Offsites That Are on Point
Recently, I’ve been talking with several leaders about offsites they are developing for their teams. I love a good offsite. Offsites provide us with an increasingly rare opportunity to design and create an experience that is outside of the day to day. It’s a moment in time that can pay dividends long after the whiteboards are wiped clean and the pens put away. Offsites bring the team together to inject energy before a busy time, or to reinvigorate after a challenge, or simply to reset, reorient and renew bonds. But simply setting the date and choosing the location isn’t enough. It takes effort and energy to carve out a meaningful offsite experience.
Given the demands most leaders are dealing with these days, that’s not always easy to do. But it is always worth it. No matter the size and budget you are working with, intentional planning can have a huge impact on the overall experience and on the outcomes for your organization.
Here are eight things to consider when designing an offsite experience for your team.
1. Get Laser Focused on What is Needed:
Consider what the team really needs at this moment. Is this an offsite focused on strategic thinking? Is this an offsite to infuse learning and energy while helping the team gel? No matter your objective you also might want to consider the current temperature of the team. Do they need to get to know each other? Do they need a space to process and reflect? Do they need to be lifted? Or maybe they need to pause and celebrate what they’ve accomplished before moving on to the next challenge. Dialing into the team’s needs and how you want them to feel at the end of the day is key to the offsite hitting the right note.
2. Identify a Target Tone:
Dust off the thesaurus and brainstorm 3 to 5 words to guide the design of the day. It’s worth getting specific about the tone of experience you want to create. Consider, what is the rhythm you want to create? What is the pace of the day? How do you want people to feel afterward? You can share these words with your speakers when you brief them, along with your objective. This helps orient and align all the moving pieces. After the fact you can evaluate how close you came to executing on your target.
3. Design in Connection:
Consider when participants will get to know each other, both through formal exercises and casual moments, and ensure these moments are thoughtfully sequenced. For example, if you have a collaborative problem-solving session where you’ll need them to work together later in the day, think about getting them talking to get to know each other at their table earlier on. Think about mixing up sub-teams, levels, and specialities to create cross connections. Also, consider the timing of meals, breaks and transition moments.
4. Set the Tone:
Think about the experience you want the team to have at the offsite and then consider whether there is anything you can do to help them prepare to go through the day. This might look like being thoughtful about the content of each session in relation to the flow of the day. Or it might look like sending an article ahead to prime the team or having them do pre-work to warm up for a session.
5. Involve the Team:
Consider how you might want to involve the team. This could be a quick survey to see what skill session might benefit them, or it might mean involving key leaders in interviewing or hosting a panel. Engaging the team not only lightens the load but enables different voices to be heard throughout the day, which helps keep energy and interest elevated.
6. Don’t be Afraid to Go Where They Need to Go:
Years ago, I was facilitating a team session for a group of leaders. Through the discussion it emerged that the lack of a clear process was causing the team to be consistently behind the ball. Instead of the planned exercise, we pivoted to co-design a simple process to attend to the issue. They walked away energized and with a weekly problem solved. This past spring, in preparation for another offsite with the same organization, one of the leaders told me that that process was still in place and working well. The lesson: make sure you have leeway or flex in the flow of the day to adjust as needed.
7. Dial in on the Basics:
Ensure the team is well fed (ample nutritious and delicious food), hydrated, and has a few chances to move their bodies during the day. These simple basics are table stakes for good learning and collaboration.
8. Capture your Insights:
Make sure you keep track of perspective shifts and learnings. Jot them down throughout the offsite, gather informal feedback and do a survey. Incorporating learnings and demonstrating that you are listening to your team will build trust and set you up for future offsites that they look forward to.