5 Essential Steps to More Inclusive Event Planning

Sep 10

3 min read

14th - 20th September is National Inclusion Week, which is prime time to appraise your inclusive event planning and check if it’s really as sound as it could be.

This year’s theme is “Build Trust. Navigate Change”, which feels tailor-made for a deeper dive into how to make events more inclusive.

But it’s no mean feat, given ongoing market turbulence. As a result:

· Budgets are tighter

· Expectations are ever-changing

· Organisations are under more scrutiny than ever

· Corporate event organisers are stuck in the middle of all this, tasked with bringing stakeholders together in meaningful ways, while mitigating risks of a lack of inclusion on one hand or virtue signalling on the other

Well, here’s the good news. Inclusive event planning doesn't call for a mega budget or ripping up everything you’ve ever known and starting again.

Smaller, deliberate choices made early can have the biggest impact. So, here’s five low effort, high impact ways to get inclusive event planning doing the heavy lifting.

A pair of male hands opening out on a desk,, with small white models of diverse people and needs, representing inclusive event planning.

1) Focus on Lived Experience When Looking at Inclusive Event Venues in the UK and Ireland

Your venue defines your event before a single person arrives, so accessibility deserves close attention from venue sourcing stage.

Incorporate it by conducting site visits through the lens of delegates and guests who need wheelchair accessible event spaces and other provisions to fully participate in and get the most out of the event alongside everybody else.

For example:

· Pick accessible conference venues in the UK and Ireland with step-free entrances and level ground throughout

· Look for aisles and walkways wide enough for wheelchairs, mobility aids and service animals

· Walk the site yourself before the event starts and flag anything blocking access

· Provide quiet rooms where guests can retreat if the event noise and crowds become overwhelming

An office setting with wheelchair users and assistance dogs.

2) Communicate in Ways That Speak to Everyone

Event inclusion starts from the point of filling in a registration form. So, it’s an ideal opportunity to review yours:

· Ask about access needs, allergies and dietary requirements during sign up

· Offer large print or braille materials

· Use high contrast signage with simple symbols, placed at multiple heights

· Provide live captioning, sign language interpreters for corporate events, and hearing loops for presentations

· Send feedback forms after the event in accessible formats, including voice response option.

There’s also the broader matter of representation.

“Yes, speaker diversity matters. But representation is broader than who stands at the podium”, explains the Events Industry Council’s Aaron Wolowiec in his Designing for Belonging article.

“Representation is also about content perspective. Are we centering only dominant industry narratives, or elevating emerging voices, small firms, unconventional career paths, and lived experiences that challenge the norm?

"Inclusion requires widening the lens, not simply rotating faces on the same stage.

When attendees see themselves reflected in programming, materials, and leadership, belonging increases.”

An older lady with short grey hair and glasses doing sign language in a marketing meeting to help heating impaired attendees.

3) Train Staff to Bring Inclusive Event Planning to Life

The people running your event matter as much as the venue. This is why it’s vital to:

· Train staff to speak calmly and clearly, without rushing

· Educate team members to introduce themselves when talking to blind or visually impaired delegates

· Cover invisible disabilities alongside the physical ones the eye can see

4) Offer Inclusive Event Catering Options to Satisfy Every Palate

Food plays a major part in any event, so it needs to be nail as part of your overall inclusive event planning MO:

· Cover allergens, cultural requirements and dietary preferences without singling anyone out

· Use street food and themed menu stations to increase appeal while avoiding unnecessary differentiation

· Label dishes clearly so people don't need to poke around and ask

A diverse crowd sat in rows, smiling and clapping at a conference.

5) Enlist an Expert Venue Sourcing Agency for Corporate Events to Find the Best Inclusive Options

National Inclusion Week gives every corporate event organiser a nudge to check the above boxes. But why not save yourself time and money with a reliable venue finding agency helping tick them for you?

At the Venue Hunters, our FREE venue finding service gets down to the grunt work, so you don’t have to. Plus, we know industry insider stuff, like:

· Which accessible corporate event venues in the UK and Ireland really support inclusive event planning to exceed expectations

· Which inclusive event venues handle multiple dietary fuss-free

· Where to find sign language interpreters for corporate events

Add our bulk buying power to the mix, potentially bettering rates without endless backwards and forwards with multiple venues.

Get in touch for FREE venue finding support, and free up your valuable time to spend on your stakeholder needs instead.