Running a company party in Paris

How the evening actually runs

Doors around seven, a drinks reception of an hour or more, dinner or a standing dinner from around eight thirty, speeches and any awards during or just after it, and dancing from around eleven. The evening then runs to one or two in the morning depending on the venue contract. A party that plans to start dancing at nine will have an empty floor at nine.

The drinks reception matters more than the programme usually admits. It is the longest stretch during which people actually talk to each other, and it is where the internal value of the evening is produced. Sonorised too loud, nobody talks; left silent, everyone stands in their own team.

The dance floor takes longer to fill than at a wedding, and for a reason that has nothing to do with music: nobody wants to be the first to dance in front of their management. That is worked at rather than forced, and it is almost always won. Turning the volume up does not help; it sends people outside.

Speeches, awards and anything with a running order

These are the segments that can visibly fail, so they are the ones prepared in writing. A running order lists each sequence, its nominal time, its length, its trigger and the person who gives it. Without one, the music starts a second late, the video opens on an empty stage, and the award winner walks up in silence.

Practically: a stage microphone, a spare ready, a floor monitor if the stage is far from the speakers, and jingles cut to the actual walking time between table and stage. Too short and the winner arrives in silence, too long and the applause dies before they have the microphone.

One person gives the cues on the night. They can be from your team, the agency or the venue, but they have to be identified and reachable. An event with two decision-makers is an event where sequences overlap.

What to get from the venue in writing

None of this appears in a venue brochure, and all of it changes the evening or the budget. It is worth asking before signing rather than at the build.

• The hour the music must stop, and the hour the venue must be handed back, which are rarely the same
• The load-in and load-out slots, in writing
• Whether there is a sound limiter, at what threshold, and who holds the key
• The power available in the room, on which circuits, and whether it is shared with the caterer
• Vehicle access: dock, service lift, door widths, and how far equipment has to be carried
• Whether a venue technician is present all evening, and until what time
• Badges or accreditation for suppliers, and the lead time to request them
• Whether another event is running in the building that night, and in which room