With 2024 in full swing and corporate travel returning to pre-pandemic levels, it’s time to start thinking about team and company offsite meetings again.
Whether looking ahead to new leadership development initiatives, thinking about strategic planning, or hoping to build up your team and improve relationships, an offsite meeting could help you meet your goals and propel your organization to a successful 2025.
Here are six reasons to make your next meeting an offsite.
It can improve creativity.
If you’ve ever been “stuck” on a project or task, you know that sometimes the best way to find a solution is to walk away. Sometimes, solutions come to us while running errands, exercising, showering, or even cloud-watching.
An offsite meeting can do the same thing for your team. Whatever your team’s obstacle or struggle, getting away from the office and into a new environment can help jog new ideas and find new solutions. In addition, the energy of working side by side with others who are all focused on the same project can stimulate new thinking and fresh ideas.
It can build trust.
As remote and hybrid work arrangements expand, team members will likely spend less time face-to-face. While phone calls, e-mail, and video meetings may get work done, communicating over technology platforms doesn’t always result in the same depth of connection as in-person communication.
Even teams that frequently work face-to-face can struggle with trust issues.
Getting away from the office and engaging in some trust-building exercises and in-depth conversations can help your team connect in ways that might be impossible in a typical work environment. This level of trust can be vital for improving psychological safety.
It can repair damage.
When a team has been through challenging times, an offsite could provide a time to repair broken or strained relationships. With the help of a good facilitator who can ensure a distraction-free environment, teams can share frustrations and challenges openly.
An offsite can also be an essential way to reconnect in real life. As hybrid and remote work arrangements have proliferated over the last few years, the chances for team members to meet in person and connect as real people have significantly reduced. Even teams that work well asynchronously and get along great over Slack and e-mail can still fray around the edges when they never meet in person.
In a blog post for Rocket.net, a web hosting company, one employee shares how valuable it was to attend the company offsite after months of remote work. “We probably got more accomplished over the balance of the day than what we would typically get done here in a month, and that speaks volumes about the limitations of remote working,” the attendee says.
It can help focus attention.
Let’s face it—workplace distractions are inevitable whether we’re working from home, in a cubicle, or even behind a closed office door. From the dog who needs a walk to the co-worker who “just has a quick question” to the ubiquitous notification chimes on our computers and phones, it’s often tough to find time to focus on even our daily tasks.
A team offsite can be ideal for reducing or eliminating distractions and focusing attention on big questions, new projects, or long-term plans. A quiet hotel conference room or remote meeting venue could be ideal for putting key team members in a distraction-free environment.
It can re-energize a team.
Many companies have been through significant struggles over the last few years, and employees at all levels and across functions report unprecedented levels of chronic stress. From the sudden remote work pivot to the Great Resignation, energy is likely flagging across many teams and organizations. In fact, employee wellbeing has become a significant area of concern for a huge percentage of companies.
An offsite meeting could be ideal for re-energizing your team and organization. By bringing everyone together to discuss where the team has been and where it’s going—and then giving ample downtime for team members to connect in more casual settings—you can reinvigorate your team and return to work refreshed and ready to tackle new work.
It can align the team with the company’s mission, values, and purpose.
In 2019, Alix de Sagazan, CEO and Co-founder of AB Tasty, a customer experience optimization platform, shared the results of the company’s third annual retreat. The company, she said, “opted to spend a long, rather luxurious weekend in the scenic town of Stiges, Spain.”
Sagazan reported that a post-seminar survey revealed that “the vast majority of our employees felt more motivated in their job and more integrated in the company.” In addition, 91% of surveyed employees said they felt more connected to the company’s values after the retreat.
While leaders can always work to communicate company mission, purpose, and values, they can sometimes “run the risk of fading into the background as more pressing matters arise,” Sagazan said. With a weekend to engage in team activities and focus on values, employees returned from the retreat more centered around what matters to AB Tasty.
With good planning and attention to desired outcomes, your next offsite meeting can be exactly what you need to finish 2024 strong and position your organization to meet 2025 goals. The professionals at Stewart Leadership can help. Contact us to learn how we can help your next offsite deliver business results and people results.
Self-Check
- Is there one area of the business that would most benefit from an offsite?
- If we could achieve one thing from an offsite, what would it be?
- How long has it been since we had a company retreat or offsite? Is that too long?
