Increasingly work is going virtual. Many of us now work from home, and our teams are distributed across the globe.
Of course there are great advantages to this new way of working, but the biggest disadvantage is the lack of team connection. Face-to-face is still the most critical component in building strong working relationships between employees.
There is a chemistry that occurs when people connect in person that cannot be replicated in a virtual space. This chemistry acts as a catalyst to new ideas, perspectives, and relationships.
Offsite venues enable employees to break out of their office personality and relate to one another in different ways, which can generate meaningful, creative ideas.
BUT … an offsite meeting that is not well-planned or carefully thought out beforehand can be a disaster. All it takes is one botched team-building exercise. You don’t want the day to be memorable for the wrong reasons.
Here are a couple of tips to get you started:
Fun!
Plan some fun activities that strengthen the team camaraderie. Cooking together is awesome and doesn’t require sports or physical skills. Plus everyone loves food! Volunteer activities are also a great way to really get to know each other while giving back to the community.
Lose the laptops!
Use the time outside of the office for brainstorming, creative thinking, and real time problem solving. Don’t waste time on long, presentations and death by bullet points. You are OOO for a reason, so take advantage of your amazing surroundings.
Lead by example!
Just because you are out of the office doesn’t mean that you are no longer the leader. Your team both needs and expects you to make certain decisions and lead the group. Plus your behaviour sets the tone.
Challenge!
Ask thought provoking questions that get your team out of their comfort zone. ’How do we know that?’ and ‘What if it weren’t like this?’ Create room for new ideas. You will definitely get a deeper understanding of the challenges you face as a team.
If it’s time to ramp up your team’s engagement and collaboration – we can help! Contact us today.
Marilyn
