Corporate event creators tend to identify themselves as fulfilling both roles—Event Strategists and Event Deliverers—with 46.6% selecting 'Both.' A significant portion (39.7%) identified solely as Event Strategists (focused on high-level planning and decision making), while a smaller group (13.8%) viewed themselves as primarily Event Deliverers (focused on logistics and execution). Therefore, most respondents see themselves involved in both strategic and operational aspects of event planning, with a slightly stronger leaning towards strategy.

In terms of team size, the majority of corporate event planners worked in small teams, with 55.6% reporting teams of 1-5 members, and 34.5% organising between 1 and 30 events per year. External agencies (62.3%) and freelancers (37.7%) were commonly hired to manage workloads, particularly during periods of event overload. This reliance on external resources highlights the need for flexibility and the ability to scale up operations quickly in response to demand.

The most important factor for respondents when choosing a job role is Salary/Compensation, with an average rank of 3.65. This is closely followed by Company Culture and Work-Life Balance, which suggests that while financial considerations are crucial, workplace environment and personal well-being are also significant factors. Holiday Allowance is ranked as the least important, indicating that it may not be as immediate a concern compared to factors that impact day-to-day experiences.

Budget management remains a core part of the responsibilities for corporate event planners. Nearly half of the respondents (48.9%) stated that stakeholders were responsible for setting the event budget, while 46.7% indicated that the event team itself took on this responsibility.

As technology continues to transform the events industry, AI and technology proficiency were seen as the most important future skills for corporate event planners, with 91.1% of respondents emphasising the need for technical know-how. Data analysis skills were also highly valued (66.1%), as event planners seek to make data-driven decisions to optimise event performance. Stakeholder management (62.1%) and sustainability practices (57.1%) were other skills deemed essential for future success, underscoring the multifaceted nature of corporate event planning.

Stakeholder management and technology integration were identified as significant hurdles for event planners. Moreover, half of the planners expect their team sizes to stay the same over the next year, despite the increasing complexity of events. This underscores the pressure on planners to deliver high-quality, innovative experiences with limited resources. Sustainability also remains a challenge, with respondents citing cost as the biggest barrier to adopting sustainable practices in their events.

Many event planners already utilise AI to enhance various aspects of event management, with 41.4% of respondents reporting its use in content generation, logistics, and data analysis. The rise of hybrid event formats was also noted, with 74.5% seeing it as an enduring trend for the industry. As organisations become more conscious of their environmental impact, sustainability emerged as a lower priority than technology integration, with respondents focusing on other practices in their events first.

The data suggests that event planners prioritise elements that directly impact the attendee experience, such as content creation, engagement, and budget management. While important, factors like technology integration and sustainability are considered less critical, indicating that planners might still view them as supporting, rather than central, components in delivering successful events. This highlights a potential opportunity for greater emphasis on sustainable practices and technological advancements in future event strategies.

When measuring the success of their events, the majority of corporate event planners prioritised attendee satisfaction, with 93.5% using this as a key metric. Post-event surveys were also widely used (76.1%), along with tracking the number of attendees (71.7%). Lead generation (58.7%) and content performance (52.2%) emerged as other significant indicators of success, reflecting the importance of events as not only networking opportunities but also as business development and marketing tools. Interestingly, 39.1% used net promoter scores (NPS) to gauge loyalty and satisfaction, while 37% monitored social media engagement, indicating a slow but growing interest in digital touchpoints and audience sentiment post-event.