Posts Tagged ‘company picnic’
Video: The Company Picnic People Austin Event Timelapse
We were in Austin, TX for a Flextronics Company Event and we took timelapses of the entire event. Watch as tents are setup in record time and people make it through the buffet line quite quickly. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Flextronics — “Thanks For Making Life Easy On Us”
The Company Picnic People put out the whole nine yards for the Flextronics company picnic in Austin, TX. Flextronics representative Shelley says the nearly 2000 employees and family members that attended were very happy they did! The turnout was wonderfully more than expected and their employees were quite pleased with the gesture of an outdoor company function.
The Company Picnic People’s work began where it always does: the planning process. Flextronics was a bit slammed leading up to their event with just a month and a half to pull it all off. After meeting with Flextronics’ planning committee, they chose us because they felt they were getting a better deal for their employees. Further, in a tight time crunch, the Company Picnic People were able to compose a complete event with minimal worry for Flextronics organizers — a service that was much appreciated.
Shelley says, “Thank you for making life easy on us. You guys really handled everything and that was very nice.”
The Company Picnic People brought everything from food, to games and activities, to tenting and chairs. A collection of inflatables and activities such as mini golf were highlights of the event for the younger attendees. Employees enjoyed bingo, lounging in the shade and taking advantage of the sno cone stand on a hot Texas day. Flextronics chose our “American Classic” menu and the sausage, chicken, coleslaw and potato salad were specific hits with the crowd. Shelley made it clear that people appreciated the abundance of food and drinks available. Indeed, it was a pleasurable day for all.
It was an honor to serve Flextronics employees and their families and we look forward to returning to Texas in the future!
Back to the Company Picnic People blog.
Company Picnic Games and Activities — New and Classics
If you visited our warehouse three years ago and again today, you’d hardly recognize it with all the new inflatables, games and activities we’ve acquired. That’s not to say the classics you’d expect aren’t there because they are, but it does show our determination to constantly improve, keep things new and provide our clients with the best event experience possible. Whether your event requires games and activities for children, adult employees or all ages, The Company Picnic People have you covered.
We keep things fresh by providing clients with the newest and coolest attractions, while continuing to offer time-proven classics everyone enjoys. Simply put, we offer more choices so you can be sure to find the best fit for your company and your event.
Quarterback Blitz
Among The Company Picnic People‘s new offerings are Quarterback Blitz and Golf Chip. Employees and guests of all ages will amuse themselves — or find ‘friendly’ competition — in both. These two activities are a sampling of the adult-oriented games we’ve been adding. Employees can go play as they want: throw the football around for a few minutes or practice their chipping. The practicality and simplicity of QB Blitz and Golf Chip make them great choices for an employee event as they don’t need much staffing, encourage interactivity and are perfect for a lunch at the office or for a Saturday picnic.
In addition to the games that are great for any picnic or age, Wacky World and Animal Farm are fantastic new choices for picnics with kids attending. You’ve invited your employees and their families — now how does having games and inflatables affect your event?
In our experience, inflatables generate buzz and excitement at your picnic. They get kids running from the car exclaiming, in Chris’ words, “‘Oh cool! I gotta go see what that is!’” They’re hooked, and our myriad games, inflatables and activities keep the whole party happy for hours.
However, we don’t stop at simply providing superior selection. The details of execution are extremely important to us.
Wacky World
We often use the metaphor of ‘a blank canvas’ to explain the consideration we take when setting up events and picnics. With years of experience we’re able to arrange everything from food to games in a manner that enhances the picnic by keeping things tight and close together, which we’ve found makes the event more enjoyable for everyone.
Of course, inflatables and games oriented towards children require more focus and staffing. Over the years we’ve taken a real strong approach towards safety. We are current on our industry-certified training courses and we strictly follow the manufacturer’s rules on proper staking, weight limits and capacities. It may seem obvious, but our staff actually pays attention to the little things, like making sure a ten year-old isn’t going to go into the Moon Walk and bounce a toddler into the night sky. People don’t get hurt at our picnics because we’re smart and cautious on top of providing well-trained staff.
We stay ahead of the competition with innovation, intelligence and high safety standards. Every year we increase our selection while keeping the old standbys that your employees and their families have come to love, so whether this is your first or fourth picnic with us you can be assured The Company Picnic People will meet and exceed your expectations.
Five Things to Consider When Planning a Company Picnic or Corporate Event
Whether you are planning your first or fifteenth picnic, the amount of details to consider is enormous. Here’s how we’d start thinking about our company picnic:
It’s important to pick your event date early in the process, choose a day that works for as many people as possible, and start getting the word out. The best day is usually a Saturday, but companies often have successful events on weekdays. Clear the date with all involved parties, check for conflicting events both in the workplace and in your community, and make sure your company’s production schedule allows for people to be mostly available that day.
Determining a budget is crucial to know what shape your picnic will take. A budget determines the scale and scope of your event. It establishes a framework for your planning process so you don’t plan something grossly over-budget or end up with areas you wished you would have spent more on. Your budget establishes your options. With a budget, you can prioritize aspects of your picnic and maximize the results of your event and planning. One little rule of thumb we have, for budgeting purposes, is that the amount of attendees at your picnic will be extremely close to the total number of employees you invite. Trust us.
Make sure your site is big enough for the number of people you’re going to have. Do you want a pavilion or shelter? Do you want a local park? Can you bring alcohol? Are inflatable games and activities allowed at the site? What are all the various permits you need? Is the availability of your site time-sensitive? Does your location have all the necessary facilities and infrastructure such as electricity, water, restrooms and parking? Try to find a place that’s central to most of your employees, which is perhaps why we see more and more companies that choose to hold company events at their place of business. The Company Picnic People also helps clients across America find the local site that is just right for their employee celebration while taking care of the nitty-gritty logistical details.
Put a committee together. Try to get people from different parts of the company. It’s good to delegate roles: someone on finances, another on promotion, maybe someone on logistics, giveaways, etc. Try to keep your committee small and active with people passionate about the event. However, we know the difficulties of pulling people out of their workdays and the time consumed by simply organizing a committee. For most of the picnics we do, there are one or two people in charge of organizing the event and we handle all of these things for them at no additional cost.
There can be a lot of pieces to organizing a picnic — a lot of vendors to be contacted and organized. You need to secure a venue; pick out food and hire a caterer; coordinate games, activities, clowns; rent tents, tables, chairs, etc.; determine electricity, water access, order portable restrooms…the list drags on. At The Company Picnic People, we provide all of these pieces in-house so you only deal with ONE vendor and don’t miss anything you need for your party.
Simplify your planning process and maximize your event by letting the experienced staff at The Company Picnic People tackle the details. We will gladly explain our options, walk through your budget and priorities, and work with you to craft an event perfect for your company and size. Begin planning today, call (888) 509-5057 or send us an email and we’ll get started!
Read about The Company Picnic People.
Back to The Company Picnic People blog.
Back to The Company Picnic People home.
Graphic Packaging International – “All the Details Were Covered”
When I asked Mandy Kelley where she felt there was room for improvement regarding Graphic Packaging International‘s company picnic last summer, she said “the only thing we took back as a lesson to learn is we’d have music next year — The Company Picnic People far outweighed our expectations.”
Mandy was impressed with The Company Picnic People’s work beginning with the planning process. She says Jim (The Company Picnic People) sat in with their planning committee and explained their options for the event while providing invaluable guidance and suggestions regarding location, time and infrastructure requirements. Jim left it up to the committee to decide their budget, menu and number of people expected — then took care of the rest of the planning and event execution. “It was really easy,” Mandy says, “there will be no need for a planning committee in the future because you thought of everything and all the details were covered!”
The Company Picnic People utilized a Kansas City, MO day-use area to create a special event for 400 guests comprised of Graphic Packaging International employees and families. Mandy was enthused by the variety of activities that made the day enjoyable for both children and adults. Highlights included Temporary Tattoos, Soccer Shootout, and the Giant Inflatable Slide. (See our Games for Younger Kids and our Games for Everyone pages for more!) Mandy says The Company Picnic People employees at the event were helpful, behind the scenes and seamless. “Jim every once in a while would come over and check in or if I had any questions, I just found him. It was great.”
Not only were the employees great during the event, they had to deal yet again with adverse weather. Mandy says, “The event was scheduled for eleven and the day of it, it had been raining terribly until eleven oclock. When I showed up at eleven, maybe a quarter-to, they had everything ready to go and at eleven the sun came out and it just turned out perfect. They worked through the rain, were ready to go and just waiting for the rain to stop.”
Unsurprisingly, Mandy said their choice of the Backyard BBQ menu received a delicious reception. The main meal was preceded by popcorn and followed by sno-cones. According to Mandy, “The food was excellent. There was plenty of it and never a chance of running out. Everyone loved the food.”
Mandy Kelley testimonial:
“I want to personally thank you for the great job you and your staff did at our company picnic. When I was driving to the picnic 30 minutes prior to the start, in the pouring rain, I had no idea what to expect. When I pulled up everything was set up and ready to go. The rain stopped just in time and the event went on without a hitch. The food was great and set up wonderfully. The amount of activities that you provided kept everyone entertained the entire time. There will be no need to have a picnic committee in the future because you thought of everything and all the details were covered. Thank you once again. Everyone had a great time!!”
Mandy Kelly
Quality Manager
Graphic Packaging International
Kansas City, MO
Minntech Corporation – “First Time Ever without Complaints”
Rain for a week? Not a worry. For Minntech‘s 385 person employee-only recognition event, The Company Picnic People pushed back the date and pulled off a hugely successful event on rain-soaked Minnesota ground.
According to Stephanie Frankhouser from Minntech, the day scheduled for the picnic was an absolute downpour, but she didn’t have to stress it: Jim and The Company Picnic People generously agreed to push the picnic back a week. Stephanie was impressed by how well The Company Picnic People worked with her company and says, “Jim’s just very reassuring and totally has everything under control — we don’t have to worry about a thing, he takes it all in his hands and does an awesome job at what he does.”
For entertainment activities, The Company Picnic People stayed true to their adult audience and incorporated Minntech’s company volleyball tournament, while also providing bingo, mini-golf, quarterback blitz, bean bag toss, the arcade room and other games for everyone’s recreational enjoyment. (our games)
Perhaps the biggest success of the event according the Stephanie was the food. “The chicken received rave reviews,” she says, “… and all of the food was very good — that’s something we typically get some sort of negative response to, but didn’t this time. It was the very first time without any complaints and that’s huge, satisfying that many people has never happened before. We’re having The Company Picnic People back this August and really looking forward to it.”
Stephanie Frankhouser testimonial:
I just wanted to thank you for a successful picnic. This is the first time ever that we didn’t have any complaints!! You and your staff did a wonderful job! The games were a huge hit and the food was great!! (the chicken has received raving reviews)
We would also like to book our picnic with you for next year. I will get in touch regarding the date.And if anyone requests a reference from you I’d be very happy to give one.
Thanks again,Stephanie Frankhouser
Minntech Corporation
(Editor’s note) This was an employees-only workday event.
