Everyone wants a great offsite, but finding an activity that gets everyone engaged without feeling cheesy can be a struggle. Some people like interactive sessions about spending time together, but others hate sessions that aren’t focused on furthering the team or business goals. Thus my strategy is simple: come up with activities that involve everyone while also having a productive angle. The following are three examples that I’ve found to work quite well:
- Crazy 8’s — design creativity applied to business problems.
- Speed Dating Feedback — rapid feedback delivered in a low-threat context
- Strengthsfinder — learn about your coworker’s strengths and motivations.
Each activity requires interpersonal engagement, meaning nobody is sitting there, tuning out and waiting for the evening happy hour. They each have a theme that helps to improve the business. This post will go through the details of preparing for and executing these sessions.