Summer is the perfect time for most companies, businesses, or organizations to plan employee retreats. After a long period of hard work, this is a wonderful break to help employees rejuvenate and regain inspiration for their work, enhancing creativity for upcoming projects. Let's explore the steps to plan a company trip in the following article.
1: Gather Necessary Information
Firstly, to accurately and smoothly plan employee trips, you must gather all necessary information such as:
- Determining the Number of Participants, Family Member Registration Forms for Employees, and Finalizing the Total Count;
- Surveying Employees' Desired Destinations;
- Specifying the Company's Travel Dates;
- Determining the Duration of the Trip;
- Deciding on Team Building Activities and Preparing Appropriate Scenarios and Games;
Organizing employee trips requires meticulous planning. Image: Internet
2: Selecting Company Trip Destinations
Usually, some companies before their annual trips will distribute surveys with various destination options for employees to choose from and provide feedback. Among the choices, the organizers will offer travel destinations in different regions, avoiding duplication such as multiple beach destinations or mountainous areas...
Additionally, some businesses delegate the organizing committee to choose the travel destinations for employees. If you're the decision-maker, opt for trendy tourist spots, undiscovered locations from previous years, or places rated safe during the COVID-19 pandemic...
3: Choosing the Travel Format
Currently, most businesses planning group trips for 20 or more employees often opt for organized tours. This means after finalizing the headcount, destination, and travel dates, the organizing committee selects a reputable tour company for an all-inclusive package...
When choosing tour services from tour companies, they provide a specific itinerary within the predetermined time frame. The organizing committee simply needs to review, approve, and then follow the tour guide's instructions. Opting for organized tours offers numerous advantages such as easier crowd control, reasonable prices, comfortable transportation, and knowledgeable guides...
Company-Organized Independent Travel
In the event of company-organized independent travel, where internal personnel handle arrangements, the plan needs to be meticulously prepared.
- Arrange destinations logically to shorten travel time;
- Pre-select dining locations;
- Find accommodations;
- Secure transportation during the trip;
- Appoint a coordinator to help members stay focused.
4: Drafting a Scenario for Gala Dinner, Team Building Activities
Every annual summer trip, some companies organize a gala dinner to summarize the activities of the first 6 months with various related events. The organizing committee needs to coordinate with hotels, restaurants to host this important event. You can either create a script yourself, appoint a representative as the MC in a 'garden home tree' style, or hire an event company to organize it, both options are very feasible.
For team building, the organizing committee needs to find suitable group games for the number of employees participating in the company trip. Find a suitable location for team building activities, safe where employees are traveling.
Travel combined with team building for employees. Image: Internet
5: Booking Plane Tickets/Car Rentals
Once all the steps for organizing employee trips are completed, based on the number of participants, the organizing committee should decide whether to book plane tickets or rent a car that suits their needs. For air travel, it's advisable to purchase tickets early to enjoy more discounts and save costs for the company.
In the case of car rentals, it's best to choose a reputable, quality travel company to ensure the smoothest and safest journey.
What should you consider when planning company trips for employees?
Plan Early and Thoroughly
Immediately upon receiving notification from higher-ups about the company trip, the organizing committee must meet and start planning right away, executing as early as possible to avoid many risks. By planning employee trips early, you can rectify mistakes immediately, preventing errors from occurring once underway.
With the early draft plan in hand, higher-ups will scrutinize and provide feedback sooner on any discrepancies, helping the organizing committee adjust promptly. Thus, the plan will be reviewed multiple times, more meticulously and thoroughly.
Pay Attention to the Company's Budget
Typically, company leadership will set a specific expenditure based on revenue to create a budget for employee travel. When planning, choose destinations and participation formats that fit within this figure. Exceeding the budget for employee trips may result in penalties or disciplinary action from company leadership.
The budget set by the company will correlate with the number of participants, the prize structure for the gala night if organized. However, you should base your travel plan for employees on the total budget instead of completing it and then adjusting to fit.
Organizing employee travel within the budget allowance. Image: Internet
Understanding Tour Policies Better
This will help you save on travel expenses for employees while still selecting quality, reputable tours. In addition to attractive discount policies, the organizing committee for employee trips should pay more attention to the quality and reputation of the company chosen to purchase the tour.
Understanding tour policies will help you avoid being overcharged or scammed when dealing with travel companies. Additionally, tour policies also have many regulations regarding travel insurance, legal statutes that need to be thoroughly understood to protect the rights of employees during the trip.
Stay Updated on COVID-19 Information
Currently, the situation of the pandemic in areas near Vietnam's land borders is quite complex due to increasing illegal immigration. Therefore, when planning employee trips, you need to pay attention to pandemic information. First, constantly update on new cases and their origins to restrict choosing these locations for the trip.
Next, provide employees with necessary knowledge about COVID-19 prevention regulations from the Ministry of Health to ensure safety. Encourage employees to wear masks and regularly wash hands with sanitizer when traveling in public places to ensure health safety.
Considerations for the pandemic situation when sending employees on trips. Image: Internet
Above are the basic steps to plan employee trips, from here you can develop more steps to make the trip richer, more diverse, and more interesting. The accompanying notes will also help you and your colleagues have the most enjoyable and safest summer vacation.
Read More:
- Should Family Members Join Company Trips and Team Building Events?
- What is Team Building? What are the Objectives and Meanings of Team Building?
- Suggestions for Interesting Team Building Themes
