With the Fourth of July coming up, you may have “celebration” on the brain—you may even work for one of those companies that has its annual picnic right about now. Maybe you’re busy thinking up your big summer blowout or even making reservations for your office holiday party. Whatever your company’s next event, if you’re in charge of putting it together, how can you bring the fireworks and make sure everyone has fun?

• Poll staff. Don’t guess what the people want—ask them! Not only will you generate ideas you might not have thought of, but the ideas are coming from the people who will be participating (and so, responsible for making the event a boon or a bust). Plus it always feels good to be included in decision making.
• Change up your activities. One of the first steps of event planning is to realize that no one event is going to please all the people all the time. Everyone on your team likes different things: Jack might love sports, but Jill might love video games; Norman might want a quiet luncheon, while Hannah might want an escape room. So it’s good to change things up each time. Offer that widget-building competition this quarter, and the ice cream social next quarter. That way the people who aren’t excited about this event can look forward to something different soon enough.
• Choose a time. You might also want to poll staff for the day and time of day they are most likely to attend (or appreciate) an event. People might be most happy with a Wednesday lunchtime event, but you might also see Friday night popularity or even some weekend hits. You’ll also want to consider how long the event should last, as office-hours events take employees away from work and after-hours events take employees away from families and social lives. Something else to think about—if the event is optional, you won’t have to pay attendees who come on their time off. But you will have to pay overtime-eligible staff to attend a mandatory after-hours event. And what fun is a mandatory “fun” event, anyway?
• Know your end game. What are the goals of this event? Team-building? Social fun? That might help you choose the event that’s most likely to support that goal. Team-building might best be suited for an escape room or a sport, whereas social fun might look more like bowling or happy hour.

Planning a great company event involves a little preparation and a lot of listening. Just remember, the most successful events combine what the employees want with what the company needs. Once you have those lined up, you’re sure to host an event that sets off sparks!