Do\’s and Dont\’s of corporate party etiquette

Baad mein na kehna kuch bhi, pehle hi de doon warning
Party chalegi till six in the morning

Arey, abhi toh party shuru hui hai

(as the Badshah song says)

Which means;

Don\’t complain later, I have already warned you – this party will go on till 6 in the morning

Let’s be honest. The best team bonding happens at evening parties on team outings.

And almost every team bonding outing has parties, formal or informal, every evening. They could be in team members’ rooms, or over a bonfire, or even full-blown parties with DJs, colour lights, dancing and cocktails.

So, better to plan for responsible partying at your team outing, with no negative outcomes and only great memories.

Licenses

Be aware that different resorts or hotels, and in different cities, have approvals and licenses that must be procured, for parties.

Hotels will tell you about licenses you must buy, like the PPL (Public Performance License) and the Novex.

What exactly are these?

In lay man’s language, you need a PPL license to play songs for a party. There is an Indian association of phonogram producers that is almost a century old, that pays royalties to the record companies and performers. There are different tariffs for different durations, number of songs being played etc.

Good corporate event organizers should be able to find you the lowest cost license you need and procure it for you also.

Ensure you partner with an end-to-end team outing specialist and not just mainstream corporate event companies for this. Playing music without a license can result in a raid and a fat penalty, which the hotel will simply dump on you because. As it’s a complex area, it is better you work with 360 degree corporate event organizers for this, who own your entire budget and are accountable to you for your whole outbound, so that they do not rip you off with a high cost license unnecessarily.

Similarly, there is another license, the PRS, which collects royalties on behalf of the composers, publishers and song writers, if you play their music in public. You may need only a PPL license most often, not a PRS. Again, divest yourself of these complexities, by investing in a team building partner (and not the run-of the-mill corporate event companies) who knows the complexities and legalities of this space well.

The Right DJ, Music and Ambience

Corporate parties for team bonding are a unique and different application. Just as conference halls are for team building outbounds. Regular corporate event organizers will not understand exactly how you will run your party. So, they are likely to not provide you exactly what you need for it.

For example, a standard DJ who plays a routine set may not do for your party. You should have a sensitive music facilitator who takes the time to understand your team, its music tastes, and who remains flexible.

We often find at our parties that team members come up to our DJ and ask for specific songs or particular language music. Our DJs are people we have grown in house, with this sensitivity – they carry huge selections of music and always oblige requests as we understand how much this can contribute to the enjoyment levels of people.

Always ensure the right lighting, space, audio visual equipment and acoustics too.

Team Building Outing Party Checklist

For your own team members, here are some do’s and don’ts, that corporate event companies will not normally ever realize would need to be handed out.

Party drinking – Liqour adds tremendous fun to the atmosphere. But, drinking parties must be policed when they are at team outings. Be prepared to play bad cop and nanny your overindulgent team members if necessary.

The repercussions of not being watchful could be numerous. At one corporate talents day party we hosted at one of the five stars, we were busy managing the delivery of good music, props for pictures, food and drinks….until the general manager of the hotel called us out to the reception to ask us to observe and manage the numerous drunken revelers who were slopped all over his lobby, some crying copiously over not wanting the party to end or to go home, others singing team songs raucously. Much as we hate to be party poopers, we finally had to give in to the request of the team head and pack these team members off in cabs back home!

After another team party which progressed from the banquet hall back to the villa of some team members in the early hours of the morning, we had the hotel slap a 15K bill on us after breakfast because their linen and bedding in that room had been completely ruined by nauseous drunks.

Corporate partying generally must have some internal bouncer support around. And team outing owners are the best for this.

Starters and liquor – Do keep an eye on the starters and liquor being served at your party. Usually, hotels charge a per head price for these, which means each person at the party must get an unlimited supply of the snacks and beverages ordered for a certain duration.

There are different packages at different slabs that you can pick up based on whether you want hard liquor or only beer, and how many varieties of starters you want.

We always stay alert during these sessions and ensure a good flow of starters through the party. This frees our clients to network, relax and do what they came to do instead of chasing up on the hotel.

Liqour can also be ordered by the bottle or glass, if you do not think you consumption will be high. For example, ordering expensive foreign liquor packages could be a waste of money for a corporate that knows that most of its attendees are teetotalers or only imbibe soft liquor like beer or breezers.

Dinner – Check where dinner is being served, and make sure everyone eats before the buffet shuts down. Indian corporate team outing parties always have buffet dinners. These could be arranged at your party venue if you wish. The spread could be wider if you opt to eat at the restaurant buffet, in big hotels.

Water, plenty of it – We all know that you must drink a lot of water when you imbibe large quantities of alcohol. Make sure drinking water is served plentifully at your team party. We assure you that you will have a much better behaved team, if you do.

Party wear – People should bring party wear and dress up for parties.

But, even more than that, we suggest that they wear a party mood, and a willingness to have fun.

Parties are often the heart of a team outing. I firmly believe that the team that parties together stays together. So go ahead, and as the Mika song says….

Party party, party party, party all night long