,” Brown says. “Design a compelling, fun, 2-minute video, instead. Your attendees and your executive team will thank you for it.”

1. Having the same party year after year.
“The most important, deadly mistake is annual repetition,” Brown concludes. “Events are an opportunity to bring your brand to life, whether for your employees, your investors, or your clients and prospects. You wouldn’t let your brand get stale — don’t make that mistake with your company events.”

Source: TCG Events

Read the original article in Successful Meetings.