Corporate events can be a great opportunity to show the value of your company, impress potential customers, and show business partners why pairing up with your company was a great strategic decision.
That being said, planning a corporate event can be a very delicate process where a lot of things can go wrong. Also, catering is a major part of any corporate event so getting this part right is extremely important.
Poor catering during an event can lead to many problems for your company and it’s very easy to mess up the catering if you’re not careful. So let’s take a look at some catering mistakes that you should avoid.
1. Failing to Make a Reasonable Budget
According to a recent study, 53% of event planners consider decreasing budgets to be their biggest challenge. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when planning corporate event catering is not creating a reasonable budget.
Even if you want to go big on catering for a corporate event, it’s not ideal to spend a huge portion of your budget on food alone. There are many other parts of the event you’ll need to set money aside for, like audio/visual equipment, the venue, and decorations.
So speak with your team and come up with a reasonable budget that will allow you to treat your guests to good-quality catering and also leave you with enough money for other aspects of your corporate event.
2. Underestimating Your Guest List
Not having a definitive guest list can lead to various catering issues, like ordering too much or too little food. This can lead to lots of food going to waste and some of your guests not getting food.
Even worse, these types of mistakes can lead to very awkward situations that won’t bode well for your company’s reputation. To prevent situations like this, make sure to get an accurate guest count. Also, leave some room on the list for potential last-minute attendees and inform your caterer about this.
3. Overlooking Timings
Timing is extremely important for corporate event catering. You need to ensure that the food is served at just the right time. For example, serving too early could mean fewer people will start eating because they’re not hungry yet. On the flip side, serving too late could leave guests very dissatisfied.
You also need to take into account the time it’ll take your caterer to set everything up and clean up afterward. Ideally, the catering times should not interfere with the event’s flow and should coincide with the time slot the venue has given your company.
Speak with the venue and your caterer to come up with a reasonable timeline to minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth transition of events.
4. Neglecting Communication
Planning a corporate event is a team effort between you, the venue, and your caterer; therefore, communication between the three parties is crucial for making the event a success.
Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings between you and your caterer. This could cause problems like getting the wrong menu, under or over-ordering food, and estimating incorrect costs—issues that could have been easily avoided.
So make sure to establish clear lines of communication between the venue, yourself, and the caterer. Have regular meetings with representatives of the venue and the catering service before the event to make sure you’re all on the same page.
5. Choosing a Huge Menu
While having a large selection of food might sound great, you might end up overwhelming your guests with options.
Most of the time, people come to corporate events to mingle and talk business—not all of them will be too interested in having a meal. So instead of a big menu, you should consider having more appetizers that your guests can snack on while they move about and converse.
Also, a huge menu could lead to food being wasted and it can also impact your budget heavily.
6. Picking a Caterer Who is Too Far Away
No matter how good a caterer is, you won’t benefit much from them if they’re too far from the event venue. If the caterer is based too far away, it’ll take them longer to get to the venue, and this can be a logistical nightmare as setting up the food stations will take longer and you may have to pay a higher fee to cover their travel expenses.
Make sure to choose a catering company that’s close to where you’ll be holding your event. This way, the caterer can deliver the food and bring the catering staff to the venue quickly, without causing any disruptions during the event.
7. Failing to Consider Dietary Restrictions
You’ll be having many people at your event and chances are that many of them have dietary restrictions due to food allergies and preferences.
Food allergies can have devastating effects on a person so it’s important to ask your caterer to mark all dishes with common allergens to prevent guests from accidentally eating them. Also, ask your caterer to include vegan and vegetarian dishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some commonly asked questions and answers about corporate event catering:
1. How early should I book a caterer for a corporate event?
For major corporate events, you should book a caterer at least 3 months in advance.
2. Can I make changes to the caterer’s menu?
Yes, some caterers may allow you to mix and match menu items to fit your corporate event’s theme and the guest list. They may charge you a small fee for this.
3. Do caterers have seasonal menus?
Yes, most caters may have special menus for different times of the year, like the holiday season.
Take the stress out of corporate event catering
Corporate event catering can be difficult to pull off, but not when you have a good caterer to help you out. A reliable caterer has years of experience in catering for major events—they know which dishes are perfect for these events and they know exactly how much food you’ll need; you just have to give them the details.
So get in touch with a good caterer with substantial catering menu packages today.
