Whether or not you've attended an offsite meeting before, you might be feeling a little confused about what they are and how they work. Offsites can seem like a strange concept if you're used to traditional office settings. If you are a medium to a large-sized company you may want to consider getting the team together to reinforce company culture and engage employees.
What is a company offsite?
A company offsite is an occasion that brings coworkers together outside of the office with the intention of stepping away from everyday operations and facilitating team bonding, deep conversations, building camaraderie and creating strategic goals to carry your business forward.
Benefits of having a company offsite
Set goals and strategise
Off-sites can be an extremely valuable business tool, allowing your team time to reflect and plan for the future. A good offsite will allow you to delegate tasks, ensure that you are on track with each project and even help you keep an eye on the big picture. Off-sites help galvanise teams by giving them time together away from their desks and work surroundings.
Boost morale
A successful team offsite will prioritise boosting staff morale. With the right planning, you can ensure that your team feels connected and invested. This can lead to higher employee retention rates, increased productivity and better overall satisfaction with the company.
Collaboration
A company offsite meeting will allow for relationships to be nurtured between individuals who may not usually work together. Bringing the entire team together promotes employee engagement, strengthens relationships and establishes closeness and familiarity between large departments. It's a great chance to get to know more about other team members.
Reinforce company culture
Once your company grows, it is hard to hold on to the culture you once had or wish existed in your company. With most employees working remotely or hybrid it and important that colleagues know each other and collaborate freely.
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How to plan an offsite
Planning a company-wide offsite meeting can be exciting and nerve-wracking. Offsites can help your company connect and get better. To plan a successful offsite meeting, follow these steps:
Set a date
Make sure that all employees are available with no pressing deadline which will distract them or prevent them from participating. Try and avoid periods like August or half terms when most employees may be on annual leave or the end of March or December when your company's financial reporting deadlines are looming.
Create an itinerary
An itinerary will help to stay on track and keep the day organised. Depending on the activity you decide to do, carefully plan out the day allowing enough time for each event but at the same time ensuring that employees are not bored and disengaged.
Suitability
Is the offsite location convenient and accessible for all employees? You need to make sure that whatever activity you chose to do is inclusive of all employees, for example, those with disabilities or special dietary requirements.
Best team building activities
There are plenty of great ideas which are great for promoting team building. Tuckman's stages of group development suggests that for a group to be able to grow and work effectively, they must go through conflict, challenges and tackle problems to achieve results, so a group challenge can be very succesfull in helping team members in developig bonds and yielding returns in the long run.
Below are some examples of offsite meetings your company can host:
- company retreat
- volunteering
- workshops
- escape room
- physical activity
- field day
- picnic
- beach day
- hiking
- holiday destinations
It's a good idea to plan an offsite every year or two, depending on how fast your company is growing. The best offsites are planned well in advance so everyone can get the most out of it, but it definitely has to be scheduled at a time when everyone can attend. It should be informal and fun, provide room for brainstorming, learning and connecting with each other.