The power of coming together
With months, and even years, lost to COVID office disruptions and social distancing – interacting face-to-face with colleagues is still a bit of a novelty.
However it’s time to embrace the times and to remind ourselves of the power that comes with connection, collective brainstorming and being able to make future business plans that (hopefully) won’t be put on hold any time soon.
At Flight Centre Business Travel, we believe the more minds you can bring together in the one room – the richer the thinking. Based on this, we’ve put together some tips for successfully getting teams and groups of people together again for strategic planning and forward thinking.
Aspire to inspire with a great location
Now more than ever, our thinking needs to be free from constraints. After COVID we have all found new ways of doing so many things. Escape the constraints of the office environment, and potential interruptions, by taking your team offsite.
We wholeheartedly agree the best way to work on your business, or your team’s development, is by leaving the office behind. A change of pace, and space, will help to give your group a new perspective on issues and also create closer bonds.
Depending on your budget, there are many venues and resorts with first-class corporate group facilities and spaces dedicated to team building activities. A classic example is somewhere like Sanctuary Cove Resort, which makes the most of its Gold Coast location and enhances group days with a range of spaces and dynamic technology. There’s a GPS-enabled team treasure hunt, immersive outdoor 3D holographic technology, a group golf challenge with micro-chipped golf balls and cooking classes with the executive chef.
Mix it up
A well planned – but diverse – agenda, is a good agenda. While you want to squeeze the most out of every session, you also want to break the day up with a range of activities and objectives. Remember that different people learn in different ways. Some are more analytical and love a detailed PowerPoint, while others prefer a more practical, hands-on approach.
Whether a leader within your business runs the day, or you employ a specialist external facilitator, it’s important to build some flexibility into your agenda. Set up a framework and allocate time to each activity, but also be prepared to extend a session if you’re on a roll and the ideas are flowing freely. Also encourage everyone to share and contribute their ideas, no matter what their role is – because a great initiative or idea can come from anyone.
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Make it fun and rewarding
To keep everyone’s attention and energy levels up, schedule a range of meetings and activities that use different parts of the brain – and body. A calm chill-out session, or a short burst of activity between meetings, can also deliver a productive and memorable feel-good moment.
Activities that will get attendees talking could include learning a new skill like archery, group Laser Tag, Go Kart racing, a flat pack building challenge, Lego competition or a cooking challenge. Or consider an activity that gives something back to the community – such as planting a tree or building a SolarBuddy light for a disadvantaged community. Then end the event on a fun high with a celebratory team dinner, craft beer tasting or talent quest.
Keep the momentum going
At the end of an event, don’t let you team go home and forget all about it. Your company’s investment in the day, or days, needs to be realised by driving tangible outcomes.
End the event with a clear direction, draw up a list of achievables and divvy up the tasks you want to follow up on. Appoint people to drive the process so the momentum continues, ideas are explored and results reviewed. Real change is only likely to happen when a deadline is set to follow up on progress and to gain feedback from team members.
By keeping the team accountable for the outcomes, they are much more likely to stay engaged with the objectives in the long-term. Plus they are more likely to stay inspired as a group if they can see positive change and results put into action in the workplace.
Next-level team days start here
There’s definitely a skill to running a rewarding and productive strategic planning day and like everything, it takes time. With our insider knowledge of venues and group travel experience, Flight Centre Business Travel can help you plan some – or all – of your event. From the venue to the menu and beyond, we’ll negotiate group booking rates, bonus extras, charity partnership activities and add-on group outings.
