What’s the recipe for a successful Team Away Day?

Evidence suggests that rewarded employees are more likely to be engaged employees. Engaged employees are known to be more productive and have been shown to help increase organisations’ retention statistics, two vital areas which contribute towards a business’s success.

The type of rewards employees prefer, however, is not simply a case of “one size fits all”. When asked what type of reward staff would like the top answers can vary from the expected individual cash bonus, to a meal out, voucher, team cash bonus or Team Away Day.

A cash bonus may provide immediate elation, especially at Christmas-time, but once used the cash reward is much sooner forgotten than the lasting memories gained from a Team Away Day.

A successful Team Away Day has also been shown to be more powerful than cash on an emotional/engagement level. The reasoning for this is that people are more likely to remember the positive experiences they had with their colleagues on their Team Away Day which can have a lasting effect on strengthening teamwork and loyalty.

How would delivering an In Equilibrium workshop contribute to a successful Team Away Day?

There are many elements which contribute to an away day achieving its goals, the most common are listed below. For each we have highlighted why our workshops have proved successful in the away day setting.

• Defined objectives
  Both the organisation and the participants need to be clear on what the day sets out to achieve.
  Each In Equilibrium workshop outline provides clear objectives so participants know what will be accomplished during their time with an In Equilibrium trainer.
• Clear communication
  Team members want to be able to anticipate the form the day will take, so they know what is expected of them and can plan and prepare for it accordingly.
  The content and key benefits participants can expect from attending each In Equilibrium workshop are clearly stated on our website, or can be provided for the organiser to circulate for tailor-made workshops.
• Experienced facilitation
  Participants want any discussions to be well managed with everyone able to express their opinion, rather than a few doing all the talking and others not being heard.
  All In Equilibrium trainers are experienced and effective facilitators, as is highlighted by this recent quote, “The trainer was very interested in what everyone had to say and gave very good feedback and responses.”
• Effective follow-up
  Following a successful away day, participants want to bring back their ideas, discussions and learning to the workplace rather than return to work and forget that the day ever happened.
  In Equilibrium can provide participants with follow-up emails to help embed knowledge from their workshop and signpost where to find further information and resources.

If you are considering including a Team Away Day in your rewards or development programmes, you may be interested to read our complementary post “Away Days – How In Equilibrium workshops can add interest and engagement”.

Please email training@in-equilibrium.co.uk or complete our website contact form if you would like to discuss how one of our workshops could benefit a Team Away Day.