--- title: "Why in-person events matter: what live events can do for your company" description: In-person events build trust, connect teams and help keep people. Here’s what research says about the value of live events, and how to plan one that works. image: https://www.venuescanner.com/hubfs/Why%20in%20person%20events%20matter.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.venuescanner.com/blog/why-in-person-events-matter-what-live-events-can-do-for-your-company#main-content) ![VenueScanner](https://www.venuescanner.com/hubfs/Logo.svg)Homepage ![](https://www.venuescanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Why%20in%20person%20events%20matter.jpg?width=6240&height=4160&name=Why%20in%20person%20events%20matter.jpg) Insights # Why in-person events matter: what live events can do for your company ![Nicole Arthur](https://www.venuescanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/IMG_7411.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=IMG_7411.jpg) Nicole Arthur November 9, 2026 Most of us spend the working week on video calls and Slack threads. Then the Christmas party comes round, or the annual conference, and something different happens. People linger, and the conversations wander. The new starter finally meets the colleague they’ve been emailing for six months. That difference shows up in what businesses book. [Christmas parties](https://www.venuescanner.com/gb/hire/christmas-party)alone made up roughly 1 in 4 of the corporate event enquiries we handled this year. Here’s why companies keep investing in getting people into the same room, and what a good event can do for yours. **The short answer:** In-person events build trust faster than any digital channel. They help remote and hybrid teams feel connected to each other and to leadership, and they give people space for the unplanned conversations where ideas and relationships form. The research backs this up across employee engagement, brand trust and simple persuasion. ### **What are the benefits of in-person events for companies?** The benefits fall into three groups: **culture, connection and commercial results**. Strong culture keeps teams together, connection makes collaboration easier, and a well-run event gives clients and prospects reasons to trust you. Each is covered below. ### **How do in-person events improve employee engagement?** Being in the room helps people understand where the business is going and feel part of it. A Compass Group study of more than 30,000 workers across 21 countries found that 76% of employees who regularly join organised social events say they understand their company’s strategy and goals well. Among those who don’t, the figure is 56%. The gap is even wider for feeling connected to senior leadership: 61% compared with 28% ([Compass Group, *The Power of Socialisation*, 2024](https://hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/strategy-news/sociable-workplaces-the-key-to-better-engagement-retention-and-productivity/377505)). You can send the strategy deck round on email. A town hall followed by drinks is where people ask the questions they’d never type into a chat window. ### **Can team events reduce loneliness in remote and hybrid teams?** They can help, and remote teams have more to gain. Gallup’s *State of the Global Workplace* research found that 27% of fully remote employees report feeling lonely, compared with 20% of on-site workers who could work remotely but don’t ([via Fortune, May 2025](https://www.fortune.com/well/2025/05/15/remote-work-mental-health-loneliness-sadness-anger)). An [away day](https://www.venuescanner.com/gb/hire/team-away-day) won’t replace everyday connection. It does give distributed teams a shared reference point, though: a day they all remember and the in-jokes that come out of it. Compass found that 45% of hybrid workers would come into the office more often if there were more chances to socialise. ### **Why is face-to-face communication more effective than digital?** People respond differently to a request when they can see who’s asking. In research published in the *Journal of Experimental Social Psychology*, Mahdi Roghanizad and Vanessa Bohns found that asking strangers in person to complete a survey was far more effective than asking by email ([University of Waterloo, 2017](https://uwaterloo.ca/management-science-engineering/news/face-face-request-34-times-more-successful-email)). The widely cited figure is 34 times more effective. The same applies at work. Whether you’re agreeing on a new direction, repairing a strained client relationship or asking a team to take on something difficult, it goes better face to face. ### **Do in-person events build trust with clients and customers?** Yes. In a Harris Poll study for Freeman, 95% of attendees said they trust brands more after an in-person event, and 92% of working professionals said live events improve how they see a brand ([Freeman, March 2025](https://business.mammothtimes.com/mammothtimes/article/gnwcq-2025-3-4-new-research-shows-in-person-events-build-critical-brand-trust-in-an-era-of-growing-consumer-skepticism)). Event organisers see the same thing from their side. Bizzabo’s 2025 *State of Events* report, which surveyed more than 1,500 organisers and attendees, found that 80% of organisers call in-person events critical to their organisation’s success. 66% planned to host more of them in 2025, up from 42% the year before ([Bizzabo, January 2025](https://www.bizzabo.com/blog/power-of-in-person-events-2025)). ### **What makes an in-person event worth the investment?** The event has to do something a video call couldn’t. A few things we’ve learned from helping companies plan them: - **Leave room between the agenda.** 73% of attendees in Bizzabo’s research value free time at events more than packed schedules. Many of the best conversations happen at the bar or over lunch. - **Brief on the purpose, not just the headcount.** “120 people, theatre-style” gets you a room. “120 people who need to leave feeling like one company” gets you the right room. - **Choose a space that matches the mood.** A product launch needs energy and a strong first impression. A leadership offsite needs quiet, natural light and somewhere to walk and talk. - **Visit before you commit.** Photos won’t tell you how loud a room gets when it’s full, or that the lift to the terrace only takes four at a time. - **Give yourself time.** On average, events take 35 days to go from enquiry to booking on our platform and 42 days through our corporate team. For December dates, start well before that. ### **Frequently asked questions** **Are in-person events still worth it with hybrid working?**Yes, and arguably they’re worth more now. When most collaboration happens online, the days a team spends together carry more weight for culture, onboarding and trust. **What types of in-person events work best for teams?**It depends on the goal. Away days and offsites suit strategy and team building. Private dining suits leadership groups and client relationships. Christmas and summer parties suit recognition and celebration, and [conferences](https://www.venuescanner.com/gb/hire/conference) are best for sharing ideas at scale. **How far in advance should I book a corporate event venue?**Allow at least six weeks for most events, and longer for peak dates such as December or for large groups. ### **Why the room still matters** Technology has made it faster to find a venue, compare options and manage the details. The reason people meet hasn’t changed. They want to see each other, mark the moments that matter and have the conversations that don’t happen on a screen. [Planning something for your team?](https://www.venuescanner.com/venue-finder/event-details) Tell us about your event and we’ll put together a shortlist of spaces that fit. **Sources** - [Compass Group via HRreview](https://hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/strategy-news/sociable-workplaces-the-key-to-better-engagement-retention-and-productivity/377505) - [Fortune on Gallup loneliness data](https://www.fortune.com/well/2025/05/15/remote-work-mental-health-loneliness-sadness-anger) - [University of Waterloo](https://uwaterloo.ca/management-science-engineering/news/face-face-request-34-times-more-successful-email) - [Freeman / Harris Poll](https://business.mammothtimes.com/mammothtimes/article/gnwcq-2025-3-4-new-research-shows-in-person-events-build-critical-brand-trust-in-an-era-of-growing-consumer-skepticism) - [Bizzabo](https://www.bizzabo.com/blog/power-of-in-person-events-2025) ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.venuescanner.com%2Fblog%2Fwhy-in-person-events-matter-what-live-events-can-do-for-your-company](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.venuescanner.com%2Fblog%2Fwhy-in-person-events-matter-what-live-events-can-do-for-your-company) ## Keep reading ### [![](https://www.venuescanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/VenueScanner%20conference.jpeg?width=1620&height=1080&name=VenueScanner%20conference.jpeg) Top Tips UK Venues How to Plan a Conference in London: Venues, Costs & Tips](https://www.venuescanner.com/blog/how-to-plan-a-conference-in-london) ### [![](https://www.venuescanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/498f4140-d2fd-11f1-8091-57f2713cabe8.jpg?width=985&height=554&name=498f4140-d2fd-11f1-8091-57f2713cabe8.jpg) Insights What the 2026 Budget means for the UK events industry](https://www.venuescanner.com/blog/what-the-2026-budget-means-for-the-uk-events-industry) [![VenueScanner](https://www.venuescanner.com/hubfs/Logo.svg "VenueScanner")](https://www.venuescanner.com/) --- Privacy Policy · © 2025. 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