5 Keys to a Successful Offsite

What makes a great offsite? As we all explore a virtual / hybrid environment, creating meaningful moments for our teams is critical to drive community, culture & business.

 Last week, Black Glass had the pleasure to see each other live after 4 long months of zoom screens. It was incredible, and drove personal /professional growth in unexpected ways. While an offsite is not new news, the importance of a successful event has drastically increased in a virtual environment. Here is a modern take on hosting an offsite to accelerate your business.

 1. LOCATION - Pick something out of the ordinary. Consider heavy use of outside spaces and places your team have not been. The last thing anyone needs is to be sitting in an air conditioned conference room all day. We decided to travel to Napa to sit outside, enjoy some sunshine and sit in the beautiful backdrop to inspire our creative thinking. It was well worth the travel. Questions to ask:

• What is a convenient location for the team?
• Where is a new place that you could discover together?
• What has the amenities to make it as comfortable for everyone?

 2. AGENDA - Be audience centric. Consider running a survey for topic ideas and team needs - what do they want to know more about? This will create a single deliberate focus. Very quickly the agenda can get packed and create information overload, stay focused and avoid “updates”. We treated it as a “Marketing Academy”, upskilling, teaching and sharing out the crafts from various groups, as the teams wanted to learn more about each other's superpowers. Questions to ask:

• What topics require us to be together?
• What would unlock core barriers / growth for the team?
• What will leave the team invigorated and refreshed?

3. CONTENT - No screens and presentations. No one needs to travel hours on end, only to be staring once again at a screen. There were 2 big unlocks we would recommend (1) Pre-Read: Any content that needs to get covered off, send in advance which would help maximize your in person time (2) Have everyone participate in the content. Learning can come from every department, every level, capitalize on the incredible knowledge of the entire team to create and share their superpowers. Questions to ask:

• What MUST we share out? That should go in a pre-read
• How can we encourage conversation & discussion through activities?
• How can we give time for conversations and organic content?

4. CONNECT - Build meaningful moments to connect. We focused on a 10:00 - 3:00 agenda which created casual moments for the team to connect on their own agenda items. Not to mention activities, dinners, wine tastings and a fierce game of jenga that allows you to connect with your whole selves. While we love a great seated dinner, we try to  create settings that have team members move around and enjoy the entire group. Questions to ask:

• How can we build new experiences together?
• What allows us to understand each other better?
• How can we mingle with the entire team?

5. DIVERSITY AT THE CENTER

Offsites can be hard as there are a host of different personalities, need states and mindsets. Creating an experience that truly supports diversity, requires digging a lot deeper into your choices. For example, we looked into female founded businesses to encourage a diverse supply chain, chocolate tastings for those who are pregnant and offering Milk Stork, so the mammas could be supported. Your actions speak really loud at these events and being deliberate can truly promote diversity & inclusion at the center. Questions to answer:

• What unique needs does my team have?
• How can I support their whole self?
• How can I ensure everyone can  be included?

 It was an incredible time together, not to mention the most awesome team right at the center of it all. At the end of the day it is about the people, supporting them and creating an environment that sets them up for success.