eTip #637 - Off-site Meetings and Training: A Boon for Your Team

Let’s be honest – 8 hours is a long time to be thinking, sitting at a desk and constantly being “on.” Keeping your team motivated AND productive isn’t easy. A simple solution:  LEAVE!  I’m not suggesting closing up shop and heading to Bora Bora for a month.  How about taking a day or even a half-day for some offsite work?  Trust me; the team will LOVE it!

The Effects of Off-site Meetings

An offsite meeting can have profound effects on your team. It puts the focus on them, making them feel important.  Team members who feel appreciated and valued are open to learning new skills and more often than not, are willing to work harder. (We know that happy employees outperform their competitors.)

Off-site meetings or training also help people focus. When they’re in a new environment, they are actively paying attention to their surroundings, instructions, and tasks. A fresh perspective can also help them come up with new ideas. The excitement of a new environment (and a bit of fun) can get them to speak up when they normally wouldn’t.

If you need your team to learn something new, sometimes taking them for a walking meeting around the block can help the lesson sink in better. Spring is almost here, and cabin fever has probably taken its toll on morale. When the temperature hits 60 – take it outside!

Going on Retreat

If you want to supercharge your team’s learning, creativity, and bonding, take them on a work-cation. The Team will consider it part vacation and part work if you do it correctly! You may want to get your money’s worth out of the trip by instructing your team to work or learn 12 hours a day, but they need time to decompress and enjoy the location. Use your imagination – if budget allows, head to a destination spot or resort, a spa or even a health themed location where you can combine brain training with Yoga!

Richard Moran, CEO of Accretive Solutions and a longtime venture capitalist, thinks you have to strike the right balance with off-site retreats. “Don’t close the windows,” he says. “Why go someplace beautiful if there is no time for the pool or golf, and people are locked in dark rooms from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.?” If you take your team to a nice place and deprive them of its enjoyment, they’ll be even more distracted than if you’d left them at the office.

The trick to getting the most out of retreats is to recognize shared leisure time and fun as assets to your company. Let your team regroup from months grinding away at work. Put them in an environment that is slightly challenging, but still comfortable.

That said, you want to get the most out of the retreat, which means scheduling activities and training that support your business. You’ll get more productivity and learning out of your team because (like I said before) the new environment will help them focus.

If you run any team-building exercises, don’t make the proverbial mistake of having your team members compete against one another. That’s a quick way to build a shadow hierarchy into your office. Instead, orchestrate problem-solving tasks where everyone works together, which will foster a team atmosphere.

Retreats are effective for leaders too. One of the things we teach in our Leadership Training for Managers course is the important need to engage with your team to turn them into allies, not whipping them to work like a boss. On an off-site meeting or a retreat, you have the opportunity to lead them to improve themselves.

(The course also teaches how to effectively communicate, listen well, and make better decisions. Check it out.)

Bob Dickson

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