Planning a team offsite?
If you’re planning a team offsite, here are some considerations to help set you up for success:
Get clear on your goal(s): What’s your desired outcome in having everyone get together? Is it to bond as a team? Is it to accomplish a specific goal? Once you’re clear on the goal, you can communicate to everyone the reason you want to bring people together and create your agenda based on that goal.
Timing: Plan ahead and give people notice, especially where travel is involved. Choose a time that works for everyone on the team. If you have a larger team, consider using a Doodle poll to make it easier to assess people’s availability.
Choose your location wisely: Be thoughtful about where the offsite should be. Is it convenient for people to travel to? If you have regular offsites, consider changing location to suit people in different parts of the globe. For the actual offsite space, choose a venue that’s conducive to achieving your goal, e.g., a windowless basement room with might not lend itself to creativity. (Offsite spaces like this do exist - ask for photos before you book somewhere!).
Create an agenda in line with your goal: I’d recommend starting with team bonding, or adding it early in your agenda to help everyone feel comfortable. Mix up the content of your agenda! Get a guest speaker, incorporate some training if you have any knowledge/skills gaps, have a reflection or brainstorming session as a group. You want the offsite to be of value and help you make traction, so always keep your goal in mind. Be flexible with your agenda too - allow lots of time for breaks and informal chatter with the team to keep people feeling fresh.
Identify actions and next steps: Allocate time at the end of your agenda to focus on what happens next. Review what you’ve covered during your time together and the actions you can take as team or individuals to build on the momentum you’ve just created.
When your offsite is complete, get feedback from the team on what worked and what could be better next time while it’s still fresh in people’s minds. Save this information somewhere so you can refer to it when you start planning for your next offsite!