How to Have an Amazing Corporate Offsite

Creating balance for work and fun in a professional setting can be extremely difficult. However, with endless possibilities for locations, team-building activities and, of course, a little bit of out-of-office time, corporate offsites serve as a great way to build company culture and celebrate the hard work of your employees. If you’re considering planning a corporate offsite for your company, (or need some inspiration to help pitch your boss), and are looking for some tips to help, we’ve got you covered!

Get Out of the Office

It may seem obvious, but a change of scenery always helps. Getting out of the office not only allows your team to feel more relaxed, but it also stimulates creativity levels and fosters greater team building opportunities.

Location is everything. Be sure to pick a location that fits your company mojo. Whether it’s a country, elegant, intimate, or a completely outlandish vibe, the space should reflect that same feeling.

Here at WinMock, we love hosting corporate events. We’re wired for all the latest technology and offer a stunning venue for a one-of-a-kind offsite, guaranteed to outshine any hotel ballroom.

Have Specific Objectives

Consider the larger purpose of the offsite and what you want to walk away with. Is it a stronger sense of team culture? Is it a time to share larger strategy goals with the entire team? Or, is it a time to recognize the hard work of outstanding team members and share company wins?

Regardless of what your specific goals are (for you and your team members), it’s important to have those goals written down in advance so that you can share them internally with the team and be sure everyone is aligned.

By having these goals prepared before the start of the event, you can also have any additionals materials ready that you’ll need during the event. Do you need to create something, share something, decide something? If you’re planning to discuss a change in company strategy for the next year, you’ll want to prepare a presentation and any handout materials.

Get the Team Involved

To ensure an amazing corporate offsite, having team participation is key. Consider what activities would be inclusive and what would alienate team members. Try to avoid scheduling activities that will cause stress, or discomfort.

It’s important to let participants have ownership of specific elements that will make up the event. (Think menu, teambuilding activities, themes, transportation). Building out small subcommittees or designated teams can help take the burden off the event planner. The more collaboration, the better!

As the official event planner, feel free to relinquish some control. Delegate out parts of planning so that everyone can share in the success of the final event. This is the perfect way to utilize polls or in-office brainstorming sessions to let the whole team have a voice.

Plan for Work

Even though you’re planning to be out of office, have a plan ready for the daily responsibilities that happen while you’re actually in the office.

Who’s covering the phones or responding to emails? If you have clients, how are they notified in advance? Are there conflicting deadlines during the offsite? Are team members expected to bring phones, laptops to the event?

All of these questions should be answered before the event (preferably by the time the invites get sent out). By having these questions answered and a plan in place before team members leave their desks for the event, everyone will feel more relaxed and ready to be fully present for all scheduled activities.

Intentionally Follow-Up

After the offsite is all wrapped up, it’s time to gather feedback from your attendees. How did everyone feel about the event? Did they like the location? Was there an activity that team members are still talking about in now that they’re back in the office? Was there something that they didn’t like?

The main purpose of the offsite is to grow and build team culture. Feedback is crucial to the success of future offsite events as well. By anonymously polling the team on what they liked and didn’t like, you can evaluate the success of the event and start to take suggestions for next year. Anonymity ensures that everyone feels comfortable sharing their true feelings.