At Kintone, our goal is help companies and teams love their data. We aim to change the way you work and interact with your data, and ultimately create more opportunities for your team to innovate.
But creating a positive and supportive company culture doesn’t happen overnight. It takes perpetual persistence to build a company where collaboration thrives, good intentions flows and honesty is the norm. Besides just giving off the warm and fuzzy feelings, solid company cultures are the foundation for successful businesses. Don’t believe me? Take a look at Zappos, Southwest Airlines or Netflix -- just a few companies touted for growing supportive cultures without sacrificing bottom lines.
Getting your team on the same page with a company-wide offsite is a great first step to take. Here are some tips and resources we’ve compiled to help send you on your way.
To break down the planning process, we’ve incorporated the Five W’s which you might recall from school. And if you don’t, maybe you should have paid more attention in your English writing classes. (wink wink)
The Five W’s are:
They are listed in order of importance, beginning with the ‘Why.’
Why
When deciding to coordinate a company offsite it’s important to identify the goal, purpose or theme for the event. The purpose of your offsite can be as practical or as silly as you like. You know what works best for your company as well as the current needs of your team. You might even find that over the course of the year you’ll end up hosting several different offsites with various themes and goals.
A few possible reasons to host a company or team offsite include:
Who
Once you’ve figured the purpose of the offsite or why you’re holding the event, decide who will be in attendance. It’s not uncommon to plan more than one offsite in the same month or quarter. At Kintone, we’ve held a sales or marketing team offsite on one day and then an all company version the next day.
What
Now that you’ve identified the purpose of the offsite and who will be attending, start thinking about the format and what kind of activities will be taking place.
For planning or professional development offsite, consider the following tips:
For offsites focused on team building, keep the following things in mind:
For company culture offsites:
Where
Based on your offsite activities and size of group, you’ll have a good idea of what sort of venue your event will require. If you’re working with a vendor who is facilitating part or all of your offsite, they might be able to host your group or provide location suggestions.
When you begin your location search, check out some of these resources:
Pro Tip: When picking your venue, make sure they have the amenities you will need like Wifi, projectors, adequate bathrooms, a kitchen space, etc. (We’ll cover your event day kit in another post)
And Finally, WHEN
By now, your company offsite is shaping up pretty nicely and all that’s left is to set a date! The date might be dictated by your venue, outside speakers, etc. Beyond those factors, make sure to take into consideration your company’s event calendar, both internal and external. Also beware of federal holidays as well as the season in which your event will take place. No one likes to go sailing in the middle of a storm! Before finalizing the date, pay a deposit, promote it internally and clear it with the major stakeholders like senior leadership to make sure there aren’t any unknown conflicts.
Now that you’ve got all the tips and tools to plan a great company offsite, it’s time to get to work in creating a positive and memorable team event.